Our Tank Setup

Our Fish History
My wife and I raised, over the course of several years, a community tank that mainly consisted of swordtails, neon tetras, tiger barbs, mollies, guppies, gouramis, and a betta condo with 2 bettas (of course we didn't keep them all at the same time in the same tank).
I was getting tired of the community tank and found out about cichlids. After doing a little research I sold our remaining fish to a local pet store and bought the necessary supplies I needed to start a cichlid tank. Well as you can guess we have a completely different aquarium.

Whats In Our Tank

• Gravel Bed

I used approx. 25 lbs of dolimite. I chose dolimite over crushed coral because dolimite helps to buffer the water and keeps the pH higher for a longer period of time.

• Filtration

The Whisper power filter (A Tetra Product) is one of the newest pieces of equiptment in the tank and is replacing my older Hagen AquaClear 200 power filter. I chose the Whisper because you don't have to disturb the nitrifying bacteria when you change the Bio-Bag.

• The Heater

I use a Visi-Therm 200 WATT submersible heater (by Aquarium Systems). I chose this heater because of its reliability and the fact I don't have to watch the water level as close as when I used a non-submersible heater.

• Decorations

To spruce up the tank I use various sizes of plastic plants and ordinary pieces of slate and porous rock to create caves. Remember Cichlids need places to hide for their security and to get away from other aggressive cichlids. I would suggest to use more rock since it better mimicks the natural cichlid enviroment.

• The Chemicals

• Instant Ocean salt (by Aquariums Systems) - a tablespoon per 10 gal
• NovAqua - take the chlorine out of tap water
• AmQuel - take ammonia out from the break down of the chlorine
• Proper pH 8.2 - Sets the pH to 8.2
• African Cichlid Chemistry(by Kent) - Adds trace elements found in the African Lakes
• Stress Zyme - Adds nitrifying bacteria and helps make new fish less stressed

What kind of cichlids do we currently raise?
As of now we have the following:

• 1 - Melanochromis johanni(yellow)
• 1 - Melanochromis johanni(Electric Blue Johnni)
• 1 - Pseudotropheus lombardoii(Kenyi)
• 1 - Melanochromis auratus

Here are pictures of them.

Please E-mail us if you have any suggestions, questions, or comments