Fish Tank In my Room

Question

I'm getting a Cichlid tank in my room

What fish should I get?

What decorations and or plants should I get? (I'd prefer live plants)

What should the ph be?

What temperature should it be?

What food should I buy?

What filter should I use?

What heater should I use?

Any other suggestions?

P.S. 47 gallon tank

Answer 1

If you want a planted tank then you should consider getting Discus, Angelfish, dwarf cichlihd like Rams, kribs, apistos. These will make excellent community tank and have similar care requirements.

Answer 2

First we need more info. The cichlid family is way too big and too diverse to say you want a cichlid tank and we have any idea what your talking about.

What kind of cichlids do you want? Discus, Angels, Africans, Oscars, Rams, etc...

Decor., pH, temp, food depend on the fish.

Filter- Emperor 280

Heater- Any Marineland is good.

I'm assuming its a column tank. If so I would probably go with angels as they will like the deep tank. If you wanted to do live plants you would need a very strong light to reach that deep, or try low light plants         (anubias, java fern, etc..). pH 7.2 or lower. Food, flakes and frozen bloodworms. Temp. 78-80.

Hope I could help.  

Answer 3

if you dont know about fish and it's your first tank, fill it up with water as soon as you get it.   thsi will start the cycling prossess.  

then after about 15 days to a month go out adn buy some comunity fish.   these are basicly like berrors, guppy, sword tail, platties, and mollys.   these fish are extreamly easy to take of and are good starterfish.

they should be kept at a tank temprature of about 68-82.  

get some basic plants i recommend some actual plant life at first to keep the PH of the water down adn it will clean out the water,

then i would switch to plastic plants in about 2 months.  this will keep the algea levels in there down as well.  which means less cleaning and healthy fish.

they need tropical fish food.   tetra of course

the heater depends on what ever size tank you have and same with the filter.  

i would ask your local pet store about this.  and see what is right for you

good luck adn any other Q's dont hesitate to email me:

[e-mail]

~Ashley

Answer 4

ok

1.Dwarf cichlids, the tank is to small to house the larger varieties unless you plan to upgrade later. for a 47 gallon tank...

-a pair of kribensis.They rarley get larger than 4 inches, and if given a small clay pot of other sort of cave, they will breed. They protect there young, and it is quite fun to watch! Once the fry are large enough, they can be sold to local fish stores, and the kribs will spawn again!=)

-Bolivian rams! About 3-4 will be good, and they add A LOT of color to ANY tank! They get about 4-5 inches long. They may try and take a few krib babies as a meal tjo, but the parents will due pretty good at protecting them!

- maybe 2-3 banded dwarf cichlids, they get about 3 inches and look REALLY COOL!!!

-and last, 3 blue sky dwarf cichlids.

2. With dwarf cichlids, plants are preferred! I love anibus. It is kinda expensive, but you don't have to buy much, cuz it grows like CRAZY! Maybe a few swordtail plants also.

3.ph should be between 5.5 and 6.8, kinda low.

4. The tamp should be around 80F a little lower or higher won't hurt.

5. Buy food marked for tropical fish, not dwarf cichlids, dwarfs are omnivors while african cichlids are carnivors.

6. A filter made for a 55 gallon tank should due. It would be hard finding one for a 47 gallon tank. This is a good one- http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.js...

7.Use a heater for a 50 gallon aquarium. Here is a good heater- http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.js...

One of the modles heats 40-60 gallons, perfect for you!=)

8.Have fun! Cichlids, dwarf or not are one of the most colorful and fun freshwater fish there is!