10 Best Aquarium Sand For Cichlids

Best Aquarium Sand For Cichlids in 2023

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African Cichlids: 7 Tips for Setting Up Your Tank

While there are many things you should consider when setting up an African cichlid tank, these 7 tips will point you in the right direction to ensuring you have happy and healthy cichlids.

1. Always get a large enough tank that gives your fish plenty of room to swim around, and create "lairs." A 55 gallon tank should be the minimum, although it is possible to set up a successful 30 gallon cichlid tank. Cichlids are notorious for digging out places to hide, which they will defend from the other fish in the tank. For this reason, it is better keep them in a long tank, instead of a deep one. This gives you more room to decorate the tank, and the fish have more room to create and defend a lair. The "one-inch of fish per gallon of water" rule is not recommended with cichlids. They tend to grow pretty large, some even up to 12 inches or larger, and many are very aggressive. In a 55 gallon tank, expect to have around 5 to 8 fish max, depending on their size, temperament, and the number of possible hiding places they have.

2. Do not mix African Cichlids with any other kind of fish. Cichlids need a different kind of water temperature and pH than normal aquarium fish, and they are aggressive and will kill the other fish that occupy the tank.

3. Try to acquire cichlids that are all around the same size. Cichlids have a pecking order, and the largest male usually runs the tank. He will pick on the smaller fish often, and eat them if he can. Having all your cichlids around the same size will lessen the chance of any of them getting eaten or picked. They will also be able to defend themselves better.

4. If you are thinking about setting up an African cichlid tank to encourage breeding, try to have one male for every two or three females. And get these fish from different sources to discourage inbreeding. The obvious place to purchase fish is from the pet store, but you do have other options. Try going to your local fish store, attend fish auctions, or check out online fish auctions. These places often specialize in Cichlids, and the quality of the fish is almost always superior to the "fish mill" fish available at your local pet shop.

5. When decorating your tank, skip the live plants and go for plastic. Cichlids love to uproot real plants and chew on them. Save the $30 you were going to spend on live plants and buy fake ones. There are many real-looking fake plants on the market today, and their variety far exceeds the live ones available. Don't forget the little weights they sell to weigh the plants down, as this will save you hours of sticking your hand in the tank to replant them.

6. When choosing gravel, always buy the special substrate for cichlids that raised the pH of the water. It is usually crushed up coral and shells that have buffering capabilities to maintain a higher pH, and save you from having to add chemicals to adjust the pH. There are a lot of arguments about whether to use sand or gravel for African cichlids, but gravel has two important qualities: it is a lot easier to clean, and the fish like to move it around to make hiding places. If you want to add some color to the gravel, since the cichlid substrate is usually white, just mix one or two bags of colored aquarium gravel into it.

7. The most important thing any cichlid owner should do before they add any fish to an aquarium is to research the habits and aggressiveness of the particular kind of cichlid they are considering. Cichlids have varying degrees of aggressiveness, and it is better to keep highly aggressive cichlids with other highly aggressive cichlids, and keep the quieter and less aggressive cichlids with other cichlids of the same temperament. This will reduce stress in your tank, and give all the fish a chance to thrive.

There are a lot of things to consider when starting an African cichlid tank. They require a lot more work and attention than a regular tank, but they are very rewarding. There is nothing better than turning off your lights, turning on the aquarium lights, and just sitting and watching your cichlids interact with each other and their environment. Good luck with your aquatic adventures, may they provide you years of enjoyment.

DuHamel, Douglas

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