Interested in cichlids....questions to follow!

[anthoeny]

Hello everyone!

While I have kept Gold&blue rams, as well as Angels, I have never setup a 'Cichlid' tank and would like to give it a try!
Ive researched many kinds so I have the basic idea of what they're all about

I don't really want to have the responsibility of keeping a pH of 8.2 for African cichlids (or to keep the high-maintenance Discus), so I think I'd go with South American cichlids, that can be kept at the pH of my (dechlorinated) tap water ~ neutral.

I can setup a tank anywhere up to 10-20 gallons so I'm thinking that would be the tank size I'm talking about setting up here
What SA cichlids do you suggest I keep in this size tank?(How many of each,etc)

I know I would structure my tank mainly with Rock to divide aggression.....I would like to, but would I plant my cichlid tank? If so, what plants do you recommend?

 

[supahtim]

you'll have to get some pretty strong plants to survive with African Cichlids...

Tim

 

[wayne]

Good luck sir. You will find that S American ciclids you can keep in a 10 to 20 are limited to the so called dwarf cichlids like apistogramma, nannocara and a few others. I would go for a trio or 4 ( 1 male , 2 to 3 females) of one of the Apisot species that are from 'whitewater' or clearwater type waters - these will do well in neutral water. Avoid 'blackwater ' species. The most common you will see from these conditions are A. cacatuoides and aggasizzi, although captive bred borelli are also ok. If you have to special order in (quite likely) you could try and get trifasciata which are really nice, rich blue sheen, plus easy to sell. If you get the other, more common types make sure they're not too inbred. For others look at thekrib.com, or in books like Mayland and Borsch, or Aqualog (which has 10% misidentified). Alternatively google search Apistogramma.
If you can get them Dicrossus filamentosa, checkerboard cichlids are really, really nice but a bit fragile.
Kribs are African but riverine, so have the same requirements as SA. They'd be happier in a 20 than a 10. Ditto lionhead cichlids Steatocranus cassarius(?)

 

[Purple]

Probably not what you want to hear - but in a 20 you could keep a single Geophagus - it would still have to be one of the smaller varieties tho.

You'll need more than rocks to seperate territories in a 20 - so maybe a single (or pair of smaller) fish would be better.

Plants - lol - ermmm........ all mine are plastic (and they still get thrown around the tank)

 

[anthoeny]

How does this sound for a 20g cichlid tank then?

Plastic Plants
Sand substrate
Rocks


(1) Convict cichlid (do not wish to spawn convicts)
What other fish?

 

[anthoeny]

Or, (even better for me to keep an even smaller tank if at ALL possible!!) could I just go with

(1) Convict cichlid
And one more [maintenance?] fish perhaps ?

If possible, that setup would be much easier to accomodate

 

[Avalon]

I don't think you can go any lower in tank size without going dwarf. Convicts can get fairly large. A lone 20g is pushing it for a single convict. I would urge you not to go less than 20g. You might also look into Jewel cichlids.

Not only do these fish (CA cichlids) need their room to swim, but they also produce a lot of waste. Regardless of the amount of filtration you have, you're looking at massive protein and solid waste build-up the filter does not pick up. I don't want to discourage you, but if you could get up to the 30+ gallon range, your options will begin to open up further.

 

[anthoeny]

Hmm

In that case, would it be better to go with a setup like this?
20g
(1) Jewel Cichlid
Other fish suggestion?

 

[blueturq]

you can get a few shelldwellers....... oh wait you don't want african's

a word of caution get either fine gravel or sand as your substrate because aggressive cichlids like to rearrange the tank


P.S. if the ph out of the tap is neutral like you said........ i'm so moving to Newfounland

 

[JWright]

High pH is _very_ easy to maintain, just use crushed coral as your substrate, and don't do any huge water changes.

I like blueturq's idea, shellies can handle small tank sizes reasonably well.

 

[supahtim]

sorry to intrude...but would a couple of shellies fit in a 14g, or would a 20g me minimal? the 14g is the same width and length of a 10g, but taller. thanks

Tim

 

[anthoeny]

Eck.
Been informed that I cannot keep anything as big as a 20 gallon(yes, even though it still isn't that big), only a 10 gallon max.

Still, I would like to keep cichlids (do not wish to spawn the cichlids, and don't want africans/shelldwellers etc)

10 gallon
(1) Convict cichlid (female...stays smaller - how do I sex convicts?)
-Maybe another "maintenance-type" fish? Suggest?-
HOB filter
Sand substrate
Plastic plants


....That will work? Feedback?

Would anyone suggest (probably have to be not to spawn) another Single cichlid (+ a "maintenance fish"?) that I could keep in the 10g setup mentioned instead of the Convict?
In other words , would anyone suggest an alternate stocking plan?

 

[blueturq]

i'm sorry your limited

 

[anthoeny]

Hmm... that doesn't really help, blueturq :S

 

[moricollins]

female convicts have an orange spot on their side (right behind the gills), but i still think that may be too small for even one female, and it will definately attack any other fish in the tank, they are mean mean fish.

 

[anthoeny]

Are/Is there any Other cichlid(s) (not intended to spawn, to be kept at neutral water) that I could keep in the 10g then?

 

[supahtim]

a 10g is way too small for any kind of cichlid.

Tim

 

[anthoeny]

What if I were to go with a 20 gallon (some swindling shall be required heh) ?

....What stocking plans does anyone suggest for cichlids (again, not intended to spawn and to be kept in 7ish pH water)?

 

[TurbineSurgeon]

10 gallon tanks can be a challenge (as you are learning). As Wayne stated, Apistogramma species are a possibility, but probably only 1 pair. Another possibility would be a pair of Kribensis. I know they are African, but can thrive in neutral water. My LFS has a spawning pair in a six gallon Eclipse.

 

[Somonas]

I agree with whoever said a pair of dwarf tanganyikan shelldwellers or a pair of dwarf cichlids for a 10 gallon. for neutral water anything from Central or South america should work. (rams, kribs, apistos)