mbuna tanks

[Richer]

I would be careful if I use sand in a mbuna tank. I had a relatively shallow sand bed in one of my smaller tanks (about 1-2inches deep) and it developed anaerobic spots. Seeing how cichlids will dig into the substrate, that would be potentially bad if they accidently distrub an anaerobic spot, or create one.

-Richer

[martym]

I would stay away from sand as well, for mbuna's anyway. Peacocks wouldn't matter. I tried CC in a old cichlid tank of mine, I found it never did anything to the PH. Had a heck of a time getting the PH to 8.2. I like the filter idea, I can see the constant ciculation helping dissolve the calcium in the corals. Has anyone read the article by Marc _____ can't remember his name or where I saw it about using 1 tbs of baking soda. 1/2 tps of empson salt and 1 tsp of marine salt for 10g of water for Africans? Just wondering if anyone ever tried it. It sounds like a good mix to me after my reef experience. Anyway, thanks for the input. Please keep it coming.

[Richer]

Most mbunas are tank raised. So just make sure your water isn't too different from the LFS, and you should be fine. Mbunas are a pretty hardy fish to begin with. I've only ever lost one because one got into a fight with the dominant one and lost pretty badly.

FW tanks don't need perfect levels in most cases. I've raised tetras in my hardwater and even had them spawn. With my mbunas, I never did any kind of adjusting with the water, and they've already spawned multiple times. Something must be right if they're doing that on a regular basis . If you're worried about your soft water, just chuck a small bag of CC into a filter like was suggested before.

-Richer