Tank Setup

The most important thing is to understand the requirements of the fish you want to keep. In the case of West African Cichlids, clean water with a relatively high pH is essential. You want the water to be alkaline, with a pH of around 8 or 8.5. This is a fairly high pH level, but it is representative of the water found in Lake Malawi (and Lake Tanganyika). There is little organic material in those lakes, i.e., not much plant life, so the water does not get very acidic. This is in contrast to the South American Cichlids, such as Discus that are used to a good deal of vegetation and the resulting acidity.

I am fortunate to live in Manhattan where the water comes out of the tap at a pH of about 8.5. I don’t have to do much to provide good water for my Africans. If you live elsewhere, you will probably have to raise the pH of the water you have. One way to do this fairly easily is to use crushed coral in your tank rather than conventional gravel. The lime in the coral naturally raises the pH. Also, you will not want to have plants or wood in your tank. Generally speaking, African Cichlids are used to a lot of rock. It is like their native environment, it does not lower the pH, and (this is important!) it provides them with caves in which to hide and/or breed. You will also need to add certain chemicals and salts which are found in the lakes. Specifically, I put in approximately one teaspoon of Kent AF Cichlid Buffer per 15 gallons and one teaspoon of Kent AF Cichlid Chemistry per 10 gallons.

When you first set up your tank, resist the impulse to buy fish right away. You have to set up the tank with water and filtration and let it do what is known as cycling. This is a two week process usually, in which the water loses any ammonia, nitrogen and nitrate present. These substances are lethal to Cichlids, but fortunately “good” bacteria will become established in your filter and remove these substances within the two week cycling period. Thereafter, check the levels every month or two to make sure that none of these chemicals are present.

Regarding filtration, there are many methods available. I like an external canister filter that sits under the tank. My experience has been that Eheim makes the best filters of this type. They may cost a little more, but I believe they more than make up for it in convenience and reliability.

You always should get the largest possible tank you can afford and fit in your home. My favorite tank is a 72 gallon bow front glass tank. I just find the new bow front design to be more interesting than the conventional rectangular shape. When you are trying to think of how many fish to buy, a good rule of thumb is about one inch of fish length per one gallon of aquarium size. Remember to factor in the size your fish are going to grow to in adulthood.