african cichlid care

[gillman]

how do you care for mubuna african cichlids?
how do you set up the tank and can you keep them with a red tailed black shark?

[lohachata]

you really should not keep redtail sharks with mbuna...they have different needs....sharks need a lower ph...mbuna need a ph of around 8.4.........lots and lots and lots of rocks piled to the top of the tank..allow algae to grow on all of the rocks so the fish can get proper nutrition...

[gillman]

thank you am unsure about the algea thing should i let it get on the walls or just the rocks

[lohachata]

let it grow on the rocks and the back wall...for mbuna the algae is an important part of their diet.....use crushed coral or dolomite for the substrate...that will maintain the proper PH....

[gillman]

alright can i have a playsand mixed with the cdrushcoral or just the coral. so that also means no algea eaters?

[lohachata]

well...actually you can do whatever you wish...but mbuna are from the rift lakes..the water there is hard and alkaline.....the sharks and algae eaters are from areas with softer more acidic waters...so for me , i just would never mix them....same goes for rift lake fish with plecos...they may survive but somebody is going to suffer...

[gillman]

ok thank you so i should have no other fish other than mubuna because of the ph level but can i have playsand mixed with crush coral. the only reson i am asking is because i learned on youtube that u should have playsand with mubuna because they like to dig and in my tank right now i have playsand.

[Obsidian]

Yes you can mix the play sand and the crushed coral. The fish will be fine with it.