What mix and what sized tank?

ExtraHannah

ExtraHannah

Learning as fast as I can!
Dec 6, 2009
139
0
16
Central NC
Hey everyone! Well, my father seems to have been hooked on the hobby. Both I and my Dad's girlfriend have tanks and so he's decided he needs at least one as well. He's a total newbie, but also an engineer. So, he's one of those that researches everything to the nth degree and will do whatever is needed to be successful at anything he tackles.

So, at this point he's still in the learning/planning stage. He's thinking about a tank of around 75 gallons, though that will somewhat depend on what he finds on CL. However, there are almost always lots of options there for good prices in our area.

He is also thinking he wants to go with cichlids. I don't know much at all about them, beyond some experience with angels. The numbers of different types are just mind boggling, so I'm not even sure where to start when it comes to helping him research. I know most people will say "the bigger the better" on the tank size, so let's just say 55-75 gallons. I also know he would like to have a mixture of species in his main tank. If he absolutely must have say, 75 gallons plus for a good mix, that would be good to know as well.

So, I was hoping maybe some of you could give suggestions on a possible mixed cichlid stocking? Obviously, the less possibility of aggression the better, since he won't (at least initially) have other tanks to move incompatible fish to. I know fish are individuals and nothing can be guaranteed, but it would be nice if there's at least a good chance of fish coexisting reasonably peacefully. I don't think his initial interest is going to be in breeding. Just a big, colorful, active tank.

Could you share both common and Latin names, numbers of each species, etc.? Also, if individuals can be kept or if you must keep say one male and two females and if it's possible/how to sex them. I know, I don't ask much, do I?? :grinyes: Does a pretty please help? I just thought it would be really nice to be able to give him some stocking lists to start from and then he could research each one further and see what appeals to him.

I'm a newb myself, though his g/f has a bit more experience, so we would like to be able to help him as much as we can.
 
I will throw this out there since it's one of my favorite tanks.

I keep mbuna and a nice mbuna tank stocking would be:

1 male/4 female Acei ( Pseudotropheus acei). Sexiing is difficult but luckily they really don't care that much. 1:4 is just "ideal"
1 male 4 female Rusty cichlid (Iodotropheus sprengerae). Males are usually more colorful.
1 male 4 female Yellow lab (Labidochromis caeruleus) male and female look a like but like the acei they don't care too much about the gender ratio.
If you got the 75 you could add another species. I highly recommend and Afra species (cynotilapi afra). The males are beautiful. Females are usually less colorful. Another option is Pseudotropheus saulosi. Males are blue with black stripes and females are an orange/yellow.
There are many options and the tank would be active and very colorful. The species I listed are generall peaceful for mbuna and should not give you many problems. Just make sure to provide lots of rock so they have hiding places.
 
Start here: http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/index.php. From the drop down menu you can look at various cichlids by locale.
First thing you should do is check your water out of the tap. Is it hard? Soft? If it's hard you should look into Africans or Central Americans, if it is soft look into South Americans.
On an aggression scale, Africans ( especially those from Lake Malawi ), are on the top of the scale, while SA's like Mikrogeophagus ramirezi or Apistogramma sp., Uaru, Severums, Acaras, and Discus are on the low end. There are exceptions to both however. Don't discount all Africans and don't expect all CA/SA cichlids to be mild mannered.
On tank size... bigger is better when you're talking about a 20 gal over a 10 and such. At some point a newcomer might be overwhelmed by maintenance and might stop. A 10 gallon severely limits stocking and can be subject to rapid changes in water parameters. 20 gallons or more is usually fine for newbies.
There are dwarf cichlids ( shelldweller sp, Brevis, multifasciatus, etc... ) that will do fine in a 20 gallon by themselves. At 30 gallons you're up to many possibilities. Your dad should pick a fish that he absolutely has to have and build his stock around that fish's needs.
 
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Thank you so much blue2!! That is exactly what I was looking for and I'm sure it will be a good place for Dad to start. :bowing:

ETA: We were posting at the same time. More great info Afro! Thank you!
 
I've got a 55 gallon tank a friend rescued for me in the trash, setting it up with cichlids, havent picked yet which type. The mbuna sounds intriguing, but I usually have a heavily planted tank. can i mix rocks and plants? are these the type to uproot plants?

what about substrate--mostly rocks or sand/gravel/clay/etc?
 
I appreciate the input so far guys. No one else wants to share the stocking they have that's worked in their cichlids tanks?
 
:popcorn: I remember one of my earlier small tanks (55g) being mostly a S/A theme w/ driftwood, small rocks & river gravel. It was a mix of convicts, firemouth & pleco catfish. Sadly I only have a picture of one tank member. "T"
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What a pretty fish Tony!

Well, we found Dad a tank and picked it up yesterday. It's a nice 55 (only a year and half old) that was used as a cichlid tank before the owner upgraded to an 80. I think it was a pretty good deal and included a nice stand, two Emperor 400 Bio-Wheel filters, red lava rock and some other odds and ends.

So, now he's on to the fun of figuring out how he wants to scape it and starting to plan a stocking list. Yay! I'm going to enjoy watching and helping as it will be so different from anything I've ever done.

Edited for crummy spelling.
 
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