African Cichlids are one of my favorite types of tropical freshwater fish. They are very colorful and have striking characteristics. Now I started acquiring African Cichlids when I had already successfully completed a goldfish, community and South American fish tank. I converted one of my 55 gallon South American tanks to be a African Cichlid setup. The main components still include a large tank, filter, and heater. Additional setup items include lots of sand or gravel and mass amounts of rock.
Now, the majority amount of African Cichlids come from Lake Malawi, while other rare types come from Lake Tanganyika or Victoria. In the wild, the fish love to swim and live in rock caves. I recommend trying to setup the rock inside the tank first. Each fish will need their own territory. If you are going to have five or six African Cichlids, then you will need to build five or six rock tunnels and caves inside the tank.
My Chipokae Cichlid
With my experience, I have found that African Cichlids are very aggressive over territory. Having an extra cave in your tank will really help out the fish who is the weakest in the tank. Unfortunately, there always seems to be a fish in the group that is the weakest and they will need to have an extra hiding place to run. I have also found out that there are different types of Africans available. The majority of African fish are called Cichlids. The Cichlid heads are usually more rounded in shape. The other types are called Peacock with their head being more pointed almost like an arrow. I recommend not mixing Cichlids with Peacocks because they tend not to get along peacefully.
In addition, African Cichlids need to have heated water. The water should be in the 77 degree range. They love to dig and move the rock with their mouths. I always noticed that my setup always changed because the Cichlids always kept rearranging the tank territories. I would have to say that they are the best fish excavators.
Last, feeding is very important when having a successful African setup. Most people like myself start out feeding them way to much. I soon found out that they can definitely dirty a tank with fish waste incredibly fast. I would also not recommend feeding live fish to them. This can greatly enhance bacteria and viral infections. I would always use frozen food or pellets once or twice a day depending on how many fish are in the tank at once.
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[...] and South American fish tank. I converted one of my 55 gallon South American tanks to be an African Cichlids setup. The most important components still include a large tank, filter, and heater. additional [...]
[...] and South American fish tank. I converted one of my 55 gallon South American tanks to be an African Cichlids setup. The main components still include a large tank, filter, and heater. additional setup items [...]
[...] and South American fish tank. I converted one of my 55 gallon South American tanks to be an African Cichlids setup. The primary components still include a large tank, filter, and heater. additional setup [...]