African Chilids

Question
QUESTION: Dear Lynda,
After a few days of extreme heat my African chilids passed on, i removed them from the tank straight away but i left the water in it for a while. I want to get the tank up and running again. I have taken the old water out and given all the rocks and shells a scrub and a rinse with tap water but i don't know what to do with the sand, should i get rid of it and get new stuff or can i clean the old?
Thank you so much for your time. Have a wonderful day
Yvonne Rogers.

ANSWER: Hi Yvonne,
Clean your gravel, you do not have to buy new gravel.  Before adding fish to your set up, check your ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates.  Ammonia should be zero, nitrites zero, and nitrates should be low.  Add fish slowly, do not add them all at once as your nitrites would go up killing off all your fish.  I do not know the size of your tank, so don't know how many fish you can add.  I'm guessing it is a 50 gallon.  If so, add two fish, then wait one week, test your water again, if your chemistry is right, add two more, and so on.  When adding African Cichlids, it is always better to do a 25% water change, and also add something new to your decor, and change your decor around a little.  This is because African Cichlids are very aggressive, and territorial.  When they are too comfortable, it is best to change your decor, so that they will have to find new homes, along with the new fish you put in.  Otherwise, they might attack the newcomers!
Lynda

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you so much for your help, but i have a couple of other questions.

From the dimensions of the tank (91 x 45.5 x 36 cm or 36 x 18 x 14 In) (sorry I'm Australian so i hope these conversions are correct) i think the tank is 40 gallons (150 liters). It used to have 6 shell dweller cichlids (Lamprologus ocellatus). I would like to get some more of these but i would also like to put other species in as well, since they can be aggressive would this work in a tank this size? What other species would suit and how many of each would be best?

Again, thank-you so much for your advice.
Have a wonderful day

Answer
Hi,  
 The only fish I would recommend would be "leptosoma cyprichromis."  However these fish live in groups of 6 or more, and would need a bigger tank.  They are a schooling fish, and  there is no way you could keep two or three in your tank.  They really have to be kept in groups of 6 or more.     The shell dwellers get along with them.   An African Tank should be at least 60 gallons, as the leptosoma cyprichromis" need lots of room to swim, as do most Cichlids.  Apart from this fish, I know of no other from lake Tanganyika that you can put in with shell dwellers.  They are so small, and afraid, they could easily be eaten by other fish.  The Leptosoma Cyprichromis is less aggressive  that other African Cichlids, so there is no danger for the shell dwellers.
Sorry I couldn't bring you more of a choice, but those little shell dwellers should really be kept alone.
Lynda