Poll On Better Fish

[FishNMusic]

Whats a better Cichlid For a 20 gallon Long Tank. (To Breed)

Kribensis
Convict
Green Terror
Johanni Mbuna
Electric Yellow Hap
Jaguar
Gold Sevum
Red Devil

[demon_surfer]

out of all of those only

Kribs
convicts and
the electric yellows

could even fit one comfortably in that tank. though they could breed in it too.

[ChilDawg]

I'm going to eliminate a few for breeding in a 20 gallon for you--these are obviously too large to be bred in a 20 gallon:

Green Terror
Jaguar
Gold SevERum
Red Devil

[FishNMusic]

Thank you for your reply i was wondering what would be a better combination for a community tank of cichlids or also or just for breeding.


Thanks Again

[FishNMusic]

What about Just a couple of Gold Sevums In a 20 gallon tank would that work?

[demon_surfer]

a few africans from Lake Malawi could live reasonably comfortably in that tank for a while. and lake tanganika shell dwellers could for life. A couple of convits could live in a 20 galloner happily for life i THINK..though one on its own may be better. Kribs i dont know much about but they do stay small but you may be able to make a community of them...if so you would want a few females and one male.

[FishNMusic]

Isn't the Johanni From the same region as the others like the Electric yellow and krib? Whould he be comfortable in the same tank with the Others i just listed?

[ChilDawg]

Let's talk about the size of the tank. I realize that you have called it a 20 gallon, but there are multiple 20 gallon dimensions, so we'd need to know some exact numbers in order to go further.

[FishNMusic]

and here is its dimentions

36x13x16

[ChilDawg]

My bad, I didn't see the 20 gallon long in the top. That was what I needed to know.

You can somewhat reasonably stock a 20 long as if it were a 29 standard, but that needs to be modified a little bit...the pollution levels of the Cichlids would be the same, they'd just get the 29g surface area for aeration.

I would think that you could stock it like a 25 gallon for Cichlids, but I would have to have someone confirm it, as I'm now delving deep into the realm of theory.

Someone else will hopefully be able to run with that.

Matthew

[demon_surfer]

I say get a whole bunch of shells and throw some shell dwellers in =) they are only supposed to get about 2 inchs long maximum so you could have a number of them in the tank

[Slappy*McFish]

The Kribs or Cons are your best bets for that size tank..the electric yellows might be fine too, but most African lake cichlids would do better in a 40 breeder or a 50 gallon tank. The other fish are completely out of the question.

[ChilDawg]

Funny, demon_surfer, sounds like the kind of advice that I would give...here are some links:

http://www.cichlidrecipe.com/shellweb/

http://www.cichlidae.com/tanks/t016.html

http://www.aquariacentral.com/artic...ldwellers.shtml

http://www.nature.com/nsu/000803/000803-1.html
(That one is actually just interesting, but it gives you an idea of the dynamics of social interaction between the shellies.)

http://www.tanganyikan-cichlids.co.uk/Articles.htm
(This is just an all-around good site with regard to Tanganyikan Cichlids...it's worth a read!)

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articl...ller_corner.php
(Again, a site with many good articles within it about your shellies.)

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/n_brevis.php
(A species-specific one written by our own Jayhawk.)

[cichlidgirl57]

I think kribs would be the way to go. Beautiful fish!;)

[demon_surfer]

im not plagarising omg how dare you even suggest im copying you *sweat*:D :D :D

[ChilDawg]

Originally posted by demon_surfer
im not plagarising omg how dare you even suggest im copying you *sweat*:D :D :D

No suggestion of that...:)

Great minds think alike...right?

[stik6shift98]

go with convicts or kribs

[FishNMusic]

Ok it sounds like the best bet Would be the Convicts, kribs and possibly The Electric Yellow Haps. And someone said to throw in shells for these fish but i heard they like rocky areas and How about Johannies? would They Work? Also I never really stocked a chilid tank I only kept one species in a tank So could anyone give me a count of each fish for a 20 Gallon long Or a regular 29 Gallon

[FishNMusic]

Arent Kribs and Convicts, and Haps All Love Rocks, Right. But I was told they are shell dwellers what is the Truth

[ChilDawg]

Shellies are completely different from those fish listed above.

[FishNMusic]

What Should I do?

1.Should I Keep The rocks and add no Shells.
2.Take out all the rocks and add shells.
3.Keep the rocks and and shells. (little,some, a lot)

[scott]

Aren't those dimensions 33 gallons? When I built a stand for my twenty L it measured thirty inches if I remember correctly and LWH/231= approximately 33?

