african cichlid tank rock formations

[littledynam1te]

hey guy im back havent talked to yal ina long time. ihave a 75g cichlid tank and was wondering how often i should change my rock formations right now im only doing it every water change. mostly bc i cant seem to remember where they all go. does it matter how often?

 

[dmanatee]

1. Are you removing all the water from your tank and cleaning the rocks? Hope not.,,,
2. Why are you re-arranging all the rocks? Cichlids are a territorial fresh water species. It is actually better to leave "permanent" cave formations, as the fish residing within the cave will defend their spot. By changing the rock formations continuously, you invite more territorial disagreements and stress.

 

[littledynam1te]

only at wc and mostly bc icant remember where they go

 

[dmanatee]

When you are doing a water change, how much water are you removing from the tank?

 

[littledynam1te]

once a wk... 25%

 

[dmanatee]

I suggest for future water changes not to change the rock structure,it keeps the fish allot more calm. Keeping the rock structure the same keeps the fish's territory's constant.

 

[2quills]

I always thought that the reasoning behind moving your rocks around was to help keep the cichlids from becoming overly territorial since they're so agressive. I would re-arrange a few rocks every once in a while maybe every few months. Nothing too major at any one time. They always seemed to get more active for a period of time afterward as though they had some new areas to explore.

 

[foodshape]

Re-arranging rockwork in a cichlid tank is a technique (among several) that can be used in an attempt to deal with an aggression situation. It can also be used in an attempt to make the introduction of new fish go more smoothly by removing pre-established territorial boundaries. The aggression involved in establishing new territories will be dispersed among all the fish and the new fish will not be specifically targeted. At least that's the thinking - with cichlids your mileage may always vary (sometimes a lot). Otherwise though there normally isn't a reason to re-arrange the rockwork, unless you're tired of it. I have not re-arranged the rocks in my Tropheus tank once in the six years it's been running, though I have removed them and replaced them in the same order a few times just to be able to catch and remove all the juveniles bred in the tank. You can also remove (with or without re-arranging) the rockwork once or twice a year just to vacuum the bottom more thoroughly if you wish. Just be aware that any time you re-arrange the rockwork some squabbling may break out, until the new territories and their owners are established.

 

[2quills]

Acclimating new fish to an established system in my experience was always a little tricky with the african cichlids. Even once a group is established you really have to watch out for the aggression when it comes to the dominant male, especially with the females. They are not always nice. Usually I would make little changes when ever it appeared that he was in the breeding mood. Heck, I came home one day to find that he had chewed every single fin off of his main girl (a beautiful red zerba). They had already spawned 3 beautiful children from two separate hatches together that had made it to adult hood in the same system. That was a dark day indeed.

A lot of local guys will actually overstock their tanks with the cichlids. One of the LFS's in town recommends this a lot. Though I never liked the idea. My buddy has about 4 cichlid tanks still running and does the same thing. I guess the idea there is that with so many fish in the tank it's hard for any one fish to dominate over All. I guess it works to a degree.

 

[foodshape]

Overstocking (depending on what you mean by that) does work, though you have to be committed to doing regular large water changes (50% or more weekly is typical) and have adequate filtration. I've found that as African cichlids get past their prime in years they tend to mellow somewhat, particularly with tankmates they are used to, and can then (maybe) be kept in a more lightly stocked fashion, which makes maintenance easier. Some people go really overboard with overstocking though, or else confuse overstocking with otherwise inappropriate stocking (ie: fish that will get too large or aggressive for the tank, or fish that just aren't a good mix together).