I just purchased a 55 Gal tank, and my father has a huge bin full of crushed coral/sand substrate that he had in his 150 or so saltwater tank. Of corse I will wash wash wash wash the heck out of it, but can I use it for Freshwater and what kind of fish would you recomend, also would it be better to mix it w/ some gravel or sand. Also what kind of live plants and grass could I use.
55 gal Crushed Coral
- Thread starter Calvert13
- Start date
Yes, you can use it and no, you can't use it - it depends on what kind of fish you want to keep in the tank. However with plants it would most likely be a no-no.
If you have to use the crushed coral, rift lake cichlids. Some pics of fish from both lake malawi and lake taganyika can be found here: http://badmanstropicalfish.com/afcichlids.html
There's also fish available from lake victoria (might want to google that one: "lake victoria cichlids" or similar), however I'm pretty sure lake malwai and lake taganyika cichlids are the most commonly available.
You need to pick all fish from one lake as doing otherwise could easily result in compatibility issues (although it probably could work if you put enough research into it).
I'm not the most knowledgable with these fish, so if you would like to go with them, please post a thread in the cichlid section with the title saying "newbie starting [insert the lake you picked here] cichlid tank, need help" and these questions and any other questions you can think of in the post:
1. What kind and how many fish from [inset the lake you chose here] would you recomend for my tank size (55g)?
2. What should I know about these fish?
3. Any links to some good reasing on these fish?
4. What should I be doing maintenence wise for these fish?
There's also fish available from lake victoria (might want to google that one: "lake victoria cichlids" or similar), however I'm pretty sure lake malwai and lake taganyika cichlids are the most commonly available.
You need to pick all fish from one lake as doing otherwise could easily result in compatibility issues (although it probably could work if you put enough research into it).
I'm not the most knowledgable with these fish, so if you would like to go with them, please post a thread in the cichlid section with the title saying "newbie starting [insert the lake you picked here] cichlid tank, need help" and these questions and any other questions you can think of in the post:
1. What kind and how many fish from [inset the lake you chose here] would you recomend for my tank size (55g)?
2. What should I know about these fish?
3. Any links to some good reasing on these fish?
4. What should I be doing maintenence wise for these fish?
right, crushed coral is great for marine setups because it increases pH. African cichlids (FW) also appreciate high pH and hard water.
. . . . . and the "Rift Lake Salts" for Malawi and Tanganyika are actually only @7-8% salt; the rest consists of various trace minerals and other necessary elements, very different from marine or freshwater aquarium salts.
Using a crushed coral substrate, I wouldn't recomend it. You also need a second tank to raise snails for them to eat and they shouldn't be kept with other fish. Read up on them:
http://www.pufferlist.com/puffer/targetgroup.htm
http://www.pufferlist.com/puffer/freshpuff.php?puffid=5
http://www.pufferlist.com/puffer/freshpuff.php?puffid=19
http://www.pufferlist.com/puffer/targetgroup.htm
http://www.pufferlist.com/puffer/freshpuff.php?puffid=5
http://www.pufferlist.com/puffer/freshpuff.php?puffid=19
What is the most aggressive carnivorus freshwater fish that can be purchased at a fish/specialty store that I can put in a 55 gal. I saw a guy feed a Tiger Oscar a minnow and I loved it, but I heard that they get to big for a 55 gal if I want more than 2 fish. Also if I go w/ Africans from Malawi like haps or peacocks, what other fish are compatable.