cichlids for a 29 planted?

[koipoloi]

I have a 29g tank that has been setup a while, it has had livebearers, cories and barbs in it but I would be moving those fish to another tank. I have never kept cichlids before. I am thinking of putting some sort of dwarf cichlid in the tank. The tank is planted so I am looking for a cichlid that won't destroy the plants.
Tank parameters are
pH 7.5
gH about 80
kh around 90
Tank is fully cycled and nitrates never get much over 10.

I was thinking possibly Bolivian rams but I think the pH is a bit high for them. Any suggestions?

[jpappy789]

I don't see why bolivians wouldn't work...also consider blue rams, apistos, kribs, etc. Basically any 'dwarf' cichlid.

[jbradt]

I think Bolivians would work too. Pappy pretty much covered the list.

[Haydn24]

Kribensis Cichlids :) They breed easy to ;)

[Haydn24]

Oops, didnt see kribs :/ sorry :P

[Kalen]

Someone mentioned German Blue Rams but in my opinion your ph would be too high for them. Bolivians would be fine within that range though.

[jpappy789]

kept blue rams with a pH of 8.2-8.4 :popcorn:

[toddnbecka]

I have a large brood of oblongum fry growing out now, currently about 1". They thrive in hard, alkaline water and don't eat plants IME. They don't dig around the substrate either, but they will eradicate snails as well as clown loaches. Males max out around 5", females about 3", and my adult pair and fry are in a 29. They're substrate spawners, but after the eggs hatch the female will move the adhesive wigglers onto whatever plants are available (in my tanks that's Najas or java moss) and shift them around among the plants for several days until they're free-swimming. They're very mellow fish, won't really bother anything too large to eat (aside from other oblongum when they're mature.)
Adult male:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v628/toddnbecka/P1030191.jpg

Female:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v628/toddnbecka/P1020799.jpg

This pic shows off the blue and red better:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v628/toddnbecka/17958.jpg

Fry:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v628/toddnbecka/fishroom/P1040460.jpg

[koipoloi]

toddnbecka those fish look great. I will have to do some research on them.
It sounds like they would be a fit for the 29.

[toddnbecka]

They wll fit in a 29, that's what I breed them and then raise the fry with the parents in until they grow too large and need to be moved to other tanks for more growout.

[SkiGal]

I have 2 Bolivian rams in my tank with a pH of 8.4 and they are healthy as can be.

[pjrichar]

get some tomasi sp. butterfly cichlids. they are super cool and stay kinda small,but have some good colors

[koipoloi]

The butterfly cichlids do look cool but I think as soon as I get the last of the fish cleared out of the 29 I will try to get some of the oblongum from toddnbecka. They appeal to me in several different ways. I really like the fact they are are ok with cooler temps. The room they will be in never gets below 72 and is usually at least 75 so I could do away with the heater in the tank. Plus they don't seem to be available from commercial sources therefore maybe if I do end up breeding them I could trade a few to the lfs.
I really like the Bolivian rams too, but no one locally keeps them. Shipping seems the way I will have to go. Around here the only cichlids available for sale are Oscars, Parrots and a few Africans. That is why I never tried them before.

[toddnbecka]

The oblongums are very hardy fish IME. They aren't available commercially at all as far as I know, and haven't been imported for years because nobody knows where to collect them in the wild.

[MoonstruckMuse]

Wow, those oblongums are GORGEOUS.

I was going to stop in and suggest something like keyhole cichlids, but um, I vote for the oblongums. I might have to get a few sometime....

[toddnbecka]

Wow, those oblongums are GORGEOUS.

I was going to stop in and suggest something like keyhole cichlids, but um, I vote for the oblongums. I might have to get a few sometime....
Ya, that's what I thought the first time I saw a pic of one. It was in a breeding thread on cichlid-forum, and I PM'd the guy about getting some juvies. He'd never shipped fish, so I mailed him some breather bags and sold off a group of HRP's that had just matured enough to start spawning to make space for the oblongums.
They have awesome colors and patterns for a cichlid of any size, and with their relatively small adult size and unusually mellow disposition they're tough to beat for a smaller tank. I've housed the adult pair with Malawi and Victorian Hap's, Aulonocara, severums, and assorted non-cichlid species w/out any issues between any of them.
I'll most likely have them available for at least the rest of this year. They're just big enough to ship out Priority Mail now, and the last brood of 50 I grew out didn't move along very quickly until they were mature and starting to pair off. At least half of these will likely be feeders for the Carapo knife, that's what he's here for. I simply don't have enough open tankspace to grow 200 out, even if I could sell that many.

[Taysius]

Wish I had space for some myself. They are beautiful fish. I have a pair of keyholes in my 29g.

[koipoloi]

Hi everyone, The Oblongums arrived today. Thought you all might like a pic. pardon my water spots. :o
http://computx.us/images/oblongum_s.jpg

[CrimsonBlush]

Looking good :)

[eraagne]

How many did you end up getting? Curious because I'm throwing ideas around for my own 29 gallon.

[koipoloi]

I ordered 6. toddnbecka threw in a 7th and the are all doing fine. However once I get a pair I plan to sell/give away the rest. My guess is to keep 2 pairs you would need at least a 55. Mine are starting to color up and act a little "goofy" not sure how long before they pair off but i assume it will be at least a month or 2.

[aj2494]

I got my oblongums from Todd, and I miss them so much. There is a very crappy picture of them in my avatar. Really nice fish.

[koipoloi]

Have to ask what happened to yours? They are neat fish.

[blue2fyre]

I am digging those oblongums quite a bit. I wonder how they would fair in my planted tank. The water is very hard and I have high Ph.

[toddnbecka]

They like planted tanks, the female hangs the adhesive mass of wigglers among the Najas in my tanks. Being cichlids the adults may want to move things around to suit them though. That's one reason I like Najas, they can move it around and reshape it (and they do when they spawn) however they like without doing any harm to the plants.
I've never seen them eat any, unlike the cutteri. I tossed a big wad of Najas into the 55 when I move the cutteri juvies over for growout, and they ate all the leaves off of it. It's still green and alive, but it's just a mass of bare stems now.
The oblongum are great for controlling ramshorn or pond snails IME. They aren't as determined or agile as loaches, but they definitely keep them down to a minimum.

[aj2494]

Koi - I don't have a QT tank, and bought some fish from petsmart. Wiped out the entire tank. I normally don't, but I will never buy fish from a chain store again.