African Cichlids
African Cichlids or what we commonly call African Cichlids, are from the great Rift Lakes of Africa. These lakes are Lake Victoria, Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika. Although there are Cichlids from other parts of Africa their water conditions are quite different and they are therefore usually called by their individual names and not considered to be "african cichlids". (an example of this is the Jewel Cichlid which comes from the rivers of west africa.)
The waters of Lakes Victoria, Malawi and Tanganyika are all hard and alkaline with numerous elements dissolved in the water, and although each lake is a little different from the others it is possible to keep all of the fish from these lakes in similar conditions. Temperatures are kept fairly constant around 28C ( 80 F ) and pH around 8.2.
I also add Epson Salt ( magnesium sulfate at a rate of 2 tablespoons per ten gallons of water )and
Commercial Salt Substitute ( Potassium Chloride at the rate of one teaspoon per ten gallons of water ) to the water as well as
Tetra Cichlid Vital ( for its iodine ) to make sure that these fish do not suffer with Bloat and to ensure their eggs are fertile.
Of course you will have to make sure that the fish you wish to keep are compatible with each other first, remembering that they are cichlids and therefore are aggressive. Also that they can attain a good size and have a life span of about 10 or so years.
I do not recommend that you keep any but the so called "fairy Cichlids" in a tank less than 50 gallons capacity. ( 130 gallons would be better )
Below you will find links to the pages of information on some of the African Cichlids species.
Red Zebra
Venustus