[darkstar270]

Looks good Dreamz! Keep in mind your cichlids will dig the gravel out from under those big rocks, keep an eye on them so they don't get squished
P.S. I use Omega One also. Good stuff!

[Endonoid]

Some friendly pointers, although if everything is working out, you won't need to change a thing. I worked at a pet shop in my area for about 10 years and learned a thing or two.

First off, I've never used plants in my cichlid tanks only because I usually used crushed coral so that the ph stays high. I can't tell what kind of gravel you have, or know your location, so your ph might be fine right out of the tap. The plants don't really like the high ph, they prefer it a little bit lower. But they may survive.

Second, cichlids also prefer a whole lot of caves to hide in. I've always used what they call lace rock around here, just google it if you've never heard of it. It's just a greyish rock that is full of holes and shaped kinda randomly. It makes real nice caves and stacks really easy. If you want to avoid fish being smashed when they dig the holes to breed, you can stack the rocks using a "three point system" (that's what they call it here, it just means each rock is supported in three separate spots to make it more stable) right against the bottom glass, then place the crushed coral or whatever substrate around them. that way the fish can't destabilize the rocks no matter what they do. The large number of caves gives all of the males a chance to claim a territory, and the young and the females are more likely to have a place to hide from the larger males.

Don't inject CO2 at night. It won't do anything except waste gas.

Make sure to use potassium and iron in the tank, as long as your tank is cycled, and you do proper water changes(which I think you do according to one of the previous posts) the nitrogen cycle should give the plants nitrogen. though I'm sure your familiar with plants given the website we're on.

Don't mix African and south American cichlids either. Some people do it and get away with it, but generally, it ends in an expensive meal. South American cichlids tend to get much larger than Africans, and can eventually eat them in a single gulp.

Petco and Petsmart or any of the large corporate pet stores are near useless for the most part. Locally owned stores usually are the way to go, assuming that they are experienced.

I saw the Omega one container in the last pic, stick with that. It's awesome stuff.

I don't know how much of this you already know, or how experienced you are, so if you know all this, maybe it will help another reader some.

Another random tid-bit, if you like the full planted tanks, google "Amano Planted tanks". They were the first real dedicated plant tanks I saw, and I had to have one after that.

Good luck with the tank, and again, I'm sorry if you already knew all this. I have so much more information but I don't want to ramble on for several pages. Have fun.

-EDIT- If your looking for more fish to keep you should find out which of the lakes your fish are from and get more from the same lake. Again, you might know this, but I like to be thorough.

[darkstar270]

[Dreamz_Of_Green]

great indepth post appreciate it .

tap ph is 8.2

i cycle 33% of the water every week on sunday

substrate its a mix of sand gravel and a thin layer of dirt on bottom

i run floraliscious aquatic plant iron potassium

i dont run co2 at night but a oxygen stone i do and viseversa when lights are on

all my fish are mbuna lake malawi fish

i run alot of driftwood for cover not seen in this pic above

Thanks to everyone all advice welcome

in 5 weeks ill be proud owner of a 250 Gal

im not a fan of south american , i like jacks, or green terrors from south american bout it

[dawgsbolloxs]

south and central americans and a few oddballs lol

my favs being chicla, festae, dovii, umbifruem, list goes on! I grab some pics...u guys in the states are spoilt for chiclids...try mojo and don conkel for rare bits and probably the bisggest in the states nice tanks all

[Yes4Prop215]

i have a 125 longtank with a d. compressiceps, freyi ice blue, 3 yellow labs, and a hybrid yellow lab/ blue zebra (yellow lab with stripes).....they are all juvies i could easily add more just havent found the species i want yet..

this is the current rotation...i had a nice one a few years ago but a strange sickness killed almost all my fish overnight once...i had a nice venustus, blue zebra, acei, albino socolofi, a couple peacocks..

on my shopping list is one of those blue dolphin cichlids, cant remember the name. and i want to find more compressicepps i want a big male with the red fin...

heres an old pic of my 46 gal bowfront...had yellow labs and tetras



and i got this little 10 gal with some micro cichlids used to have apistograms now i got a baby compressiceps

[ithruxix]

I had a 150 for quite some time, it had roughly 25 different African Cichlids, mostly Mbuna and peacocks, even some venestus and a few other haps. Any time I would put any yellow labs in, they would be dead within a few days.

Focus on an all male tank, but you have to make sure they are all dominant and not sub-dom males. For this, you will need a second tank to house the ones that do not color up well, or just hide. The biggest thing you need to allow, is a lot of separate coves and hiding spots. The male will seek out his own little cove, make it his home. Having a hundred perfect coves will prevent a bunch of fighting.

Get used to having quick hands, catching some of those little bastards can be tricky!

By the way, a mixed male tank is easiest. If you can, jump over to cichlid-forum.com for some real quality info.

[darkstar270]

Next on my list is Tropheus Moorii. Have to save some money first though

[MaynardG_Krebs]

Originally Posted by darkstar270

Next on my list is Tropheus Moorii. Have to save some money first though

T. moori are best kept in colonies... usually best purchased in 'clutches'... Very rocky setup with maybe a couple Synodontis multipunctatus cats to keep things tidy... look for some of the yellow varieties as they seem more peacefol than some of the others... kaiser yellows or chimpimbi bays... they;re quite beautiful, but not real good for mixing in a 'comunity cichlid' tank....

mgk

[darkstar270]

I try to keep species only tanks. I have a 125gal. breeder tank that I'm planning to put a dozen or so in. I'm going to keep them on a veggy diet also. Thanks for the input MGK!
P.S. I use bushy nosed pleco's to keep things clean. I like them cause they stay small.