The best part of setting up and keeping an African Cichlid Aquarium for me is creating a natural environment for the fish. The most common African Cichlids are the Mbuna (pronounced um-boo-na) that come from the African Rift Lake of Lake Malawi. Visible from space, Lake Malawi is about 354 miles long and about 46 miles wide. The lake is naturally rocky on it’s shores, providing plenty of nooks, crannies, hidey-holes and caves for the cichlids that call it home. When aquascaping your aquarium there are three main ingredients that provide an environment cichlids approve of as well as providing great curb appeal for the viewer. Substrate is the layer of gravel or another material which acts as the “earth” in your aquarium. There are a number of options that you can purchase from your local fish store or big-box pet store, like PetSmart but when aquascaping an African Cichlid Aquarium you want to keep several things in mind. Hardscape is the hard elements of your aquarium. Generally these are the rocks or other solid decorations that you aquascape your aquarium with. African Cichlid tanks should have a very rocky hardscape. Before you hardscape your African Cichlid aquarium, there some things you need to think about. Softscape elements are those that are living, were living or are artificially reproduced. Examples include living plants, driftwood or “fake” plants and wood elements. African Cichlids are hard on living plants, but there are some they won’t destroy. Creating a realistic aquascape using softscape elements for your cichlids takes some thought though. Creating Curb Appeal Once you have your substrate, hardscape and softscape figured out, the next step is to add the hard and soft elements to your aquarium in a way that pleases the eye and provides a good environment for your fish. Just like a flower bed or other landscaping you may have in your front or back yard, placement is key. I’ve found that the most pleasing aquascapes for African Cichlid aquariums is to decorate from the back to the front of the tank. Place the bigger and taller pieces of your hard and soft scape to the back and bring all of the elements down to the substrate level at the front of the tank. Image source: http://www.fishlore.com/fishforum/aquarium-aquascaping/200111-aquascaping-african-cichlids-125g-tank.html
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AuthorHello, my name Edward. CategoriesArchives |