Cichlids for 20L Tank?

[jbacker7]

Alright so I'm really starting to become interested in cichlids and I would like to try my luck with them. I have a 20L tank and would like to a keep a school of 5 or 6 fish in there along with 4 cories and 2 cichlids. What kind of cichlids would you guys recommend?

 

[Fuzz16]

so dwarf south american cichlids do great wit other fish and stay small

try a german blue ram
golden blue ram
krib they have albinos too
apisto

do some research and see if any of those are to yo likin

and a school of small tetras would be great
and then i would personally bump up the cories to at least 5, more is better for shoalin...and look into panda cories or pygmy. they stay smaller

also yo could add maybe a dwarf gourami or somethin to add a bit of color


IMHO thats not overstockin but someone else might chime in and say it is

 

[sweetpickles7]

Im going to add bolivian ram and dwarf flag cichlid. Ive kept both with very good success. Are you looking to breed the cichlids or do you just want them for show?

 

[jbacker7]

If they breed that would be fine with me but mostly just because I like to watch them, I think they'd be nice fish to have.

 

[Fuzz16]

bolivians get a bit bigger...i wouldnt do a pair in a 20l

and dwarf cichlids are great, so much personality!

 

[FishGeek]

Yeah the SA Cichlids that were mentioned would be great in the 20G. There are also some smaller Africans like shell dwellers and some others that would work in there too.

 

[SinisterKisses]

Is this a 20 long or a 20 litre? If it's a 20gal long tank, then a pair of bolivians would be fine in it.

Shelldwellers would work in a tank of that size, but not with cories or tetras.

 

[jbacker7]

Yea sorry I didn't specify its a 20 long and I'm going for a SA or CA thing. But what do you guys recommend because I'm kind of confused on the tetra part too. I was thinking red eyes or serpae tetra. And for cichlids I've been looking pretty good at firemouths, bolivian rams, and rainbows. I don't know though, what do you guys think?

 

[jbacker7]

Ok so I think I've decided on my stock....

2 firemouths, 1m and 1f preferably
5 or 6 red eye tetra
5 cory catfish

What do you guys think? Tank is a 20 gallon long.

 

[Cichlid-Man]

I wouldn't. Firemouths can get pretty large and you'd be really cramped with that setup. I'd stick to something a little smaller then the firemouths.

 

[jbacker7]

I've been looking at bolivian rams mostly other than firemouths but they seem like a pretty boring fish...can anyone verify?