New 10G, Starting Fishless Cycle

[Clurin]

I have set up a new 10 gallon tank and am starting a fishless cycle.

I am wondering if there are any cichlids that would be ok in a 10 gallon (I am quite content with a single or pair)?

I've looked at Rams and Kribensis, and both sound very cool, and don't grow that big (3" and 4" respectively, I believe). Would a pair of either of those be ok?

The tank will also be planted, and I will add any appropriate clay pots/stone caves that are needed.

[~*LuvMyKribs*~]

Hmmm 10 gallon is really pushing it for a pair of cichlids. Ive done a pair of kribs in a 10 gallon before but it was tricky, it needed to be jammed full (and i mean full!) of plants, wood, caves, and hiding places. They will fight from time to time and need to get away from each other.

Maybe a pair of apistogramma?

[mooman]

Apistogrammas work good. Once a male and female bond they get along great, and don't need nearly as much swimming room as the rams. Kribs probably work, but they get a tad larger. The one necesity when keeping any cichlids in a 10g (shell dwellers excluded, some of them are custom made for 10s) is that you must have a place to remove one of the fish to if thier relationship turns sour. This could happen if they spawn. The female may or may not tollerate him once the eggs have hatched, or when a spawn fails the pair can get testy with each other for a few days. Or you may not see this at all. I have a pair of A. panduro in a 10. They are great with each other and really "fill up" the tank.

[Clurin]

Awesome. Thanks for the replies. I have a while to ponder the issue of stocking (my fallback is a betta and a couple cories), as I just set the tank up last night.

Do you have any good sites with information on the fish you mentioned, or the ones I was thinking of? I have checked the species profile here, and did a little google searching, but the sites I am finding are either extremely technical, or repeating the same article in a different format.

[YoFishboy]

This is a cool little site for shell dweller info - http://www.cichlidrecipe.com/shellweb/

[mooman]

www.thekrib.com
www.apistogramma.com