Help with Cichlids

[quikv6]

Hey folks,

I may end up lending a hand to someone with some cichlids. Its a 125 gallon tank. 

I have never had cichlids, and don't know much about them,  so if anyone can give me a quick 101 on the specific fish in the picture, that would be really helpful. 

I am assuming they are Lake Malawi fish, and would prefer a slightly higher PH with high minerals. I could be wrong,  though.  All input is appreciated. Thanks! 

 

 

[Theplatymaster]

I see zebra cichlids, (the striped ones), and Yellow labs (The yellow ones), these are both lake malawi cichlids and the rest are probably also.

Sorry, thats all i can recognize im not a cichlid expert. 

[quikv6]

Thanks! That is a help. Any insight as to their preferred water perameters and diet? 

[Theplatymaster]

@quikv6  Very Hard and alkaline (around ph 8 ) they will want a slow sinking omnivore food. Maybe something like Xtreme Cichlid Delight? (I'm not sure though, not a cichlid expert)

Edited May 12, 2022 by Theplatymaster
missed information

[quikv6]

Thank you very much. That is helpful. We have very soft water here in NYC, so I am hoping that is aragonite/coral as the substrate. I have yet to see the tank in-person yet. I am guessing the fish look to be peacocks and haps, though I could definitely be mistaken.

[kcochran]

Cichlids are accustomed to a rocky environment and are very territorial. Any line of sight breaks that you can make will help keep peace in the tank. Also, they like caves or any other nooks and crannies you can make for them. I have the Carib Sea African Cichlid mix for my substrate and my PH and Alkalinity are always spot on perfect!

[Nate22]

How's it going with the tank? I will add that if you have peacocks and haps they like open water not caves/big rocks. mbuna like caves and rocks to swim in n out of. If you go to YouTube and watch Zenzo with Tazawa tanks he keeps all 3 of the named Cichlids. Peacocks haps n mbuna. I've kept African Cichlids for many yrs but recently started actually caring for them. Also trying to learn as much as possible. I keep my mbuna n haps and a ph of 7.6/8.0 my water is hard/very hard. I will also say every tank is different and you can do things others say can't be done in terms of what fish to keep with Cichlids. It all depends on the fish in my opinion. I keep Corydoras with mine and they are just fine. Also the tank is fully planted with live plants. Anyways best of luck and enjoy the beauty of the greatest fish alive. Again in my opinion 😃

[Atitagain]

I see some mbuna the zebra and yellow labs,  some peacocks only one I can tell for sure is some dragon bloods the red spotted ones, but I do not see any haps that I recognize. There could be plenty of others in there I see plenty of them hiding in the shadows.

africian cichlid live substrate (caribsea) and crushed coral should help raise your PH. But after that I wouldn’t worry to much about it. Keep parameters stable don’t chase a PH to much it could do a lot more damage than good. All of this is just my opinion.

male only show tanks help with aggression but it’s still there and will have to be managed. 

[quikv6]

Thanks. I have been solely focusing on Nitrates in the tank, as they were over 400ppm when I tested. We are 3 water changes in (no more than 40 percent each change, in order not to drop the GH drastically after a change), and they are down around the 180ppm area. It's getting there. The goal is to be under 40ppm, and then to see how fast the tank produces them.

We are also adding better quality frozen food to the mix, in addition to cutting it down some. If anyone has any food suggestions, that would be great too.

[Colu]

Hikari cichlids Excel sinking pellets or hikari Excel floating pellets