Converting tank from Goldfish to Cichlids
- Thread starter dbdubb
- Start date
Well basically there are 2 categories of "cichlids" as far as he is talking about (this is basically ignoring cichlids that are kept in community tanks like kribs, rams, angels)
1. BIG ones- South american/Central american They are big and mean and need to be kept with other big and mean cichlids (so only from this group) In a 55 you can house 3-5 depending on what we are talking about some species only 1
1. Small ones- Africans Mumba/Haps/Tropheous ok this is where you can have some variety, you can mix and match these pretty well they are easy to house and will generally grow to under 4" they like to be crowded and come in a variety of bright colors, Need to be kept with other fish from the "small ones" group. There are specific species you should not keep.
So are you thinking big ones or small ones? (we will break down details from there)
1. BIG ones- South american/Central american They are big and mean and need to be kept with other big and mean cichlids (so only from this group) In a 55 you can house 3-5 depending on what we are talking about some species only 1
1. Small ones- Africans Mumba/Haps/Tropheous ok this is where you can have some variety, you can mix and match these pretty well they are easy to house and will generally grow to under 4" they like to be crowded and come in a variety of bright colors, Need to be kept with other fish from the "small ones" group. There are specific species you should not keep.
So are you thinking big ones or small ones? (we will break down details from there)
my largest cichlid was about 9 inches long and that was a female venustus. but I've got mainganos and peacocks about 5-6 inches long. they can get a little large but in a 55 u will be fine with a gew larger verieties of africans, u can pretty much never go wrong with red shoulder peacocks and yellow labs for a beginer cichlid. not real agressive, and colorful
Tank Almost Ready....
So my tank has gone through a substantial change and If I could put pictures on here, I would share them to get your thoughts. I still have the goldfish with the Giant Danios just to keep everything in check. I went from pebbles, pots, and rocks to a saltwater look alike with a blue background, off white sand, and some beautiful pieces of coral.
I also went ahead and put a new aquaclear HOB filter with the bio bag (I started fresh here, as mine was 15 years old and sucked up sand during the transition). I shortened up the intake on the new filter housing so its only sitting in the water 4 inches or so. I've also learned not to run the filter until all of the sand settles
The fish are coming out on Thursday night and I'm hoping to venture to my pet store on Friday to pickup the "small" cichlids.
We were at the pet store checking them out over the weekend and it seems like the kinds I'm wanting do ok mixed with the others, as the pet store had 3 or 4 different types per tank. I don't have specific names but I plan on mixing up 6 or 7 different types of cichlids ranging from the ones looking like bumble bees, to electric blue and electric yellow, black and blue spotted, etc.
Hopefully that helps give you guys an idea of what types I'm looking to mix together, please share any input you have. Also how many should I start with and how many should I limit myself to? Am I ok with the aquaclear filter with the bio bag? Is my pleco ok to leave in the tank and what about the chinese bottom feeder?
Thanks for the help!
So my tank has gone through a substantial change and If I could put pictures on here, I would share them to get your thoughts. I still have the goldfish with the Giant Danios just to keep everything in check. I went from pebbles, pots, and rocks to a saltwater look alike with a blue background, off white sand, and some beautiful pieces of coral.
I also went ahead and put a new aquaclear HOB filter with the bio bag (I started fresh here, as mine was 15 years old and sucked up sand during the transition). I shortened up the intake on the new filter housing so its only sitting in the water 4 inches or so. I've also learned not to run the filter until all of the sand settles
The fish are coming out on Thursday night and I'm hoping to venture to my pet store on Friday to pickup the "small" cichlids.
We were at the pet store checking them out over the weekend and it seems like the kinds I'm wanting do ok mixed with the others, as the pet store had 3 or 4 different types per tank. I don't have specific names but I plan on mixing up 6 or 7 different types of cichlids ranging from the ones looking like bumble bees, to electric blue and electric yellow, black and blue spotted, etc.
Hopefully that helps give you guys an idea of what types I'm looking to mix together, please share any input you have. Also how many should I start with and how many should I limit myself to? Am I ok with the aquaclear filter with the bio bag? Is my pleco ok to leave in the tank and what about the chinese bottom feeder?
Thanks for the help!
I got one African chiclid and (s)he is a 10 inch beaut. Always tears up my plants and tips all the decorations over when im not feeding him feeders lol.....One time I got really worried when he ripped about all his scales off trying to wriggle out of a stump he used to fit in...but he recovered pretty well.
Deffinantly messy fish too, so be prepared for weekly water changes/vacuums to keep it looking nice for guests. Welcome to the predatory fish community
Deffinantly messy fish too, so be prepared for weekly water changes/vacuums to keep it looking nice for guests. Welcome to the predatory fish community
so i will assume you are talking about your oscar who is not african....
africans tend to be pretty clean
the coral will help keep the ph up which is good
stay away from kenyi (blue with black bars, males turn yellow) chipoke and aratus
honestly with africans its a learning curve you will likely have some murders in your tank be prepared for that
peacocks are a great starter african but really should be kept with other haps and e yellows as they tend to be wimpy when compared to mumbas I personally love peacocks and am trying to get a male hap/peacock tank up and running now
have fun with it, honestly i may get crucified here but if you swept a net through your avg lfs african tank you could probably easily house whatever you caught in your set up
yes i keep plecos with africans and they all do just fine
africans tend to be pretty clean
the coral will help keep the ph up which is good
stay away from kenyi (blue with black bars, males turn yellow) chipoke and aratus
honestly with africans its a learning curve you will likely have some murders in your tank be prepared for that
peacocks are a great starter african but really should be kept with other haps and e yellows as they tend to be wimpy when compared to mumbas I personally love peacocks and am trying to get a male hap/peacock tank up and running now
have fun with it, honestly i may get crucified here but if you swept a net through your avg lfs african tank you could probably easily house whatever you caught in your set up
yes i keep plecos with africans and they all do just fine