How To Set Up Cichlid Tank

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Cichlids can be easy to take care of, but they are different from other types of freshwater fish in terms of beliefs and water requirements. How yous set their tank is very important, and this article will prove you how.

1. 1

   Programme ahead. It is non a proficient thought to add fish into your tank the instant you lot cease filling it up with water. In order to be safe for fish, a tank needs time to build up the adept bacteria and establish a natural wheel. Programme on setting upwardly your tank almost a month before adding your fish.

2. 2

   Get a big enough tank. Virtually cichlids grow to be 5 to half-dozen inches (cc centimeters) long, but some tin can grow upwardly to 12 inches (cc centimeters) long. Program on getting a tank that is at least 29 gallons (109.78 liters), although a 50 gallon (189.27 liters) tank would be better. Also, considering cichlids like to hide amongst rocks, a long, low, horizontal tank would be improve than a tall, thin, vertical tank.

   • If you are starting out with a 29 gallon (109.78 liter) tank, you will need to upgrade to a larger tank after about 1 year as the fish grow larger.

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3. iii

   Clean everything using hot water. Rinse your tank, gravel, and rocks under hot h2o. Do not use any lather or detergents. It would be a good idea to clean even store-bought and packaged items, as they unremarkably incorporate dust and traces of chemicals that may exist harmful to your fish.

   • To clean your substrate, identify it in a strainer, and rinse it with hot water until the water runs articulate.

4. iv

   Place the tank in a place that does not go likewise much sunlight. Alive plants don't fare well in cichlid tanks, and so sunlight is non necessary. Besides, too much sunlight will encourage algae growth.

5. 5

   Add the h2o filter and heater. Place the filter and heater in the back so that they will be subconscious by rocks when yous add them in. As well, try to identify the heater well-nigh the water filter. The water current will assist distribute the warmth throughout the tank.^[i]

   • Don't skimp on the filter. Cichlids can create a lot of waste matter. A good quality canister-mode filter would be ideal, even for smaller tanks.
   • Try to get a metal heater instead of a glass one. Cichlids like to move rocks about, which tin easily break a glass heater.

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1. one

   Make full the bottom 2 to three inches (5.08 to twenty centimeters) with a clean substrate. Try to choose pebbles for the substrate. It volition look the most natural. Avoid using fine gravel, every bit it tin can easily by swallowed past larger cichlids.

   • The gravel layer does not have to be even. Consider making it thicker in some parts, and thinner in other.^[2]
   • Consider adding some crushed coral to maintain pH levels. Because crushed coral is very sharp, it might exist better to place the crushed coral into numberless, and keep the bags in the filter.^[3]

2. 2

   Don't worry about plants. Most plants don't handle the high pH levels and difficult water necessary for cichlids. Usually, aquarium hobbyists will use plants to command nitrates. Because of the h2o requirements for a cichlid tank, this is not possible. Instead, hobbyists will command nitrate levels by changing the water regularly.

   • Cichlids may besides uproot or consume the plants.

3. 3

   Choose some make clean rocks with caves, pockets, or holes, and adapt them in your tank. This volition requite your fish some hiding places. To create the nearly natural wait, try to use an odd number of rocks. Don't spend too much time and effort arranging your rocks. Cichlids like to excavate and move things around.

   • Consider including some white limestone rocks to help maintain the proper pH levels.
   • You can even apply pieces of coral or pocket-sized dirt pots. Avoid driftwood, as information technology tin change the water pH and hardness.^[4]
   • To create more depth, consider placing the larger rocks towards the back, and the smaller rocks towards the front.^[5]

4. 4

   Make full the tank with h2o. To keep the h2o from disrupting the substrate too much, consider placing a plate on the substrate first. Use a rubber tube to siphon the water into the tank. Fill the tank until the water level is about 1 inch (2.54 centimeters) away from the top. This volition ensure that your fish become enough oxygen.

   • If y'all use a plate, be certain to accept information technology out when you are washed filling the tank.
   • Exercise not add your fish yet. Make sure to add a tap h2o conditioner.

5. five

   Place the cover on the tank and plug everything in. Don't worry if the water period churns upward the sediments and makes everything cloudy. Things will settle down.

   • Covers are good ideas for any fish tank. Not only practise they help proceed the water clean from grit, but they also prevent fish from jumping out.
   • Because cichlid tanks don't have live plants, bright lights are not necessary. A soft calorie-free, yet, can help bring out the colors of your fish.

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1. 1

   Wait until the tank cycle has established before adding your fish. This can take anywhere from several weeks to a month. Perform a water test every week. When the nitrate and pH levels are appropriate for your fish, you can go to the fish store and buy your fish.^[half-dozen] The specific pH, temperature, and water hardness levels will vary depending on the species and brood of cichlid, but listed below are the nigh common ones:

   • The pH should be betwixt vii.viii and 8.v. Some dwarf cichlids adopt a pH between 6.0 and 6.5.
   • The water hardness should exist between 10 and 15dH. If the area you live in has very soft water, y'all can add some aragonite.
   • The temperature should exist betwixt 72°F and 82°F (22°C-28°C).

