first time ciclid owner

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Rokl33t

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Aug 2, 2004
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well my bro use to work down at petco 5 years ago and he bought a 46 gal dome front tank with stand for dirt cheap (i wonder why ehhh? haha) it had like a mix of malawi, and tangiyka (sorry its late i can't spell) anyways its got to be cleared out of my living room and i asked my pops if i could jus throw it in my room and he didn't care so all i have to do now is get rid of the (2) 6-7 inch oscars and the (5) 4-6 inch green sevrums...plus the 5 inch reg. pleco and the awesome 6-7 inch high fin pleco....

now i work at petsmart so i can get stuff pretty cheap too....i was really like the brichardis, but i also want some bright colors in the tank, the malawis have the mixture of color, but the tanganyika has that one fish i like that has somewhat dull color hahaha...but anyways thats my mission, to get rid of my fish (and payday cuz im broke haha) anyways maybe if u guys could start this thread with opinions of ur favorite ciclids and maybe pictures

thanks guys and wish me lucck!
 

Orion

Orion

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#3
Feb 10, 2003
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Neo. brichardi are great fish to start out with. Active, fun to watch, breed like crazy and the adults are very strikeing IMO. Neolamprologus leleupi normaly come in bright orange or yellow, and may be along what your looking for in color. Then you could always toss in some Altolamprologus calvus as well. These are just a few ideas, but the brichardi can easily take over a tank once they really start breeding. In your tank I don't think that you could get away with more than a single breeding pair of each. But the calvus would take a LONG time to reach that point.

Some of the shell dwellers are also an option if you think you can gets some at a decent price.

I've yet to see a chaep Tanganyikan at a LFS. Most are teribly expensive. It this is the way you want to go, the best place to get stock is from other breeders and hobbist's. Check local fish clubs, thats always a gold mine.
 

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Rokl33t

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Aug 2, 2004
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thanks guys for the input im on day 3 with my tank set up jus put in some cycle formula and black background here is a pic of my tank....

46 gal bowl front future cichlid tank






suitable for tangs?? should i use more rocks, or should my fish be fine with thtat
and i was wondering is it okay to mix tangs. with malawis?
 

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Rokl33t

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bahaha okay, so another problem i have is that i don't want to deal with plecos and there great talent for pooping all over the place, so i want to get something else that will deal with that, like corys and stuff but i want to no wat bottom feeders are suitable for tangs. and malawis?
 

Orion

Orion

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You can mix cichlids from the two lakes if you understand and are willing to provide the dietary needs for them. Also depends on the teritorial needs of the fish. Most mbuna are not as tied down to teritories where Julies are for example. This can cause come aggresion problems. What fish from the two lakes are you interested in keeping togeather?

Pleco's are overrated poop machines. But I still love them. :) However there are some alternitives. Synodontis cats are first to mind. S. mulitpunctatus and petricola would make good additions to the tank if you can find some. I have 5 multipuntatus in my 75 gallon and they are a very active catfish. Smart too. They learned to feed off of the surface when I feed flake food by swiming upside down right under the surface.

I don't know alot about the cichids from Lake Malawi, so I'm not going to be able to offer much help on species sugestions. However the most popular fish to be kept in a mixed lake tank seem to be the Yellow Labs, and some of the Haps and Peacocks.
 

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Rokl33t

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Aug 2, 2004
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wow still amazed by ur guys' wisdom hahaha thanks for the info, i guess i finnally get to own some cats for the first time, i always wanted them but never had the tank size to keep them in, are they're any cats that stay relativly small? cuz i'm trying to stay away from fish that grow up to 22" cuz i jus got out of the whole 46gal tank with sevrums, oscars, and plecos ahha
 

Cutlass

Cutlass

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May 16, 2003
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2 Oscars, 5 Severums, and 2 Plecos in a 46? Holy crap.

2 or 3 Discus and bottom feeders would be nice in there. Clown Loaches are compatible with Discus water preferences (low pH, higher temps). But ultimately almost any fish can adapt to a certain water condition, as long as you keep it stable. Corys stay small, but I'm partial to Loaches.

