Need a favor from you all...

[aquarob]

Hey guys,

First post over here in the cichlid section, but hopefully this is the place I need to be for this question.

What I need is a list of the most *colorful* and *compatiable* cichlids. Someone recently posted a picture of a Jewel Cichlid (West African) I think it was, and I love the coloration. So I am thinking those I would love to be the star of my tank. (its 240g btw). This is going to be my first cichlid tank, and all advice is welcome.

When reccomending fish, please consider the following:

1. This tank is pretty much going to be the centerpiece of my home, aka a showtank.

2. Please list only fish that are colorful when mature. These fish will live out their whole lives in this tank, so beauty with age is important to me.

3. Please list fish that would be ok with the Jewel Cichlid, as I think he is one of the prettiest of the cichlids I have seen.

Thanks for helping me out cichlid experts!

[carpediem]

Your enthusiasm is enviable, however...

I would take the advice you're going to get from this thread with a grain of salt. If you're interested in keeping jewel cichlids, then you should spend your time doing research on jewels. In the process of learning everything you can about this particular species, you will also be gathering information regarding compatible tankmates. A post like this, on this forum, will dredge up so much advice from so many sources, some good, some not so good, and all of it *gospel* to the person giving it. You know what they say about opinions and belly buttons, something about everyone having lint stuck in them or, err, wait a minute, that's not it... Anyway, you're bound to get some rather interesting feedback based on other's experiences and opinions. Use your own noggin and do some research and build your own formula for success.

Best of luck.

[aquarob]

Thanks and yes, thats exactly what I want, a tyraid of ideas and suggestions. I will sift through those and combine with my own research to make my final decisions. :read: