My tank decore

[WorldNation]

well, i curently have small black gravel in my tank, and i put in laced lava rocks into the tank, the fish seem to love the rocks. wis this set-up alright for an african tank?

i got: 2 kanyi, 2 powder blue zebra, 2 orange zebra, 2 electric yellow, 1 electric blue, 3 venestus, 1 cory cat, 1 pleca, 1 eal looking fish(not sure what it is, has fins though), 1 brichardi, and 2 other africans i havent identified. also, should i boost the ph to 8.2 using a buffer? or is it better to jsut leave it as it is, my current ph is 7.6-7.8

[Overawed]

Sounds like a good setup. I use lace rocks as well. They are a little sharp, so make sure you pick rocks that have duller edges.

[jonah]

Yes, be careful with lava. I have a Cynotilapia afra with just one eye from a scrape with lava when I was still using it. Now I use Texas Holey Rock.

BTW, your cory cat will probably eventually be killed or eaten with those tankmates. I'd trade it in soon.

Your orange zebra's are probably Maylandia estherae (red zebra) and unless your powder blues really are powder blues, they might be Maylandia caillanos (cobalt blues).

You might be able to boost your pH a bit with some crushed coral in a filter or some limestone added to the tank. Those are some of the things I've heard in the past, but I've never had to do it myself. 7.6-7.8 is kind of low, but not so low that I'd worry about it.

[DaCiChLiDMaStEr]

How much (nearest tenth) would crushed coral or limestone raise your ph ?

[SGypsyMermaid]

i guess it raises mine by 1.3 because my water comes out of the tap at 7.0, and the calcareous rocks/substrate maintain it at about 8.3.

[Mbuniac]

The only problems I can see (IMH0) are your Venestus (Venustes?). If you end up with 2 males and 1 female that could be a problem. They get pretty large and territorial when they pair off. Also you didn't say which brichardi you have, but if it is N. pulcher or daffodil(or similar), they are tough little suckers, but the watchword is "little". Give him plenty of places to hide from the larger tankmates.
LOL, Sam

[WorldNation]

i got all that covered, theres tons of caves and such in my tank, and when the venustus get big, i'm only planning on keeping one male. i jsut got 3 to increase my odds of getting a male:)

[Mbuniac]

Well.....In that case I think you should get six :!: When I get my 125 set up I'm gonna keep my 29 running so I can buy a bunch to guarantee that I get what I want. Then I can sell the remainder to the pet store for one third what I payed for them. It makes perfectly good sense to me :mrgreen: I didn't like my son's venustus when he first got them, but when the male matured, I changed my tune. Pretty fish!
LOL, Sam

[WorldNation]

hehehe, they are pretty aren't they?:) hmmm, a second tank for maturing fish....not a bad idea, not a bad idea at all.