Minimum

[Phantom_Tetra]

What is the minimum size aquarium that you could put Cichlids into?

 

[Cichlid-Man]

All depends on what cichlids.

Give me a pair of rams, convicts, kribs or smaller cichlid and i can keep and breed them in a 10gal. Some can't.

I'd say minimum for Mbuna or any african (Other than krib or Jewel) is 55gal.

 

[JWright]

There are smaller africans, you're looking at 20 gallons for a lot of the Neolamprologus shellies, as well as the Julidochromis genus. That's about it for small Tanganyikans.

As far as Malawians...the only fish I can think of that you could do in a smaller (30 gallons+) tank would be dwarf mbunas (Labidochromis).

Hope this helps,
Josh

 

[Purple]

Even the smallest of shell dwelling Cichlids need a floor space of one sq ft per territory. And they're about an inch long.

I'd have to say 30 galls min - and that will still restrict your choice and numbers severely.

55 and we're opening up a bit - 125 and pick a fish

 

[FroggyFox]

Purple....I believe thats why Cman suggested a 10 for a pair. I think the smallest would be a 10G, but you're extremely limited as to which stock you can put in it.

If you want to do some smaller cichlids but not be limited to shell dwellers etc then a 29 will open things up a lot more. Although to get any of the larger africans you might need a tank up over 100 Gallons.

If you're interested in a specific fish, the responses could be narrowed down a LOT

 

[Cichlidian]

I'd suggest the general rule of the thumb for cichlids as:
Dwarfs (around 3-4") - 10-20 gal
Medium Sized (around 6") - 40 gal or 3 ft long
Giants (around a foot) - 55 gal or 4 ft or more long.

But there are exception. For eg 1 or 2 pairs of angels (6" long) can be had in a 20 gal tank and a Discus (6" long) needs 10 gals of water/fish.

 

[wayne]

I've bred dwarfs in 10's, and also kept 50 plus of them in a 4 foot long tank. The former is the aquarium 'norm', the latter was more biotopically correct. Big tanks are much more forgiving of cichlid 'sins'

 

[TaffyFish]

My piece of string is 4 foot long. I know we all have to start our research somewhere but I think the question needs to be just a little more precise than that.