# 46 bowfront african stocking options?



## fleescar (Sep 20, 2011)

hi guys im looking to get some african cichilds i was just wondering what you would suggest for a 46 bowfront?


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## adrenaline (Jan 17, 2011)

are you thinking african or central american cichlids?

you have quite a few options to be honest. Are you looking to breed them, do you want species specific tank, a show/display tank?


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## fleescar (Sep 20, 2011)

i was leaning towards africans more but i suppose it doesnt really matter to me i definitely dont want to breed any


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## adrenaline (Jan 17, 2011)

well, one option is to pass by finatics, espcially if you're looking for africans. Talk to Mike, let him know what tank size you are stocking and he'll be able to give you a few options. 

At least that way you'll see what you're getting into (keep in mind most cichlids colour up as they get bigger). but you'll h ave a good idea.

If you aren't planning on breeding, you could do some really nice set ups. one of my first was a male only tank. I had a variety of Mbunas and featherfins. the tank looked really nice.


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## fleescar (Sep 20, 2011)

cool thanks ive been to finatics once before i just live around the corner from it. i like kind of like those demasoni cichlids maybe ill go with them you wouldnt happen to know a good place to buy rocks in scarborough would you? all i can really think of is big als


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## adrenaline (Jan 17, 2011)

for rocks it depends on what you're looking for. you can pick up slate and limestone very cheap from gardening stores, sometimes even home depot.

if you're looking for things like holey rock, lave rock etc, then browse the for sale section here. there's almost always someone selling something. and you'll probably get a much better deal than you would at big als.

Demasoni are nice fish. just make sure you have a good ratio of them to spread aggression. If you go in to see Mike he'll probably give you some better advice too. And he may even have some different rocks and substrates floating around. might be worth stopping by. If you are near him you can check Big Al's Scarborough, or even NAFB (north american fish breeders). they are all within a 10 minute drive of eachother.

Demasoni and yellow labs are probably a very common combo in a tank. they look really nice together. I literally just got rid of my yellow labs (were with my demasoni) and replaced them with some white labs


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## Windowlicka (Mar 5, 2008)

For stocking ideas, have a look at some of the 'cookie-cutter' stocking ideas on Cichlid Forum:
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/cookie_cutter_40g.php'

Take some time to think through some ideas/options, then run them past Mike @ Finatics - he won't stear you wrong, nor sell you incompatible livestock.

Re: Rock - if you're just around the corner from Finatics anyway, then perhaps give Betz Cut Stone a try - they're at 2947 Kennedy (Tel: 416-293-4187) : http://www.betzcutstone.com/contact.php

I bought enough decent-sized pieces of river rock from their place in Newmarket to heavily 'scape a 65G and a 20G (and with a good amount left over) for around $30.


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## fleescar (Sep 20, 2011)

great thanks guys.. have any of you ever used caribsea south seas base rock? i was thinking of getting like 40lbs of that apparently big als sells it but ive found some on jlaquatics its like 74$ but with shipping comes out to around 123$ which seems a bit nuts to me paying that much for some rocks.. but apparently they buffer the ph or something along those lines


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## adrenaline (Jan 17, 2011)

I use carib sea crushed arogonite. it does actually buffer the water. It makes it a bit harder, and supposedly raises the ph a bit. Mines old now, so any buffering would be minimal to none at this point, but I love the substrate.


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## Will (Jul 24, 2008)

I like the Shelldweller plus cyprichromis combo. On fish is a mid-top level schooler and the other a bottom surface dweller. Both groups contain largely peaceful fish.


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