keeping my tanganyika cichlids

[floriks]

I'd say Tropheus species have a crazy high metabolism, they need to be fed high spirulina content food several times a day, like 3 times a day. It's not the hardness of the pellets that's the issue, it's the protein content, so soaking them doesn't really help. These guys are herbivores, they spend all day in the wild scraping algae off rocks, so they need to eat pretty constantly.

[finnleyes]

You're dealing with a mix of Tanganyika and Malawi cichlids, plus some convicts - that's a recipe for disaster down the line if you don't know what you're working with. Those Malawi cichlids, they're herbivores for the most part, can't handle high protein foods. Tangs and convicts, on the other hand, they'll appreciate a meaty snack now and then.

Problem is, fish are greedy, and they'll eat whatever they can get their fins on. I'd seriously consider sticking to one type of fish in the tank - Tanganyikans, maybe. Get rid of the Zebras and convicts, they'll find new homes easy enough. You'll want to get your fish identified, take some photos, get them looked at - you've got a mix of Tanganyikans in there, and they all have different needs. Shell dwellers, julis, frontosas... they all require something different.

And let's be real, a "rift lake cichlid aquarium" usually means you're sticking to cichlids from the same lake. They need that high pH and hard water, which your plecos and rainbow sharks aren't gonna appreciate. Snails will get harassed, clams will starve - it's just not a good mix.

Freshwater clams, they're a whole different story. They need perfect water conditions, and they're prone to starving. Boisterous cichlids will just make it worse. They filter through a ton of water every day, feeding on microscopic organisms and algae... they need huge aquariums to thrive. Your 75-gallon tank just isn't gonna cut it.

And the Tanganyikans, they're not fish you can overstock. 35 is a lot, even for a 75-gallon tank. You're gonna need to prepare to rehome some fish, so the ones you keep can live healthier lives. It all depends on what you've got in the tank, but I'd be prepared for the worst.

Filtration-wise, your aqueon HOB just isn't gonna be enough. You'll need a quality canister filter to run alongside it - cichlids are messy fish, and you've got a lot of them. I've been told even a fluval 406 would barely cut it for a 50-gallon tank.

Decorations-wise, you'll want more rock work, or even shell work. Your zebras and tangs will appreciate caves to dig in. Driftwood can cause pH fluctuations, and that's just asking for trouble.

I'm gonna start feeding them more often with the veggie tabs, daily and nightly, I think that'll help. My LFS said I might've been overfeeding before, and I did have that fungus issue that was eating away at their bodies, but I stopped that and everything's been good since, just steady every other day with an extra day here and there. But now I'm gonna start feeding them daily, with more frequent water changes.

[finnleyes]

I appreciate the help with identifying those fish, I'll try to get some more pics of the others. I'm hoping to get that filter tubing soon so I can set up my new filter system. I had a hunch those might be tropheus moorii, but the colors threw me off. I'm still on the fence about when I can get to the sand and plants, since I'm supposed to be moving around the 1st of September - we'll see how that goes.

My sick bay tank is looking good, I added a cup of salt before work today, figured it might help him heal faster with the meds.

[floriks]

I won a 75-gallon tank a few months ago, and it came with around 40 Cichlids. The setup included the tank itself, some gravel, a Marineland magnum 350 filter, and dual T5 Coflakeife 48" bulbs. However, the show that set it up didn't do it properly, so I've already prepared some sand for the Cichlids, and it's pre-conditioned to minimize pH adjustments. I've lost about 10 fish in the past, but that was a while ago, and I think it was due to improper feeding - I left food pyramids when I went to Kansas for a week, which led to bloat issues.

I've got around 80lbs of sand ready to go in the tank, but I'm waiting for my next paycheck to order some new plants. I'm thinking of getting various Anubias, Java fern, and maybe some Dwarf hairgrass, despite the pH range not being a perfect match - I figure it's worth a shot. I do have a couple of "assorted Cichlids" that look like "red Zebra" from Lake Malawi, and they love digging. I'll also be setting up my Marineland C-360 when I get the plants, and I currently have an Aqueon 75gal hanging filter running. Unfortunately, my Marineland 350 just died - not sure what happened.

