MisterGrumbles Posted December 22, 2012 Report Share Posted December 22, 2012 I started with some schooling fish (neon tetras, zebra danios) and a gourami, nothing major. I made a huge switch and got Jack Dempsey's after I upgraded my tank. They were beautiful fish, just too big for the tank. Since removing the JD's, the tank is quite.. empty. I have some small-ish decor. I've got some small faux plants in there as well as a bubbler and some "Zen" type decorations. I have black gravel as substrate currently, but I would like to switch over to sand for Africans. I've also heard building caves (or just some rock work in general) is a good idea. Given those details, I'd like some advice as to what to do to make sure the environment is African cichlid friendly. Thanks community! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urban_Cowboy Posted December 22, 2012 Report Share Posted December 22, 2012 my advice would be get some "gnarly" driftwood as it will come with some hiding spots aka caves and you can find some for reasonable prices just about anywhere. as for rocks i personally love the look of slate and it gives a great contrast to the driftwood again giving even more caves. as for sand i have never tried it with an of my cichlids but i have heard it can be a pain to keep clean i just use small gravel and the fish can move it around as they see fit. one other thing i suggest is dont go for one of the more common types of africans get something you could possibly breed and find new homes for the babies it makes it alot more enjoyable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterGrumbles Posted December 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2012 Yes! Driftwood. Indeed. As for the gravel, I'll just leave it in there for now, I suppose. I have some large slate pieces that I wanna break down to smaller pieces and build little nooks off the driftwood, as you said, as additional caves. Cool man, thanks for that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rejecturself Posted December 22, 2012 Report Share Posted December 22, 2012 My ebjds sand is always red from NLS shits... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterGrumbles Posted December 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2012 Ha. Well, I might still have a look at different colours of sand. Nyg, where did you get your driftwood from? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urban_Cowboy Posted December 22, 2012 Report Share Posted December 22, 2012 i get most of my driftwood from people on here post in equipment section and see if you get any hits.... if not Aquarium Central or Big Al's always have some in stock around 5$ i pound i believe (could be wrong price) which isnt terrible unless you get huge pieces...for fish suggestions i highly recommend red top hongi's i know someone in calagary is breeding them not sure about edmonton they are quite territorial but really cool to watch. if your looking for a more peacefull cichlid go with geo's or victorian lake cichlids i saw some good sized red head geo's at AC for 40 or so dollars each but you never see them around here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rejecturself Posted December 23, 2012 Report Share Posted December 23, 2012 Real, or fake? Real one was from pjs, and the fake ones from petsmart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deano85 Posted December 26, 2012 Report Share Posted December 26, 2012 Driftwood in a african cichlid tank? When deciding on a look for cichlids I always went to cichlid-fourm and you can view hundreds of tanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanganyifan Posted December 27, 2012 Report Share Posted December 27, 2012 (edited) yea cichlid forum is a great resource, for sand ive used aragonite sand as substrate in all my tanks and they love it, good water flow should keep those shits moving towards the filter http://www.cichlid-f..._setup_list.php as u can see this sand still looks pretty clean but theres lots of water movement in there (my old tank in vancouver) Edited December 27, 2012 by Tanganyifan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiroken Posted January 10, 2013 Report Share Posted January 10, 2013 unless I missed it....what size tank do you have? That's key before you even start thinking about what africans to keep. Like recommended, cichlid-forums or youtube african cichlid to get ideas. Not often to see driftwood in african tanks, whatever you like though. Lots of research on the actual fish you are thinking of and if they will mix/get along with each other. The wrong choices and multiple deaths overnight. The most beautiful freshwater fish to keep (through discus in there too) but they can give you trouble if you're not careful or informed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterGrumbles Posted January 11, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2013 I decided against Africans a while ago, but forgot about this post. A few people have said that driftwood usually doesn't go in an African tank, I don't get why. I have seen many a tank with driftwood and Africans. I suppose it's preference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flash_oesc Posted January 17, 2013 Report Share Posted January 17, 2013 I decided against Africans a while ago, but forgot about this post. A few people have said that driftwood usually doesn't go in an African tank, I don't get why. I have seen many a tank with driftwood and Africans. I suppose it's preference. From my understanding, it has to do with PH. Africans like a higher PH, and driftwood naturally lowers the ph, so unless you have a higher ph to start with, you are providing less than ideal conditions for your friends. That being said, I have high ph, and driftwood in my cichlid tank, and my community tank. I like the look, and my ph stays in reasonable range, even with the wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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