[ChilDawg]

You'd be right, scott...that changes the dynamic of this discussion quite a bit, now, doesn't it?

[scott]

I think it does, it gives you a lot more territory, well, comparitively.

[FishNMusic]

Your right thats a thirty gallon here is the Dimentions

30x12x12

[FishNMusic]

I decided To Go with a twenty Long. And i decide to go with the three everyone picked. And i was wondering what to do with my Trio of kribs in my Ten Gallon tank could Anyone tell me which is the best to do?


Thank you



*** Thank You to everyone who is helpping Me

[FishNMusic]

From one of my three options.

Or if they are all wrong Can someone tell me the right thing



Thank You

[Cloud-9]

It seems like your tank is bigger than you thought, FishNMusic. That does change the discussion a little bit. But that still eliminates the Jaguar Cichlid. A mating pair of Jaguars will need more room than that. It can be done simply because cichlids can mate before they're fully mature. This is only short-term confinement though.

You might be able to pull it off with Green Terrors. You certainly can't have a pair of GTs and a community of other fishes in there with them. Just the two would be pushing it.

I believe you can probably house two dempseys in a 36" tank. I kept one in a 48" tank, along with an orange pike and a buttikoferi once. The pike and tilapia were not fully grown, but even so, they were big fish and there was plenty of room. You might be able to pull it off in 36" 30 gal.

Take your tap water into consideration for breeding purposes. That might make the choice for you. Cichlids can live happily in a wide range of ph and hardness, but they may not breed unless those values are close to ideal. If you live where the water is hard and alkaline, go with the Rift Lake cichlids. If you are lucky enough to live where the water has little hardness, then you can go with the south americans. Or you can do what I do and use reverse osmosis to top off the tanks even though I do not breed.

[scott]

Okay, first do not get any large CA/SA cichlid, or African for that matter. No Tilapia (will kill everything in a ninety let alone...), no GT, no Jaguar nothing like that. Check out Lake Tanganyika with some of those lakes Childawg gave you. Some shellies with maybe Julidochromis dickfeldi (only keep one dickfeldi) or some Pelvicachromis Dehane or Nyetc, or maybe Julidochromis Transcriptus. Trust me and do about fourty five minutes of research on those sites and you will have your answers. If you want to go SA/CA go with dwarves definately. I would say a single Crencichla Compressiceps and some dithers or maybe some rams or apistos. If you go with a larger fish like the cons, although it is totally and completely possible IMHO it does not showcase the true glory of these fish.

[FishNMusic]

Thanks to youand everyone helpping Me again with my Problem. Jacks are cool fish but i think they are at their prime when they are blue so if i could find A blue dempsy ill put it into consideration

Thank you and thanx to all

[scott]

I think we were writing at the same time and I hope you got to read my post. Blue Dempseys are very, well, weak and are not a good starter fish. They are beautiful though.

[FishNMusic]

I am going with the Kribensis, convicts, and Yellow haps. In a 20 long or regular 29. the 29 is going to have a sand gravel mixture with rocks and shells with a... the opposite of and underground filter can't think of name. Now can anyone help me wth the
Temp
Ph
Dh (and what does it Mean)

Is this a good thing or Bad

Can anyone help me with a ten gallon tank that holds a trio of Kribs two females and one male

Okay i will also avoid Blue Jacks since I've been informed that they are weak. Thank You Scott.


Thanx to all

[FishNMusic]

What about Auratus in the tank with those three types of fish. Also in the tank it would rocks and shells for the sish and other helpful ideas.

Thank you

[scott]

Haps need different water from Kribs and Cons. Kribs are from the rainforests of west africa which gives much the same water conditions as the cons, but.....a con will anhilate them in a twenty to thirty gallon tank. Haps are from the rift lakes and need harder water. I would pick one of the three and then ask about temp, ph, and dh(which is degrees hardness and simply a way to measure not the actual scale).

[FishNMusic]

Earlier People Said the Three Haps, cons, and kribs was an okay combination. So what if i went to a 40 breeder with the kribs and cons would that work.

[scott]

Well I certainly could be mistaken, but I am pretty sure, Childawg really knows this stuff better than me. A forty breeder is a better tank though. I'll put it this way I had a con take over a 90 and he was at least four inches smaller than the next fish. If you get an alpha male your screwed. If you get a more docile fish it might work out. I would just stay away from them unless you are willing to dedicate a tank to them, which isn't a bad option either. They will show remarkable behavior.

