African Cichlid Tank

Question
i have a 75 gallon tank with 6 young cichlids, anout 1-2 inches each (2 Electric Yellos, 2 yellow tail acies, and 2 redtop cobalts.  they have only been in the tank for a week.  i cycled the tank for 4 weeks befire introducing fish.  how long should i wait to add more fish and what type of cichlids would you recommend.  would like to add some colorful fish.  thanks.

Joe

Answer
Hi Joe

When it comes to African Cichlids, it's best to add them to the tank all at once to minimize aggression between them. When you add these fish to the tank, then add more later, the newbies will likely be bullied by the others. However, since you have already added the first fish and want to add more, the best way to minimize aggression is to rearrange the tank decorations. This will disrupt the territories the others have established.

Before adding any more, test your water parameters for ammonia/nitrite/nitrate. Also your pH should be between 8.0 and 9.0 for Rift Lake Cichlids.

As far as compatibility, the Cichlids you currently have are all from Lake Malawi, so it's best to add other Cichlids from Lake Malawi. Below is a link to Lake Malawi Cichlids.

http://i.ugtz.com/gallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=Lake-Malawi-Fish%26page=1

There are 6 pages of Cichlids on this website. Before buying, make sure you research the ones you want to make sure they will be similar in size and temperament of the ones you currently have.

Hope this helps, good luck!

Richard