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African Cichlids: Rockwork Advice & Sexing Information?

Discussion in 'Cichlids' started by jrow8162, Feb 24, 2009.

  1. jrow8162

    jrow8162 Thread Starter Member

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    I just got a new tank and want to put a few African Cichlids in there. I've had a lot of south american cichlids in the past but no experience with the Africans. I have the tank cycling right now but do not have any rock work yet. According to the guy at LFS all of my levels are ok except for PH. I put some Danio's in there to help cycle the tank the rest of the way. Should I add the rock work first? Will they be ok without it? Maybe with some fake caves or something? Also, how do you tell the males from the females?
     
    jrow8162, Feb 24, 2009
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  2. Anthony

    Anthony Active Member

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    Re: New to African Cichlids

    You should always try to have the hiding places (stacked rocks, PVC, etc) in the tank prior to placing them in there. Not having hiding spaces will cause a lot of stress if any of them are aggressive.
     
    Anthony, Feb 24, 2009
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  3. jrow8162

    jrow8162 Thread Starter Member

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    Re: New to African Cichlids

    I've read on here all kinds of different ways to prep the rocks for the tank. I thought I might try boiling them. I heard adding the rock will knock the levels way off.. Will the Danio's make it through adding the rock work? I'm not really on the cruel side when it comes to fish and would like to avoid killing them....
     
    jrow8162, Feb 24, 2009
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  4. MOD_Dawn

    MOD_Dawn Active Member

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    Re: New to African Cichlids

    Okay, first off you want so much rock work (texas holey rock works best) and caves that it will make you nauseas to look at it. As far as male to female ratio , unless they are about 2.5" to 3" it will be nearly impossible to sex them.
    If they are larger and it is possible to have them sexed You defin. want more females than males. I'd say 4-5 females to each male to keep aggression down.
    When they are little they are great, highly active, and will rival saltwater fish when it comes to coloration...when they give big they get mean and nasty if you don't provide enough "territory" for them.
    I can't remember the name of the stuff, but theirs a powder like stuff to achieve the type of water that they live in.
    Substrate wise you want african cichlid sand mix or crushed coral. I'll warn ya, if you go with the sand be prepared for them to make mounds out of it and have bare spots in the tank (they defin rearrange things how they like it).
     
    MOD_Dawn, Feb 24, 2009
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  5. Anthony

    Anthony Active Member

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    Re: New to African Cichlids

    And also the rocks will not alter the water chemistry. Depending on what type of rock you add it may raise the pH slightly but not immediately.
     
    Anthony, Feb 24, 2009
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  6. jrow8162

    jrow8162 Thread Starter Member

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    Re: New to African Cichlids

    I put some white gravel in the tank. Looks like I need to purchase some crushed coral. Will the danio survive the new rocks being added to the tank?
     
    jrow8162, Feb 24, 2009
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  7. jrow8162

    jrow8162 Thread Starter Member

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    Re: New to African Cichlids

    Oops, didnt see Anthony's post there... :) Guess i'll go shopping for rocks and crushed coral.
     
    jrow8162, Feb 24, 2009
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  8. Angus

    Angus New Member

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    Re: New to African Cichlids

    :D

    Jrow...

    I will help you get your tank up and running if you wish..we can comminicate through here..and take it one step at a time until you are satisfied.

    Off to bed now, but will be on tomorrow when I get back from my breeder..

    Angus.
     
    Angus, Feb 26, 2009
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  9. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Top Poster Of Month

    Re: New to African Cichlids

    slate is better than holey rock and a lot cheaper!
     
    Anonymous, May 9, 2009
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  10. gsoul55

    gsoul55 New Member

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    Re: New to African Cichlids

    Just get a couple nice river rocks out of a stream or rivers edge and scrape them clean with hot soapy water. If you have almost zero caves your fish will be swimming around in the open a lot more and their aggression will actually go down because they won't be protecting a cave from othe fish. And even better the rocks are free !!!!!!!!!!! If you want to breed just have a few terracotta pots laying around on their sides.
     
    gsoul55, May 22, 2009
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  11. jrow8162

    jrow8162 Thread Starter Member

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    Re: New to African Cichlids

    I've moved these fish over to my bigger tank. I have 2 pieces of rainbow rock and I just got a whole crap load of slate from my in-laws house. Not sure how I want to do the new rocks but will be adding them soon...
     
    jrow8162, May 22, 2009
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  12. damnsneakyasian

    damnsneakyasian New Member

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    either alot of rock work or very little like gsoul55 said. Im planning to redo my tank with less rock soon but im going to wait to see how the fry do with alot of rocks.

    one question about mbuna, do they prefer a little current? i just got another filter and stuck it on the side because its the only place it will fit. since then my cichlids haven't been hiding as much but out and about.
     
    damnsneakyasian, Aug 9, 2009
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  13. jrow8162

    jrow8162 Thread Starter Member

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    I have an Emperor 400 and one airstone in my 55 gallon African tank. I have one large fake rock, 2 pieces of Rainbow rock with caves in each piece and one other rock cave. My mbuna never hide in the caves. They are always swimming and active. It never hurts to have the extra current.
     
    jrow8162, Aug 9, 2009
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  14. Yellow Lab

    Yellow Lab New Member

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    I have two powerheads in my 55 gal. and my africans LOVE playing in the current. Best thing I ever did. I have sand substrate and they help keep the bottom of my tank cleaner.
     
    Yellow Lab, Aug 18, 2009
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  15. Coach T

    Coach T New Member

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    The cheapest thing I have found for sand is, Home Depot silica sand or playground sand. It is what I have in my tanks and my Africans love it.
     
    Coach T, Aug 27, 2009
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  16. gsoul55

    gsoul55 New Member

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    Silica is bad. Breaks down over time.
     
    gsoul55, Aug 27, 2009
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  17. Coach T

    Coach T New Member

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    Have had the same sand for years without any problem. Good water changes and vacuming the sand helps.
     
    Coach T, Aug 28, 2009
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  18. DarkDemolition

    DarkDemolition New Member

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    ;) I'm going to be changeing my substarte so play sand can go well with malawi cichlid... Im buying it home depot.. would it be suitable.. let me know if you guys have any suggestions...
     
    DarkDemolition, Oct 15, 2009
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  19. bremz8

    bremz8 New Member

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    make sure you clean the play sand for a couple hours its very dirty.

    also i noticed somone said to clean the rocks with soap, DO NOT never clean anything fish tank related with soap it leaves a poisonous residue. boil,pressure wash,bake,scrape but do not use soap.
     
    bremz8, Apr 11, 2010
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