[ChilDawg]

I said what???

That is not a good combo...I would not have recommended it, I just eliminated the fish that wouldn't work so well.

[scott]

I was refering to the water requirements for the haps, kribs and cons, sorry for the confusion.

[ChilDawg]

Let's all step back and recap this discussion, because there is a lot of confusion here. Will you, FishNMusic, please summarize exactly what you've heard about this, so that we can make sure that misinformation has not been given to you?

[Jayhawk]

If your tank is 36" long, I think you have a 30 gallon long tank. Most 20 longs are 30" by 12" by 12"...at least I'm pretty sure they are (and I'm too lazy to check).

[FishNMusic]

out of all of those only
Kribs
convicts and
the electric yellows

could even fit one comfortably in that tank. though they could breed in it too.

Quote By Demon_surfer

Thats where i got this idea from

Then What fish (cichlid) goes good with a Kribensis?

[scott]

You could put in some rams, clown pleco and some top swimmers like tetras or something. Or you could just leave the kribs and watch their behavior more naturally. I think though, if you still wanted a forty breeder, your best option would be a pair of cons.

[scott]

By the way, I think demonsurfer was suggesting the fish that would fit not implying to mix them all together.

[ChilDawg]

Thanks for explaining that part, FNM, I was confused.

[scott]

Yeah thanks for explaing, I didn't mean to be rude.

[FishNMusic]

Okay I decided to go with Kribensis in A 20 Gallon Long or a Regular 29 Gallon. The Groud Will Be a Mixture Of playsand and Gravel. The Scenery will have rocks and shells. I will have an above ground filter and a heater.

I also want to know what is a compatiable cichlid with a Kribensis

How Auratus DO WITH kRIBS

[ChilDawg]

THey're from different water types. Not so well, I'm afraid.

[FishNMusic]

My Male Kribensis is getting thin whil my one Female is getting chubby is This normal the male is also losin his color and that he has a cloudy eye and that Can I save him some how or is he doomed. He is in a breeder net so he gets direct food. He does not eat, and i can see his spine clearly.



Help Me Quick

[demon_surfer]

Hi again, Im sorry i started that confusion. Scott is right, i just meant that out of the fish that you wanted those are the ones that could fit in there, not the ones that could go togehter in there!

FNM i think what you need to do is decide what fish you are going to focus on and then stick with that. you seem to be set on Krib's because you already have them. Im not sure what you can add to those because I dont have any experience with them but we should focus this on what can go with them in their wwater parameters.

On the other hand if you would rather focus on something else then an entirely diffrent combo of fish can be suggested. For example if you would like a tank for the tanganikan shell dwellers we work with that, or maybe the convicts if you would prefer them.

About your ailing Krib, Im not an expert on the illnesses but from second hand info i would hazard a guess and say your male has a parasite of some kind. Or simply is not eating, I have had a couple of fish just stop eating on me recently and im still not sure why. Maybe the female is bullying him away from the food? If you can see his spine it is probably to late to save him though im afraid. Hopefully someone with more experience can come and tell me im totally wrong :(

[jimbo]

Originally posted by FishNMusic
Ok it sounds like the best bet Would be the Convicts, kribs and possibly The Electric Yellow Haps. And someone said to throw in shells for these fish but i heard they like rocky areas and How about Johannies? would They Work? Also I never really stocked a chilid tank I only kept one species in a tank So could anyone give me a count of each fish for a 20 Gallon long Or a regular 29 Gallon
Johannies are pretty much territorial and just as aggressive towards every other fish in the tank when spawning.
1 male with 2 females will do OK(i hope) in either the 20 or 29 gall.
Which means that these are the only fish in your tank.
The same goes for Electric Yellow Lab.(in fact, for all the malawi's).
All in all to my opinion, keeping Malawi's in a 20-gallon (80 lit.) tank is not the greatest idea you can come up with. If you are determined to keep African cichlids from the Rift Lakes but you lack the space (or the money) for anything bigger than that you should spend some time reading first. You can always keep some shell dwellers and create a very impressive (and viable) tank. Keeping an Oscar (Astronotus ocellatus) in such a tank is not even aesthetically acceptable. Melanochromis auratus and Melanochromis chipokae; Besides being really aggressive, the M. chipokae gets quite big, too (males may reach 17 cm SL in a tank). All these species are to be avoided or kept in a big tank(120 gall) with suitable tankmates. Adding them in a small community (mbuna or not) tank will create problems.
Does this answer your question??