Saw some cool fish!

[LostFisher]

First one I liked was a Afican Cichlid, I really liked the light blue color, it was about 1" in length. Second one I found interesting was a German Ram? I think. It has orange and red on its head if I remember correctly. The last one I saw was a Archer fish wich was pretty darn cool also.

Are any of these hardy fish, or more of a expert class fish? Also are they social fish or more solitary?

Thanks

LF

[OrionGirl]

Both are in the cichlid family, so I'll migrate this over there so you'll get a better response.

[scott]

Archer fish is brackish and africans and rams need different water requirements. Pick one of the three as not all will go in the same tank.

[peifc]

African Cichlid needs ph of 7.5 and higher (some can tolerant ph that's lower than 7.5). A Cichlid needs high temperature too. German Ram is from Columbia, New World Cichlid. ph has to be 7.0 or a bit lower (not too low) with temperature of 72 - 80.

Archer is from Asia, I heard. Here is a site about them. Archer can and does mix with Cichlild. I know a guy who has African cichlid with Archer and puffy. However, he said that Archer is sensitive...the person has to be somewhat experience in aquarium to keep them. He feeds his Archer shrimp and insect, especially cricket.

http://elmersaquarium.com/nav/freshwater/index.html

[Deb2]

How long have you been keeping fish? Is your tank cycled? I ask this because neither the rams or archerfish are very hardy. Rams are extremely sensitive fish so they are not for beginners. As mentioned archer fish are brackish fish and also not for beginners but if I'm not mistaken they are less sensitive than rams. Also, in general, rift lake cichlids are not for beginners either. I'm not sure what African you are talking about but it is probably a mbuna from Lake Malawi. Any of these fish would be good choices if you have a little experience though. As already mentioned you can only keep one type in any one tank.

[Kirin Fang]

Yeah, Archer fish are really cool. If I ever set up a brackish tank, I'll definitely get one of them. But, unfortunately, I've never seen any in my area.

[dave76]

I would suggest a CA cichlid as a beginners cichlid. They can be very colorful and can be much more hardy than an african. I must admit peacocks are my favorite in the looks department and I will try a species tank of africans sometime soon. A Jack Dempsey, green terror, or a blue acara are some of the more attractive CA species . They can get quite agressive though and need larger tanks. Personally most people say not to feed live food as they can pass disease. I like to feed my GT night crawlers. Healthy and feeds thier instinct as a predator. I love to watch him eat worms. He tears them apart. Oh yea as a con you will either need extremley strong filtration or have to vacuum your tank frequently as these fish are very messy eaters and also have very large feces. I have a bias opinion. But I love to see my fish eyeballing me trying to figure out if I am going to feed him or not.:D Yes I have a biased opinion. I also advise to raise them from juvi's but that is also a personal preference. I like to raise all my animals from a very young age. It increases the bond you have with them.

[peifc]

Well, not all feeders carry disease, but if you do plan on feeding your fish feeders. it is best raise those feeders yourself. At least you know what and where those feeders come from...the best way to prevent disease transmitting to your cichlids.

I agreed with dave...raising those fish from juvenile. You can watch them grow to adulthood.

Personally, I think if a person has never dealt with aggressive fish before...should start with semi-aggressive or timid cichlid first (if his/her aim is aggressive fish in the future). The person learns how to handle and what he/she can handle. Some people get aggressive fish "first" ended up regretting getting it when they learn aggressiveness isn't their type.

Do a little more research before you made the decision.

[Deb2]

Green terrors and blue acaras are South Americans not Central Americans. Both are good beginner cichlids because they are hardy. I don't find green terrors to particularily aggressive either. I have a breeding pair in a tank with a pair of Julidochromis marleri. To make a long story short the julis were culls and I thought they would get eaten but they have coexisted in the same tank for almost one year and the julis are breeding and the fry live (the only reason they were culls is that this batch somehow were stunted) and thrive. My green terrors may just be ***** cats but I have heard others say theirs are not as aggressive as they thought they would be.

[dave76]

My mistake about them being CA, and I now see what you mean about them doing well with other fish. I recently aquired a 1.5" female convict. I know they have a rep for being able to fight off other fish, and I have a 10 gal ready for a slight grow out if necessary. So I put the con in with my GT, sometimes it seems to me as if they hang out together, he chased her a little at first, but never did anything if her caught her. They circle each other and shake thier fins. I thought I would have to move her for sure because he beats on my pimelodus pim, but so far he seems to be holding up pretty well with no damage except for a little fin nips here and there. I will prolly have to put the pictus in the 10 gal till I can get a much larger tank.