2. 2

   Stick with only i species of cichlid. Cichlids tend to be aggressive even towards other species of cichlids. It might be a good idea to simply choose one species and stick with it. The two main species are African and Due south American. There are many unlike breeds inside each species, and it is more often than not safe to mix those.^[7]

3. three

   Purchase cichlids together when they are about the same size. This will aid ensure that they all grow up to exist a similar size. It is non a adept idea to mix pocket-size and large cichlids together. Some of the larger ones may endeavor to bully the smaller ones.

4. iv

   Program on having 2 female cichlids for every male. This volition prevent assailment and fighting among the males. It may too help prevent aggression towards female person cichlids every bit well.

5. five

   Choose tank mates with care. Many fish do not do well in a cichlid tank, partly due to the high pH, acidity, and water hardness required for cichlids to flourish. Another reason many fish do non do well in a cichlid tank is considering of how large and aggressive cichlids tin get. Many hobbyists have witnessed cichlids bullying and even eating smaller fish.^[eight]

6. half-dozen

   Consider calculation a bottom feeder. A snail, such as an apple snail, would be great for keeping the walls of your tank clean. A bottom feeder, such every bit a plecostomus, would exist great for keeping the substrate clean. The plecostomus is an advisable tank mate for a cichlid because it has thick peel and sharp spines.

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Add New Question

• Question

  What should I feed my cichlids?

  

  My cichlid likes flakes, shrimp pellets and algae wafers. The latter being a care for!

• Question

  How do I monitor pH levels?

  

  Buy a pH testing kit from your local fish shop!

• Question

  Are German language bluish rams cichlids?

  

  Aye. They are S American cichlids. They do not practise well with African cichlids, because they are small-scale and timid. Also they need soft water, not hard.

• Question

  What is the best filter and gravel to use? I am setting up a 55 gallon cichlid tank.

  

  Apply Eheim canister filters and pool filter sand. It's fine for the fish to flush through their gills, because it'south rounded.

• Question

  Why practice I need gravel when my cichlid plays with it?

  

  It helps lower stress for the cichlids by making it feel like it is in a more natural surround. They similar it.

• Question

  Can my parrot fish live with a scarlet devil cichlid?

  

  Yes, they tin can live together.

• Question

  Is it true that sand is the best substrate for cichlids?

  

  Aye, sand is ideal. Modest rocks or gravel can be swallowed past your cichlids, causing problems.

• Question

  How can I clear my cloudy tank?

  

  I utilize the MarineLand Magnum internal canister filter with the polishing selection. I just cleared a tank that was very cloudy from sand in a new tank setup using some water clarifier and the polishing canister. Crystal clear in a twenty-four hours's time.

• Question

  Is it bad to have live plants with cichlids?

  

  It's not "bad," simply cichlids try to uproot plants and destroy them, so I don't recommend calculation them to the tank.

• Question

  What does the pH have to be?

  

  Cichlids adopt higher pH, dH and temperatures than other freshwater fish. Parameters of the Cichlid aquarium should include a pH of 7.8 - 8.5.

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• Effort to find African cichlid sand if you accept African cichlids.

• Attempt to go a xx+ gallon (75.71+ liter) aquarium, as most species get bigger.

• If you outset out with a smaller tank and smaller cichlids, plan on upgrading to a larger tank after most a year. The cichlids will abound.

• Keep simply cichlids that have the same size and aforementioned region.

• Stock the tank co-ordinate to the potential size of the cichlids.

• Try to become a metal heater instead of glass because the fish like to motility rocks around and your heater can crack and that tin can crusade problems.

• Use a canister filter. Cichlids produce a lot of waste.

• Use pool filter sand! Cichlids beloved it, and it is non harmful because it'due south round.

• For larger cichlids (especially oscars), exercise not use apple snails. They will tend to eat information technology every bit a function of their nutrition.

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• Be certain to keep Cichlids that are the aforementioned size or they could possibly die.

• Never use whatsoever kind of soap or detergents to clean your tank, rocks, or substrate. Doing then can kill your fish.

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Things You'll Demand

• Aquarium
• Gravel
• Rocks
• Water
• Filter

• Water conditioner

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Commodity Summary Ten

To set up a cichlid tank, start by placing it in an surface area that doesn't get too much sunlight to avoid algae growth. So, install a filter and heater side by side to each other in the dorsum of the tank, then that the filter tin can assist distribute the warm water. Next, fill the bottom of the tank with 2 inches of pebbles and adjust some larger rocks around the tank to give the cichlids hiding places. Finally, fill the tank with water, and run the heater and filter for several weeks, until the pH is betwixt 7.8 and eight.5 to ensure that the h2o is safe for your fish. For tips on how to choose a species of cichlid for your tank, read on!

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