As for my current stock, I've got:

- 35+ Tanganyika Cichlids
- 1 Rainbow shark
- 2 "assorted Cichlids" that resemble "red Zebra" (although they're orange and yellow)
- 1 Common Pleco
- 1 Green Spotted pleco
- 2 Convict Cichlid fry (hopefully still alive somewhere)

I was thinking of getting some snails and clams when I had plants, and I saw some clams on Live Aquaria. Any suggestions or ideas would be great - Cichlids are new to me, and I'm really enjoying them, but I still appreciate the variety.

I think it's more about the filtration and overstocking than the feeding issue, to be honest. I need to get one of my canister filters up and running ASAP. But if I'm gonna keep the tropheus, I'll probably need even more filtration than that - maybe another canister filter on top of the hang on back. And yeah, I'll probably have to rehome the mbuna, they just don't seem like a good fit. Same with the plecos, I think the tropheus would appreciate having more algae to graze on.

Those tropheus are all still pretty young, so their colors will probably change a lot as they grow. And I'm pretty sure I've got a few tropheus bushboy in there too, not just the moorii. I'm not sure how they'll get along once they reach sexual maturity, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

[finnleyes]

I won a 75-gallon tank a few months ago, and it came with around 40 Cichlids. The setup included the tank itself, some gravel, a Marineland magnum 350 filter, and dual T5 Coflakeife 48" bulbs. However, the show that set it up didn't do it properly, so I've already prepared some sand for the Cichlids, and it's pre-conditioned to minimize pH adjustments. I've lost about 10 fish in the past, but that was a while ago, and I think it was due to improper feeding - I left food pyramids when I went to Kansas for a week, which led to bloat issues.

I've got around 80lbs of sand ready to go in the tank, but I'm waiting for my next paycheck to order some new plants. I'm thinking of getting various Anubias, Java fern, and maybe some Dwarf hairgrass, despite the pH range not being a perfect match - I figure it's worth a shot. I do have a couple of "assorted Cichlids" that look like "red Zebra" from Lake Malawi, and they love digging. I'll also be setting up my Marineland C-360 when I get the plants, and I currently have an Aqueon 75gal hanging filter running. Unfortunately, my Marineland 350 just died - not sure what happened.

As for my current stock, I've got:

- 35+ Tanganyika Cichlids
- 1 Rainbow shark
- 2 "assorted Cichlids" that resemble "red Zebra" (although they're orange and yellow)
- 1 Common Pleco
- 1 Green Spotted pleco
- 2 Convict Cichlid fry (hopefully still alive somewhere)

I was thinking of getting some snails and clams when I had plants, and I saw some clams on Live Aquaria. Any suggestions or ideas would be great - Cichlids are new to me, and I'm really enjoying them, but I still appreciate the variety.

I'm gonna start feeding them more often, daily/nightly with the tabs. My LFS said I might've been overfeeding, which caused that fungus issue, but I stopped and everything's fine now. I was doing every other day, with an extra day here and there, but I'll start daily feeding with more frequent water changes.

The real issue was probably the huge number of fish in the tank with not enough filtration. I gotta get one of those canister filters up and running ASAP. If I'm gonna keep a tropheus tank, I'll need way more filtration than what I've got now. I might need to rehome the mbuna too, and maybe the plecos to give the tropheus more algae to graze on.

Those tropheus species change color as they grow, and all mine seem to be juveniles. I think I've got a few tropheus bushboy in there, not just moorii. Not sure if they'll get along when they mature or not.

I'll be adding more rock to the tank as time goes on. I'm thinking of going back to that high mountain of lava rock, or maybe ocean rock if I can find some that's not live and not too expensive. I just ordered a new tub for my filter, so hopefully, it ships fast, and I can get it up and running. I'm planning on getting a second canister and running both of them on the tank.

On a side note, I was able to ID my green pleco through the pleco forum - it's a Green Phantom Pleco, Green Pleco, Auric, Citrus spotted Green Pleco - Hemkento4cistrus subviridis.