As much as we would all want to just throw in every beautiful african at the fish store, keep in mind that several factors may make them incompatable. The improper mix of these fish WILL result in unwanted fishy violence, intestinal problems, and even death. Here's a few suggestions:

1. To decrease agression, you may overstock your fish tank (1.5 inches of fish per gallon). This will limit the fishes ability to claim a territory to defend.

2. Don't put two males of the same species in the same tank, as they may fight. Also avoid mixing male fish of the same color, size, and shape. They may mistakenly think a similar fish as their own species, this can cause agression.

3. Don't mix most Tanganiykan cichlids with Malawi cichlids. Lake Tanganiyka water is very alkaline (pH 8.3- 8.9). Housing them in a Malawi tank may cause health problems due to their higher water hardness requirements.

4. Some cichlids require strict diets. Diets are either vegitarian (herbivore), meat (carnivore) or both (omnivore). Feeding too much protien (meat) to herbavores may result in bloat (dropsy) and other intestinal problems. It is best to select fish who are tolerant to the same diet, this may take a bit of research before your selection. Please try our Cichlid Compatability script for suggestions establishing your community.

5. Make sure your tank is well cycled and buy the fish at the same time. This will allow them to form a "family" instantly and increase your chances of a peaceful integration. Adding one fish to an established African community usually causes a "lets pick on the new kid" situation. If you add a new fish, do a 35% water change and move around the landscape first, this will give the fish an equal opportunity for all the fish to re-establish a pecking order.

6. When you buy your first group of fish, try and work out a deal with the LFS to allow you to trade in non - sociable fish for the first week or so. You may have a bully in the tank or a fish who is too introverted.

7. Many Africans can get pretty large. Make sure they will have room to grow (and swim) as adults. Experiencing the intellegence level and loyalty to their owner of adult African Cichlids is the best reward of the care and maintence you provide them throughout their lifecycle. Plan ahead, because you will not want to trade them in when they get too big. Well, of course you can always get another tank!

With African cichlids, surface area is the name of the game. These fish need as much gravel and rock area as possible to feel at home. Taller tanks will limit the number of fish you may house since most swim (and live) at the bottom half of the tank and spend a great deal of time landscaping. If a long tanks allows 1.5 inch of African per gallon, a tall tank would cut that to 1.0 inch of fish per gallon.

Your tank capacity should reflect entirely on the type and number of Cichlids you plan to house. Most wild caught (F0) cichlids require larger tanks 100g + , but store bought Malawi second generation or more (F2 +) will usually thrive in anything larger than a 50g, while shell dwellers and some tanganyikan can be kept in as small as a 25g.

NOTE: F0 cichlids are accustomed to very large territories (thousands times larger than any tank). If you plan to get wild caught africans, it is recommended that you house them in as large of a tank as possible to avoid stress and agression (100g +). Store bought africans may occasionally be first generation from a wild caught family (F1) but depending on the breeder, they are likely to have multiple aquarium raised ancestry (F4+).

Also keep in mind how large your fish will become when they reach adulthood. Not planning ahead may result in having to trade in one or more of your fish at the LFS or getting another tank.

One gallon of water = 8.7lbs. The substrate and rocks depending on tank size and landscape will considerably increase the net weight of a functional aquarium. If you live upstairs most city codes for floor intregity say the living surface must handle a minimum of 40 pounds per square foot. In some cases it may be more advisable to go with a longer, shorter tank to help distribute the weight across the floors support beams. It is not advisable to place a large tank in the middle of the room (away from walls) unless your positive the floor will hold it. Find a good spot, and spend some time and be sure about your location, moving a large tank can be a time consuming and messy chore.

• Flourescent lights have been very popular for the past 20 years or so. These are the best all around bulb for African Cichlids. These lights contain phosphor bits, and when an electrical current is run through the tube, these phosphors heat up and emit visible light. Different mixes of phosphors will give different properties of spectrum and intensity, resulting in different light colors which will enhance the coloration of your fish.

Three main forms of flourecent are "regular output" (RO = around 400 milliamps), "high output" (HO = around 800 milliamps), and "very high output" (VHO = around 1200 milliamps). the bulbs come in many different colors and run very cool, and are inexpensive.

