Who Gives A Fish Forums

Just set up my cichlid tank, converted it from a predator tank.
I'm planning to add more fish every week until it's complete.
My rock arrangement used to look way better, but I had to remove the old fish, now it's all over the place.
Will be redoing it in about a week, since I'm moving soon anyway.

nice setup, looks like you've found a good fit. glad to see it's working out, even if the rocks are a bit of a mess for now.

i'm pretty stoked about it. gonna add some red zebras next, then some white ones - still deciding on the exact type, and after that maybe some jewel spots or more yellow labs.

You're making good progress. What's your current stocking like, and what filtration system are you using?

That rock with the red in it at the front is really nice, do you know its name?

that rock at the front was a 9$ find at wal mart, the rest i either picked up from the landscape yard or my local fish store. for filtration, i'm currently using an aquaclear 70, but an upgrade to a canister filter is on the cards when i move. as for the stocking list, i've got 3x Labidochromis Caeruleus, 1x paratilapia polleni, and 1x large plecostomus so far. next on my list is a freshwater snowflake moray eel - no idea what the technical name is, but the one at my LFS is massive and i think it'll go well with my cichlids.

I'm a bit concerned about the eel with Mbuna, double-check the water requirements to make sure they're compatible. Just because the LFS has them together doesn't mean it's a good idea - I've seen some weird combinations at my local store too. As far as I know, Mbuna are best with other Mbuna, maybe certain catfish are okay but that's about it.

Thanks,
Steve

I'll definitely check the compatibility. Saw the eel at a pet store, not a dedicated fish store - they had some at the fish store but different ones. Those ones at the fish store are compatible though, just need to feed them by hand with tongs.

next addition is gonna be white labs, then i'll get some red zebras

photobug wrote: ↑Sun Aug 31, 2025 1:41 pm Just set up my cichlid tank, converted it from a predator tank.
I'm planning to add more fish every week until it's complete.
My rock arrangement used to look way better, but I had to remove the old fish, now it's all over the place.
Will be redoing it in about a week, since I'm moving soon anyway.

I'd avoid mixing Nkhata Bay Labs with the yellow ones, cross breeding and con-specific aggression can be an issue. Zebras should do just fine though. If you're looking for something with a light blue tone, you might want to consider Pseudo. socolofi or maybe Cyno. White Top Hara or Iodotropheus stuartgranti could also work.

Thanks,
Steve