View Full Version : Recommend me a cichlid please
luckydud13
02-09-2009, 3:44 PM
20 gallon long with good filtration. It is going in the bottom slot of my new two tank stand, and on the top there is a tag community. Not looking to make this a planted tank, so no rams and no apisto's. Perhaps some from a different area than tang, or some that cant be kept with other fish, I am thinking brichardi.
Suggestions? Also, no shell dwellers
dirtydawg10
02-09-2009, 3:51 PM
A couple of pairs of brevis would be nice.
luckydud13
02-09-2009, 4:01 PM
No sellies please, going to have a butt ton of multies in my top tank.
Nolapete
02-09-2009, 4:04 PM
Redhump geophagus
Laetacara curviceps
dirtydawg10
02-09-2009, 4:06 PM
Whoops I missed that about the shellies in your first post. You will be pushing the limits of a 20L for a pair of brichardi IMO.
luckydud13
02-09-2009, 4:14 PM
Really? Cichlid forums said that they could go in anything as small as a 15, but a 20 was recommended.
Star_Rider
02-09-2009, 4:36 PM
I believe they recommended 20-35.
that said best to err on the side of caution. ;)
dirtydawg10
02-09-2009, 4:41 PM
I believe they recommended 20-35.
that said best to err on the side of caution. ;)
Agreed. The other reason I say that is because if you have a pair you will most likely have several hundred fry to contend with as well.
luckydud13
02-09-2009, 6:32 PM
Ok think I might go with the fire mouths
jpappy789
02-09-2009, 8:48 PM
FM's will outgrow that size tank, they reach 6-7".
Julidochromis is my suggestion. Or rams/apistos.
luckydud13
02-09-2009, 10:15 PM
LOL, I am also using julies in my tang 29. Is there anything else that I could put in there? I was thinking the mouth broder species, forgot the name. Lexi made a thread about appropriate species for this size and it was on it.
jpappy789
02-09-2009, 11:42 PM
A good chunk of Africans are mouth brooders...species name?
I'd have a trio of apistogrammas myself. You could definitely have other fish - a school of tetras or rasboras or something.
severum mama
02-10-2009, 10:17 AM
I agree. Other than dwarf SA cichlids, you are really limited in what you can keep in a 20. It's pretty much just shelldwellers as far as Africans. I would not recommend keeping brichardi in a 20. I agree with Jpappy that FMs are also not a good idea. Mine is 6.5 inches or so at adult size. I've never kept laetacara curviceps so I can't really comment there, but if you like keyhole cichlids those should work. Supposedly they are pretty easy to breed.
luckydud13
02-10-2009, 3:53 PM
Keyholes sound cool, I'll check those out too.
milw217
02-13-2009, 10:44 AM
I know it's an African, but i'm not sure if it's a sellie or any of that. Not sure what that means....but I have a tropheus duboisi that I think is awesome. He gets along well with my other Africans and my rainbow shark. Actually, none of them bother each other and the tropheus is always hanging out by the front glass.
jpappy789
02-13-2009, 5:11 PM
Tropheus prefer to be in large colonies, thus need larger tanks. Even a single one would be cramped in 20 gallons...
severum mama
02-13-2009, 11:52 PM
Tropheus prefer to be in large colonies, thus need larger tanks. Even a single one would be cramped in 20 gallons...
I could not agree more. I thought about keeping a colony in a 55 gallon species tank, but decided after further research that even a 55 would be too small. These fish are extremely active swimmers. ;)