• To simplify what power compact lights are, is to call them flourescent lights on steroids. These powerful and energy-efficient lights are avaliable at a growing number of LFS, and offer a nice alternative to flourescent lighting. If you're looking for high intensity lights, these will give you the best overall bang for your buck.

As far as shallow African Cichlid tanks go (less than 24" tall), its not a great idea to use these lights. They give considerably more light output, which in turn gives you a BRIGHT tank, and will wash out the colors in your fish. On the other hand, these lights are known for their depth penetration, and are certainly advisable for deeper tanks where standard flourescent lights just arent sufficient enough.

• Metal halide lighting offers a beautiful and intensive lighting source for the aquarium. This form of lighting has become popular for the reef or plant enthusiast. They produce a truly "sun like" effect on the water and will create a dancing, rippling reflection of light in the tank (and will also considerably heat up the water).

Definitally not recommended for Cichlids, the intensity will wash out their colors. Great for reefs though!

• Incandescent lighting has been a popular form of aquarium lighting for decades. It is an inexpensive, versatile light source that is used in aquariums both big and small. This lighting offers many colors and bulb strengths but is only useful in certain aquarium applications.

This lighting is ok for African Cichlids, but keep in mind that the spectrum of the bulb is not consistant, bulb life is short, they get very hot, and they are inefficient at high lumen output in deeper aquaria.

There are three different types of filtration that are necessary to keep the water in the aquarium suitable for most cichlids. These are mechanical, biological, and chemical. In Most cases, a single filtration method or device provides multiple types of filtration.

Biological:

Biological filtration usually means that the water needs to flow through colonies of beneficial bacteria. Substrate of some kind will provide a place for this bacteria to cling to. This benificial bacteria converts harmful toxins, ammonia and nitrite, which are created by the fish into a less harmful element, nitrate. To take it a step further, nitrate can be converted into oxygen by introducing plants into the aquarium.

Mechanical:

Mechanical filtration is the means to clear the water of solid matter such as fish waste and uneaten food. This is usually achieved by passing the water through fibre floss or a filter pad which traps particles and not allowing them to return to the aquarium. Undergravel filters are also effective (to a certain point) for straining the water.

Chemical:

Most water contains heavy metals which are toxic to fish. The use of Activated Carbon consistantly or during scheduled maintenence has become a poplular method of ridding the water of toxins as well as removing odor and other unwanted elements.

Undergravel:

Undergravel filters usually consist of plates which are placed under the substrate. Water is sucked down through the gravel which holds beneficial bacteria by airstones or a power head located in or on a lift tube. This method of filtration provides both biological and mechanical filtration. It is not recommended or used by most Cichlid enthusiasts because of the fact that matter trapped below the plates cannot be removed without breaking down the entire tank. This matter will eventually release harmful Nitrite at a pace that the beneficial bacteria cannot keep up the conversion and the resulting poor water quality will stress and kill the fish.

Canister:

Canister filters are extremely effective in providing all three types of filtration and are easy to maintain. These versatile filters are usually placed below the aquarium. Water siphons into the canister and an integrated pump pushes the water through multiple trays of media back into the aquarium. The user can usually choose which media to place into the trays according to their needs. This has become a very popular filtration system for tanks to 150 gallons.

Hang-on:

Most hang on filters are extremely effective for providing all three types of filtration. Water is sucked into a resivoire and then drains through a media cartridge containing Activated Carbon housed with a mechanical medium. These cartridges usually need to be replaced once a month and can usually be found at any LFS. Biological filtration is usually acheived by a "bio wheel" or additional plates designed to hold colonies of benificail bacteria.

Sump:

Sumps prove to be a very effective way to filter water in large aquariums where canister or hang on filters aren't effective. Sumps usually consist of draining the water into a resivoire containing chambers which house necessary media such as "bio-balls", mechanical, and chemical media. The water is then returned to the aquarium with an external pump. It is not uncommon for enthusiasts to use a more natural approach by maintaining plants and shrimp in the resivoire to help condition the water.

Ultra Violet:

UV sterilizers provide a completely different type of filtration and are very useful in maintaining a disease free envirenment. The UV sterilizer houses a bulb which emits a spectrum of light which kills ich, free floating algae, and many harmful bacterias instantly as the water passes through it. This will keep disease from spreading to other fish. A UV sterilizer can be hooked up to the outlet of a canister filter or Sump.