75 gallon freshwater set-up for African Cichlids

Question
Hi Karen!

I have recently set up a 75 gallon fresh water tank and have everything up and running quite nicely.  I have 5 jumbo danios in the tank right now setting up the environment.  My goal for this tank is to have a variety of colorful freshwater fish and several people have recommended African Cichlids.  How long should I wait before attempting to add them?  What tips do you have for me?  Could you recommend any other species?  Thanks!

Answer
Hi Keith,
Sounds like a nice setup!

African cichlids are indeed some of the most colorful freshwater fish around. Their only drawback is their aggressive tendencies must be handled carefully. In otherwords, mixing species must be thought out and researched to insure their aggression level is appropriate for one another. And in some species, you must have so many females per male for a reasonable coexistence. The tank must contain LOTS of rockwork provide territorial boundaries and hiding retreats.

But once you research enough about the species of African cichlids you are considering, the tank will be a very beautiful sight. So the key to african cichlids is to be well-planned and well-researched.

A community tank containing fish like tetras, barbs, livebearers, or rainbowfish all together would make for a very interesting display with much variety in shapes, colors, patterns and sizes. Being that your tank is large you can definitely take advantage of much of the available community fish species.

One thing I might recommend is to look into these books-

The Simple guide to freshwater aquariums- by David E. Boruchowitz
In this book (in the far back) it lists many wonderful stocking schemes and ideas for what fish to combine.

101 Best aquarium fish by Kathleen Wood
This book also contains many different groupings of fish and excellent stocking suggestions.

The time to began slowly building your tank population would be when your ammonia and nitrite have dropped to ZERO. This means the good bacteria (biofilter) have taken a well-enough hold to handle fish waste. But still, you must stock it gradual to avoid overwhelming the biofilter and not allowing it a chance to catch up.

I do hope this helps and best of luck!!!
Karen~