Tank sounds fine.
Malawi cichlids are VERY easy.
They also come from rocky, sandys and muddy based places.
For decoration you can use anything, most tanks look like a messy jumble to
provide enuf seperate territorys.
All your current fish would have to go, sorry
as a first fish try electric yellows
they are the most chilled out.
it gets more aggro from there on.

So yea I'd move accross the old fish and move in some africans
your water sounds fine but maybe consider adding a bit of
shellgrit/marble/limestone/coral to the substrate so the nice high pH stays
that way.





"Marco Schwarz" wrote in message
...
Hi..

I have had my 55gal freshwater tank for about 8 months
now. I have kept various tropicals in it with varying
levels of success.

Hmm..

Currently, I have 5 neon tetras, 3 corys, 2 platy's and 1
female betta.

Okay..

My water is good (no ammonia/nitrite, and currently about
20-30ppm
nitrate).

In my mind no prob..! What's about GH/KH..?

PH is around 7.8 - 8.2.

Hmm.., why is the PH so high..?

Tank is planted with
various artificial plants, and some pieces of driftwood to
create some hiding
spots. Substrate is a 50/50 mix of regular size gravel
and some smaller sized gravel.

What's about life plants, lighting..?

What's regular size gravel..? And what's some smaller sized
gravel..?

Now to my question.
I am interested in getting some cichlids for my aquarium,
particularly
the Malawian variety.

Okay..

Now I realize some (if not all) of
the fish I have currently may not be compatible, which is
fine, I have another home
for them if need be.

Well all of the old fish might be incompatible..!


But I am wondering about the
suitability of the rest of the aquarium setup for Malawian
cichlids.

Me, too..

I understand that Malawian cichlids like a higher pH,
which is no
problem because my pH (and local tap water) have a higher
pH as is.

Okay..

But what about the substrate?

Pool sand - or fine gravel (~0.1")..

I understand that these fish like a sandy substrate. Are
they fine with a substrate like mine, or would I need to
change it to make it suitable for them?

In my mind Sand would be great..!

Regarding plants and decor, I figure I would need to get
some rock like structures to provide hiding
spots/territories for males, but what about
plants? Are the artificial plants okay?

Depending on lighting there were several life plants
available for your tank..

What about the
driftwood?

Real driftwood shouldn't be a prob..

Anyways, some help would be great, as I would love to get
into cichlids, but do not want to jump in if my setup is
not sufficient.

Agreed.., cichlids are great pet fish but there are several
other cichlids beside Malawians..

Ever tried TFA..?
http://groups.google.com/group/The-Freshwater-Aquarium
--
cu
Marco