Should a newbie think about cichlids?

This is a hard question to answer because you don't give any indication of what kind of cichlid you're interested in. Are you thinking of African or South/Central American? Any particular type? Many cichlids wouldn't work in a tank that size, but there are plenty that would. It would probably be hard to keep Lake Malawi cichlids in there (although there may be some that would work--I don't know much about them) and some of the common S./C. American cichlids like Oscars and Jags wouldn't work. On the other hand, cichlids you could consider keeping in a tank that size include Angelfish, convicts, dwarf cichlids, or some of the Tangayikan shell or rock dwellers. Are you interested in any of those?

I can't really give you information from personal experience, but I've done a lot of research on the lake tang shelldwellers and the dwarf cichlids. I'll be ordering some rams soon and maybe getting some apistos (if I can talk my husband into another tank.)

I reccomend http://www.cichlid-forum.com for more research. Once you have a better idea of what you want, it will be easier for people to help you.

the readiness factor really depends on yourself. If you've done lots of reading and research and are fimiliar with the needs of fish and water chemistry and feel you know what's going on with the water, then you could very well be ready. I think the biggest factor with the fish is the PH and hardness of the water, to a certain extent. I have never successfully affected the hardness or PH of my water, I don't know what the deal is. There are cichlids that are very easy to raise and some that are extremely picky. I have naturally hard alkaline water so african cichlids are perfect for my water. If you have soft, neutral to acidic water, south americans would be nice for you. However, many of the fish bought in the stores have never been in their natural habitat and will do just fine in un-natural water being that is what they were born and raised in. I've never kept convicts but it seems they are like cockroaches in that you can't kill them and they multiply even when you don't want them to. A 36 would be a good sized convict tank and their water needs don't seem to matter. Another fish that I personally like and would be good in a 36 is the neolamprologus brichardi. These are a 3-4" (adult) cichlid from lake tanganyika that are considered rock dwellers and they have a unique characteristic when breeding in that the juveniles will actually help raise the next batch of young. They are listed as the "fairy cichlid" on this website if you want to find a picture. More commonly they are called lyretail cichlids, Daffodil's or just Brichardi although there are some other types of fish with the name Brichardi, just make sure they are neolamprologus. Shell dwelling cichlids seem to be fairly easy to raise but wouldn't fully use your 36 bowfront that well in my opinion. Of the shelldwellers, I fell in love with the neolamprologus multifasciatus (multi's) due to their interesting characteristics. I've had mine for around a week now and love viewing them after work. As Msmith said, go find out what ones you like and then find out what those particular fish are like. Kyle

You could go with a pair of South American cichlids in a community tank with a school of tetra of some species. Ram cichlids (german or bolivian) and apistogramma species come to mind as possibilities. Whatever you decide just research as much as you can before you jump.

a firemouth might work, i dont know about a jack dempsey, i think they need 40g but both are really cool. i have a couple cons and i can do anything to them and they wont die, i went away for a week once and did a water change before i went, well i didnt put in the declorination and when i got back they were still alive.

Snakeskinner makes some great points as do most others, IMO if you understnad water cheistry well enough to keep Gourami's and other community fish, you won't have trouble keeping many types of Cichlids, the single most common mistake I hear of with cichlids is overcrowding which leads to a crash course in bio and mechanicle filtration, agressiveness for territory, and eventually the motionless backstroke for something. There are many cichlids that will fit well in a 36, and many that will fill it out in about a month and a half. I personally would reccomend looking at angels (in small quantity) or Rams, I've never kept rams personally but will do so soon. PH and hardness have arbitrary arguments. My observation is that they are not as important as is often said, as long as the fish are acllimated carefully, and the tank is stable. There are exceptions such as Discus and others, but relatively few fish have a huge difficulty in acclimating to new water conditions. Breeding can be another story , as many fish will only be prolific in natural water conditions, but this isn't a set rule either