Fish Question

[honeybee105]

I see a lot of Cichlids in pet stores. They're really beautiful, but I heard they're really mean and agressive. Does that mean you can only have 1 in a tank? What is the minnimum tank size they require (I'm getting a 20 gallon soon) And what type do you reconmend?
                                Thanks!
                                     ~*Katie*~

 

[JWright]

They're are thousands of species of cichlids out there. Some can be very aggressive, some are very docile, some get very big, some stay very small, some are fine in really small tanks (A colony of N. brevis would be fine in a 10), some need _huge_ tanks (B. microlepis would require a tank of 1000+ gallons) . If you name a trait a fish could have, there's probably a chichlid that has it. It all really depends on the particular species you're talking about.

Josh

 

[colesea]

Like Josh said  ;D

There's also the further complication of cichlids from two different sides of the world and many different biotypes.  Just because it is a cichlid doesn't mean it can go with other cichlids. Those fish that are South/Central American Cichlids have totally -different- water chemistry requirements as those from the Rift Valley Lakes of Africa.  Those from the Zarie (aka Congo) River African Cichlids (Kribs for example) have different water chemistry requirement than your Rift Valley Lake African Cichlids.

South American Cichlids -DO NOT- mix with African Cichlids, and this is an important aspect of cichlid keeping that many beginners to the hobby miss. I have seen African Rift Cichlids beat the life out of South American Oscars twice their size. I have heard horror stories of Cichlids being thrown into community tanks and wreaking havoc.  African Cichlids suffer at the water chemistry requirements for SA Cichlids, and vice versa.

If you are seriously interested in Cichlids, you would need to do some serious research. Pick which side of the world you're interested in first, then look though books and find out exactly what the requirements for that fish is, espeically the size that fish would get full grown. Like Josh said, many of them will outgrow a 20 gallon high, some will do it in 6 months. If you want cichlids, I would start saving for that large tank of your dreams.
~~Colesea