Advice for Cichlids (newbie)

[Jalum]

Hi everyone. This is a great site and I am glad I found it. Lots of good ifo.

I am new to this hobby. I have a 10 gallon tank that is in the process of cycling. I got a complete kit from Super Pet here in Toronto. Now... after doing some research, that I should have done first, I am looking to get a much bigger tank aroung 60 to 100 gallons.

My question is: What kind of Cichlids should a beginner start with and what equipment will I need for a tank that size. ( 60 to 100 Gallons )

Money is not really a concern, within reason. I want to have a very good system to give the fish the best chance I can.

 

[fishlips]

Once you get 75g and over the door is wide open. If you want large fish you need a large tank. But if your serious I'd get the largest tank you can afford. You will wish you did, mark my words. A 10g is used mostly for a hospital/quarintine or for fry.

What are some of the fish you are interested in? Do you want large tank busters, a mixture of fish or something that has awesome color? It really depends.

 

[Cat]

Easiest would be central and south american cichlids as they have less fussy water needs than most africans.
Again, would you prefer one or two really large fish like oscars (like having a pet dog!) or a larger number of smaller fish 6-8" size. personally I prefer this set up as you get to see them interact, wether displaying to their mate or flaring out their gills and lip locking the enemy!

 

[Jalum]

I would like to have many smaller fish in a community enviorment. I saw a display tank at my LFS with about 20 different kinds of Cichlids. It was spectacular to look at and I knew that would be my goal, once I have learned enough.

So, I guess I would like to start with just a few, non aggresive types that I could later add to as I get more comfortable with taking proper care for them.

 

[yotaroc]

I started with electric yellows and some electric blues gradually working up to frontosas in my 100 gal. Currently I have a breeding pair of jaguars. (they killed everything in sight once they started breeding). Looking to go back to african cics in a few weeks.

 

[Nuriel]

I dove in head first and went for some of the more aggressive africans in my 55 which is overstocked just for that reason. I have (in order from most aggressive to least)3 P. Lombardoi (kenyi), 2 M.Crabo(bumblebee), 2 p.zebras(one red and one blotch) -and a large very aggressive S.Fryeri (electric blue)- who is the undisputable the king of the tank untill the male kenyi (about 2 inches now)grows to an adult size. I have lots of shells in my tank to help raise the ph as well as a multitude of rocks. I also keep two bichirs and a blood parrot which will be moved out into his own 80 with the polys this fall when I move. I have had no difficulty in seeing their 'natural' behavoir with lots of "village like" activites with all of the cichlids playing a role. Some gaurd the fry, some dig, some constatly are moving rocks. They are great. I think they have just as much personality as New World cichlids, just depends on the individual fish. They are my favorites!

 

[losthere]

if you want striking color and a beautifull tank i would go with mbunas or peacocks they are the most colorfull cichlids, and would make a great tank with lots of color. Now you MAY be able to keep both together it depends on what type of mbuna or peacock. The peacocks are the less agressive of the two (usually). I have kept both together without any problems. Just keep in mind that mbunas cant handle as much protein as the pecocks, they can get malawi bloat. Anyway i would get either the mbuna or the peacocks, or possibly both, they are so fun to watch and full of personality.

 

[Cat]

So, I guess I would like to start with just a few, non aggresive types that I could later add to as I get more comfortable with taking proper care for them.

Okay this could be difficult as most cichlids weather African or new world are agressive, the best thing to do is select juveniles maybe 1-2" in size and get more than you want to have of each in the end, if you see my specs I have 3 JD's I wont keep them all once they are larger, if they grow out together it will make them more tolerent of their tank mates and you can keep in the end the ones with the best personality and rehome the spares.
Aviod at all costs introducing any mature or semi mature cichlids together as they will attack each other. Also avoid keeping male/female pairs if you dont want aggression. think also about the overall appearance of the tank, you cant really keep plants in an african set up, would you be happy with that kind of sparse set up of rocks? if you wanted New world I would recomend Firemouths and blue acaras to start with as they are only moderate size (6") easy care, and more forgiving of beginner errors and they are not very agresize, the firemouths will flare their kills and display to each other but its mainly bark with no bite.

 

[~*LuvMyKribs*~]

I think the cichlid display tank you most likely saw was African Cichlids.
Check out the Lake Malawi cichlids:
http://www.malawimayhem.com

You can get probebly almost 30 fish in a 100 gallon tank, depending on thier size. They are beautiful, colorful, and fun to watch. Also extrememly intellegent and form lasting personalities. They are harem breeders so you get 1 male and several females for him. This way you are always having lots of babies, whether you want to or not . Thier water requirements are slightly different than community fish, they like alkaline water with moderate hardness. Use crushed coral or shell in the substrate or filter to raise the ph for you up to 8.2, which is perfect.

And there are plants you can keep in an african setup; many different varieties of anubias, valiiseneria, and java fern. You can keep more kinds if you keep only haps, its the mbuna that eat the plants.

Anywho, check them out. Equipment-wise you should have a 200+watt heater or 2 150 watts. Your filter should run over 100 gallons per hour, on my 90 i have one that pumps 350 gallons (the Rena Filstar XP3). Eheims are awesome filters and if you can afford them then get one. Lighting varies on how many plants you have, but one 45 watt strip should be good for a tank between 50-100 gallons with africans, and add another if you want lots of plants (and algae!).

If you wanted to start with a few non-aggressive africans i would reccommend Yellow Labs, or Labidochromis caeurlues http://www.malawimayhem.com/profile_show.php?id=247 and Pseudotropheus acei http://www.malawimayhem.com/profile_show.php?id=398. Those two are fairly peaceful, and also do well with haps if one day down the road you wanted to do a hap tank instead of mbuna. (Most begginers though do mbuna because they dont grow as big as the haps).

HTH
-Diana

 

[jonathan03]

African cichlids definately sound right for you. As you start your tank look for rocks to make some caves for them. Most cichlids really like caves, especially african cichlids.

You might also consider a synadontis catfish. There are several variesties that are native to africa. They can be a little pricy for the rare ones, but the coomon ones go for $10 or less.

I would go to th pet store and find the names of some fish you want. Then post them here and we'll tell you if they are a good choice. There are realtively few fish that can't be mixed. If its an African cichlids, theres a good chance that it will fit well with other african cichlids. But beware, there are some african cichlids that are very agressive. So post what your going to get before you buy it.