If keeping Discus is a bit intimidating, Severums really are a wonderful Cichlid to keep, and very undemanding. If you haven't gotten rid of them already, I would keep 2 of the Severums you already have. Although it doesn't sound like you want to do that.
 

Toam

Toam

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Jul 27, 2005
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I'd agree with cutlass on the clown loaches and discus. I absolutely love the clown loach as a fish, full of character, and if you add the discus, you'll definitely have the colors you wanted since you can pretty much pick any color with the discus.
 

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Rokl33t

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Aug 2, 2004
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okay, so i did more research today, and i learned the following, a lot of tanganyikan tanks are usually single species...is it okay to venture off with a community tang. tank? another question is it okay to keep carnivors or herbavors?
 

straitjacket

straitjacket

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#17
Mar 21, 2004
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Rokl33t said:
okay, so i did more research today, and i learned the following, a lot of tanganyikan tanks are usually single species...is it okay to venture off with a community tang. tank? another question is it okay to keep carnivors or herbavors?
Click to expand...
Tang communities are definately possible. The trick is finding compatible species that you can keep in your given tank space. Neolaps are notorious for their aggression while breeding. They're colonial and fascinating while developing their own little colony, spawning a brood while the previous generations help protect the territory and fry along with the parents.
I currently keep a 40gl Tang community with 5 Lamp. brevis "sunspot", 4 Alto. compressiceps and 4 Neolamp. pulcher. The shellies are adults and breeding, the altos and neolamps are still young and time will tell if the peace lasts.
You don't want to keep aggressive tangs with generally peaceful ones and when looking for compatible inhabitants you want to be sure they meet the same dietary requirements. For example; Tropheus and Petrochromis are strictly herbivorous, keeping them with carnivorous, piscivorous, planktivorous etc. fish that require foods that incude animal proteins would result in poor health of either herbivorous species or carnivorous, piscivorous, planktivorous, etc. species.
Tank space is also an issue. Neolamps such as N. brichrdi will live quite harmoniously as pairs in species tanks as small as 15 gallons. If given more space and tankmates they are likely to dominate most of if not the entire tank despite it's capacity. You'll have to research thoroughly the needs of each species you intend to keep. Compatible mixes are definately out there you just have to take the time to find them. That said a 46gl tank would house a breeding pair of smaller rockdwelling Julidochromis sp. (Juli. transcriptus, Juli. dickfeldi, or Juli. ornatus) with a group of shell dwelling cichlids (Lamp. ocellatus, Lamp. stappersii, Lamp. multifasciatus, Lamp. brevis, Lamp. similis, Lamp. speciosus etc.).
Plecostomus are hardy fish. They don't all come in one size either ;) . Bushy nose plecs, clown plecs and many of the Ancistrus and Peckoltia species are small enough to house in a 46gl tank without worrying about the bioload or of it outgrowing the tank.

From the other lake, Malawi mbuna are esy to keep and breed. Some folks overfilter their tanks and stock heavily to keep aggression levels down while others prefer to keep stocking levels low and keep fish in reasonable numbers and male:female ratios to keep aggression low. In a 46gl I would avoid stocking the tank with random mbuna and stick to 1 or 2 species with 1 or 2 males: 5 or 6 females. Males can be nasty when there aren't enough females to go around. Another option would be to keep an "all male" tank. With no females present there isn't much breeding related aggression to be taken out on tankmates. :D
 

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Rokl33t

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Aug 2, 2004
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wow that was like a lession and a half thanks for the info bro that really helped alot, i'm heading over to the pet store today, gonna look at some fish i might want, i'll be back later with some more questions probably
 

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Rokl33t

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Aug 2, 2004
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okay so i got down a potential fish list here goes....
Altolamprologus Calvus (Ink Fin) 3x
Leleupi 1x maybe 2x
Juli. Marlieri. 1x maybe 2x
total cost in money....roughly $80 - $100

bahahaha anyways those are the fish i want to get and some cory's (maybe)
 

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