African Cichlid Care Sheet

African Cichlids are active, colourful and make excellent display fish.  They are smaller, and usually brighter then there relatives the American Cichlids.  Maintaining water quality will result in healthy, vibrant fish. They will breed readily, and look fantastic in large schools.

Diet: Feed a combination of quality pellets, veggie flakes and frozen brine shrimp.

Water Quality: Fish obtain nutrients from their food and from the environment. For optimum health, growth and best colours use Seachem brand Cichlid Trace and Cichlid Lake Salt. These contain essentials minerals and trace elements for African cichlids.

Cichlids are very messy and produce a lot of waste, so maintenance is very important. See our fish care sheet.

pH: Ideally pH should be 8.2*. Test pH with a high range test kit.

Stocking Your Tank: African Cichlids are aggressive and territorial. Keep them in a well stocked tank, as there will be less aggression in a school.

African cichlids require large tanks to grow to adult size (sometimes around 25cm). Stock a three foot tank with approximately 15 fish, and a four foot tank with about 20 fish.

Males will display their colours best when partnered with at least two females of the same species. Keeping more than one male of the same species will result in aggression and stress. You will often find that only the dominant male of the species will display full colouration.

New Fish: As you add new fish to the tank, rearrange the rock work or ornaments to break up old territories. This will put your new fish on equal footing to the other fish in your tank.

Breeding: Most African Cichlids are ‘mouth brooders’, which means that the female cichlid will carry eggs and young around in their mouths. Once the babies are too big for the mother to carry, she will spit them out and the young cichlids will usually inhabit rocky crevices and caves within your tank.

*Tanks containing exclusively Tanganyikan Cichlids, such as Frontosa, Leleupi and Tropheus species, will prefer a higher pH of 9.0-9.4.

For more information come in and see one of our Aquarium Specialists.