Thinking about a cichlid tank

[kittyhazelton]

Ok, i am going to be upgrading my 55 SW to a 110gal tank. so now I will have a 55 tank at my disposal. I was thinking about turning it into a cichlid tank as I currently have one very active female yellow lab in desperate need of a large home. I have never really done a full-out cichlid setup. The fish I have has always been kept in with non-cichlid species.
I do have a basic idea of what I want to do as far as the setup, something more natural looking almost like a river like setup with plants and logs and plenty of rocky hiding spots. But not quite sure about any really extra special requirments for cichlids. The one I have has been doing quite fine with mix-species of fishes, and has laid eggs multiple times (she's currently carrying a batch in her mouth right now) I wouldn't mind finding a good mate for her either, unfortunately not much for good stock around here.
As far as filtration I was thinking a basic HOB filter meant for a tank larger than the 55.
Though what other kind of fish would be ok with cichlids?

[~*LuvMyKribs*~]

I suggest doing a Malawi-only setup. Your yellow lab will be the happiest if you keep her with other less aggressive malawi cichlids. A 55 gallon tank will be perfect!

Non-cichlid fish you *can* keep with Malawis are synodontis catfish from lake tangynika, plecos, and clown loaches - given then are all acclimatized properly.

Here's a picture of my 90 gallon Malawi setup (not current, the plants have grown lots since this pic, and theres way more fish ;) ):
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v234/dinostar00/Diana_90_1c.jpg

Have a look at this site: http://www.malawimayhem.com if you are truely interested in doing a Malawi setup.

This article is great to help you get started too: http://www.malawimayhem.com/articles_setup_01.shtml

HTH
:)
-Diana

[kittyhazelton]

Nice tank. I really need to get a camera, especially once I get both these tanks set up. My 55 isn't much to look at right now. I plan on have a quite a bit of money in a month or so to spend on fishy stuff. YAY!!!

[FreddytheFish]

Once again, I have to say: ATTACK OF THE DWARF CICHLIDS!!

Alright, I'll stop now. I still think that'd be cool though. Maybe I'll do it for my tank.

LuvMyKribs- great tank.

[kittyhazelton]

I waqnt something not too many do around here
seems like almost everyone i know around here has cichlids. (Hell, even walmart is selling 'em for $3.49ea)

[~*LuvMyKribs*~]

There are endless possibilities since there are SO many cichlids out there.... and theres good reason why they are so popular ;)

If you want to do something original then try to get your hands on a rare or endangered species, and try to breed them to maintain thier populations. Many of the species of Lake Victorian cichlids now only exist in the aquarium hobby, they are extinct in the wild. Its just one option....

But i highly suggest building the tank around a particular species or group of fish (like malawi cichlids) and make the tank suited to them. Dont try and mix a whole bunch of fish together, you'll likely then be keeping a species in there that doesnt suit the conditions.

:)
-Diana

[ashleyruin]

I waqnt something not too many do around here
seems like almost everyone i know around here has cichlids. (Hell, even walmart is selling 'em for $3.49ea)


Never buy fish from walmart.
They are so poorly taken care of, its sad.

<3

[mooman]

Research research research........


But i highly suggest building the tank around a particular species or group of fish (like malawi cichlids) and make the tank suited to them. Dont try and mix a whole bunch of fish together, you'll likely then be keeping a species in there that doesnt suit the conditions

Agreed, IMO not doing the research and combining incompatible species is the #1 mistake that new cichlid keepers make. Fight the urge to have one of everything. A well planned species tank IMO is WAY more interesting than any mixed community you can put together (except maybe a Tanganyikan community)

[M.A.G.]

unless your female lab has overgrown her other tank you can do pretty much anything. if you do put her in the 55g i would do a malawi tank too. at first its tempting to mix up all types of fish but in the end it much more satifying to khave a tank that looks naural and that fits the special needs of a certin group of fish. if you do a malawi tank your aquacaping possibilities are endless. lots of river rock and caves with some logs if you like. you can do plants like anubias that have very tough leave that dont get eaten.check aquariumplants.com under herbivorous plants. you can ask for help as to aquascaping around here . lots of gorgeous tanks around here (looks good luvmykribs)hope this helps

[BrianAW]

hello. i have just found myself with a new 37g tank for my birthday and i went with chiclids. i did the whole riverbed theme(except for my airpump, its a windmill) and it looks great. i have a small jack, an ice-blue zaen, 3 black cons, and a small oscar. i luv my tank and especially my cons. it looks great but i dont sugest putting africans with south-americans because i found out th hard way when my oscar fought a random african to the death(it was quite fun to watch though i feel sorry for the african hes in my medical tank recovering :/ ). just make sure that you have lots of plants and hidding places for any smaller fish.

[~*LuvMyKribs*~]

*bites finger nails*

[mooman]

Brian, let me first say that I'm glad you discovered cichlids early in your career as a hobbiest. I think most people on this forum will agree that they are by far the most interesting family of fish that you can keep. Your intent to breed them also shows that you have a real interest for the natural history of these fish (not something you usually see in someone your age).

With that said, it sounds like your tanks are more than a bit overstocked, and you may be underestimating your fish's territorial requirements. Medium/large cichlids need space to grow and display thier natural behaviors. It sounds like you may have fallen into the trap of wanting to have one of evey cichlid you see, and there's nothing wrong with that, they're facinating fish and all of us at one time or another have stuffed too many incompatable fish in a tank. My first cichlid in middle school was a jack dempsy in a 10g (gulp!) that got moved into a 29g with two oscars (double gulp!). He eventually killed the oscars and then died (probably because I stunted his growth in too small a tank with too few water changes). The point I'm trying to make is that the type of cichlids your're keeping are just not community fish. Many people (even experienced keepers) sometimes treat them as such, but it ALWAYS ends up costing a fish it's life.

I don't want you to think I'm lecturing you, I'm not. What I will do is offer you some advice that took me years to figure out, and once I did really opened my eyes to the wonder of these fish we call cichlids. Keep fewer species, give them more room, and they will reward you with stunning displays of thier natural behaviors. I promise you that this will do more to satisfy your obssesion than keeping "one more cichlid" in an overcrowded tank.

My suggestion (from someone who has been in your shoes) is to pick a species (not the oscar, take him back) and obtain a pair for you 37g. Firemouths are very attractive, easy to breed fish that would go well in your tank. I think ONE pair of cons will work in you 20g (trust me, more than one breeding pair will have you flushing fry down the toilet for lack of a place to put them all).

Please don't feel like taking some of those fish back is a bad thing. Eveyone who has kept cichlids has had to do this at some point. There are just too many variables to be sure what combos will work. If you decide to keep all or some of your fish, then do them a favor add as much structure to the tank as possible. This can be in the form of pieces of driftwood (expensive) or sections of pvc pipe (cheap). This gives the fish places to hide and breaks up "lines of sight" so that more dominant fish are not constantly seeing and picking on less dominant fish. My last piece of advice (and this is the one that will save you and your fish a ton of trouble) is to keep up on your water changes. There is no single prcatice in fishkeeping that has more beneficial effects than a good water change schedule. In your tank, I would say that 50% once a week is the bear minimum that you should be doing. Twice a week would be better since you have so many growing fish (they produce higher levels of growth hormones that build up in the tank and can cause stunting and other health problems)

Good luck, and welcome to the club! ;)