African cichlids care is not as difficult as some would have you believe. The fish themselves are very hardy and their, needs once set up, are easily followed. What is even better, their colors are as bright and varied as most salt water specimens.
Once you get the water pH and DH in the correct range and warm the tank to over eighty five degrees you are ready to add your fish as soon as the filtration is in place. The water in your home is not geared for these fish. They need very hard and highly alkaline water and household water must be treated prior to introducing your fish to it. The filtration is very important for the health of your fish. You would do well to install filtration in the bottom of the tank as well as on the exterior of it.
Because there are three different lakes that these fish are taken from and each lake has different water makeup you cannot mix fish from different lakes. That should not be a problem for most aquarium lovers because there are over twelve hundred different species of cichlid to choose from that occupy the lakes and even more species in the surrounding rivers that feed the lakes.
When you decorate your tank be sure to give your fish plenty of rocks and coral. The rocks need to be arranged as a hiding place for the fish. You can also use ceramic flower pots for this purpose. They like to dig so real plants are not a good idea but plastic plants with heavy ceramic bases are perfect for them to dig up and move around.
One of the joys of this fish is that you can over crowd your tank and it is highly recommended that you do. With less space to become territorial about there are far fewer battles over the space. You will want to be careful not to place fish that are of the same size in your tank together because they will fight for dominance. Smaller fish will be safe so long as they are not small enough to eat.
Feeding a cichlid aquarium is easy too. They will eat virtually anything you put in the water. They usually dine on fish flakes but will do well on frozen or live food too. Blood worms and baby brine shrimp are favorites. They need vegetables in their diet also so you can purchase vegetable flakes for them. The flakes come enriched with spirulina and that is very good for them.
The cichlid has been attributed with a personality and recognition skills. They have been said to be able to recognize their owner and crowd the front of the tank begging for food when they are near. That would show them to be an interactive pet that people can enjoy even more.
If you keep the water and filtration correct and feed them properly African cichlids care can be simple. They can be some of the most beautiful fresh water fish you will find anywhere. Their colors are brighter than salt water specimens and a lot less work for the aquarium owner.
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