[lovethatcichlid]

hi everyone
new here and would like some advice about some cobalt blue zebras.
this is also my first time with african cichlids, *** had some rams but found they were too fussy about water conditions and i want some hardy fish.
thanks

 

[Timkat4867]

Welcome to Cichlid Forum! First off what size tank do you have?

 

[lovethatcichlid]

its 85 litres.
my filter filters 1050L/h
i'd prefer some cichlids that go well with plants, but i don't mind only rocks.

 

[Timkat4867]

Ok, your tank I think is around 20 - 25 gallons which is really too small for cobalts.

You need a tank size of at least 55 gallons, (200 plus liters) ideally 4 feet wide. Cobalts as well as the majority of african cichlids are aggresive, and require lots of room for territories, so the floor space of the tank is more important than gallon size. Shoot for a tank that is 48 inches wide by 12 to 24 inches front to back.

Cobalts do well in groups of five to seven, having more females than males, ideally 1 male to six females to spread out aggresion. You could add a few more species in the same numbers such as yellow labs, or psuedotropheus acei.

Plants generally dont do well with africans as they tend to eat them, but there are some hardy plants that you can use.

As far as water conditions, just provide clean well filtered water, and regular water changes once every two weeks (depending on the amount of fish in the tank)

Hope this helps!

 

[Timkat4867]

oh and one more thing, plenty of rocks piled high to form caves for the fish, and use a sand substrate.

 

[lovethatcichlid]

ok if i can't put cobalts in there, are there any other cichlids that would fit in?
i can use my 95L tank instead too...

 

[Timkat4867]

Listen I gotta run, but have a look in the library section and you will find an article on "cookie cutter" setups which will give you some setups which would work with a 95 liter tank

cheers mate :thumb:

 

[DJRansome]

95 liters is still really small for Malawi, what are the dimensions of the tank?

 

[lovethatcichlid]

76cm long
26.5cm wide (with polystyrene rock background)
36cm high (no substrate)

adds up to 72L opps...my bad , but the length makes up for it.

 

[DJRansome]

30" x 8"

I'd look at options from Lake Tanganyika. Shellies would work.

 

[lovethatcichlid]

actually the above info is about my '85L' tank :roll:
the 95L tank is:

72cm long
31cm wide
41cm high (no substrate)

sorry if u have to keep converting my measurements!

 

[vahid]

Your tank's length is unadequate. As mentioned before mbunas are aggressive and each male needs its harem and territory. 72cm is 28inches. and the minimum recommended length for mbunas tank is 36 inches 92cm. perhaps you can keep some mbunas alive in that tank but I think you won't see and enjoy their unique social behaviour.

 

[lovethatcichlid]

yep
will look at other types of cichlids than.
thanks for help guys