Stocking a 20 gallon with Cichlids. Any ideas?

[jagarundi]

Hello all, I'm thinking of starting up a 20 gallon tank, which I used as a hospital tank formerly. I want aggressive cichlids. Which ones would be ideal and how many? Obviously, they shouldn't have growth ranges outside of what a 20 gallon could support.

[indiginess]

for a 20, your options are pretty limited.

if you can find them, some of the Lake Tanganiyka shell dwellers would be suitable. cant remember the scientific names off hand... multifacticus or something.

or some rams, or kribs. you could do a biotope.

hope this gets you started, at least.

edit: link ... http://www.cichlidae.com

[mooman]

20g long or tall. Long would be MUCH better (IMO 20g talls are just 15g tanks with 5g gallons of water that nothing ever uses). Most of the traditionally "aggresive" cichlids get far to large. Get a 20g long and do a species tank of dwarf cichlids. If you've never had one, I highly reccomend it.

shellies would work. I believe N. ocelatus is fairly aggressive in territorial defense. There's one at LFS that bites my hand anytime I come near his shell. If you did brevis in a 20g long you could probably have up to three pairs, and see alot of posturing at territory boundries (thier territories are the smallest of any cichlid). I think a pair of small julies and a couple pairs of brevis would make a very nice 20g long if enough rockwork was used.

How about a harem of Apistogramma. One male cruising around with multiple females defending thier own mini-territories. the female cacatuoides in my 29g are always displaying to each other and chasing each other out of ther parts of the tank. make sure you add all the females at once, and go with three for a 20g long (not two, not four, THREE). If you only have two, then someone becomes the odd woman out, and a 20g isn't big enough for four. TONS of structure (plants, rockwork, caves) is needed for this to work.

Never kept kribs, but the accounts I've read make them a little more aggresive than apistos (a little larger too). Either kribs or apistos can be kept with a variety of small "dither/target" fish. Pencil fish and hatchet fish are the best if you want to see any fry. Cories and other bottom dwellers are OUT.

[jagarundi]

It's a 20g high. I want a fairly aggressive tank. I realize that since it's only a 20g, the number of fish placed in it should be kept to a minimum. I'd like to add some sand for the substrate. Judging by the prior responses, I should probably go for a species tank of Africans. What say you?

[mooman]

Hmmmm. 20tall, what a waste. Sorry, I hate tall tanks (mostly because i had the hardest time filling the top half of my 29g). I guess i would try a pair of shellies with a pair of small julies. You'll have to really stack that rock up so the julies stay above what the shellies consider their territory. Don't rule out a pair of apistos with a school of topwater fish. either would be very interesting, and even be biotope accurate. you just have to decide what "look" you like.