10g Cichlid Tank
- Thread starter test4echo
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They generally like harder water with PH on the high end and temps around 77ish........but like most fish, they can adapt to what you have. Crushed coral will help the hardness though, if you have softer water.....but I wouldn't mess with the PH......causes more trouble than just leaving it alone.
Happy hunting for those shellies !
Happy hunting for those shellies !
convicts would be a great fish to start with. I have set my 20 gallon up with convicts and I love it. I have some great pics on my site if you would like to check it out.http://crazyaboutfish.blogspot.com
I would strongly advise against convicts, unless you are willing to set up a 20g long in the near future, are ok with them being the only fish in the tank, and have no problem raising and findy homes for hundreds of babies. South American dwarfs (Apistogramma, and Rams) or shell dwellers are the only way to go.
id go with a pair of convicts too
ive kept a pair in a 10 gallon for several years, i never had to remove the male or female after breeding just remove the kids once they are about 1/2" long
if you get tired of having babies, which in time trust me you will, then just remove the eggs. its easy if the convicts are "trained" to lay on a slate rock, this way you can just remove the slate, wash it off them put it back in
feed them alot when you do this cuz they will freak out
rams are like one of the few fish i had no luck with, them and those cute baby whales
they always croaked on me :Angel:
ive kept a pair in a 10 gallon for several years, i never had to remove the male or female after breeding just remove the kids once they are about 1/2" long
if you get tired of having babies, which in time trust me you will, then just remove the eggs. its easy if the convicts are "trained" to lay on a slate rock, this way you can just remove the slate, wash it off them put it back in
feed them alot when you do this cuz they will freak out
rams are like one of the few fish i had no luck with, them and those cute baby whales
they always croaked on me :Angel:
I don't know. I am one of the more liberal members here when it comes to stocking larger fish in smaller tanks, but 2 convicts in a 10g? I've seen convicts get every bit of 5in long. You would advocate putting TWO of those in a ten gallon?
I'll agree on the rams. The ones commonly available are crap and do little more than turn people off of dwarf cichlids when after several attemps they can't get them to live past the one month mark.
A single male or pair of Apistogramma with 3-5 small bodied tetras really makes a stunning display in a 10g. In addition, if they do spawn, and you do raise the babies, your looking at fish that retail for 20.00 each as opposed to convicts which some LFS will not even accept becuase they are constantly inundated with people trying to get rid of them.
I'll agree on the rams. The ones commonly available are crap and do little more than turn people off of dwarf cichlids when after several attemps they can't get them to live past the one month mark.
A single male or pair of Apistogramma with 3-5 small bodied tetras really makes a stunning display in a 10g. In addition, if they do spawn, and you do raise the babies, your looking at fish that retail for 20.00 each as opposed to convicts which some LFS will not even accept becuase they are constantly inundated with people trying to get rid of them.
Hey moom,mooman said:
Do you find that the apisto gibbiceps get any "busier" than other apistos? 80 fry?? Congrats! :dance: Hope they ALL grow up
skrezyna said:Hey moom,
Do you find that the apisto gibbiceps get any "busier" than other apistos? 80 fry?? Congrats! :dance: Hope they ALL grow up
thanks, actually this is the largest spawn I've seen out of any of the apistos I've kept. the only other ones that have come close are cacatuoides at around 65. the gibbies are at two weeks free swimming now and ready to be moved to growout. they are by far the most acitive apisto fry i've kept. Still seems like I have around 75+, but it's difficult to count now that they don't cluster up as much. They are growing much faster than my hongsloi also.
I keep rams, apisto's and shellies. Which is easiest, all of the above as long as you get good fish. Rams in stores are notoriously week asian bred fish. I went through a dozen store bought rams that died within a week. I bought a pair of locally bred rams and they are doing awesome. I've had them over 6 months now. Apisto's are usually easy to keep as well although there are some wild caught fish that require low PH soft water.
I've noticed most all Tanganyikan cichlids (where the shellies come from) are sensitive to colder water. My Neolamprologus Multifasciatus will start dropping like flies if the temps get below mid 70's. Mine were F1 fish (first generation from wild caught fish) and have done fine in lower PH water (around 7.0) and bred like mad. They will do ok with a small gravel but they are much more entertaining with a good sand. Go to a pool supply store and buy "pool filter sand". I buy it in 50lb bags for 10 bucks. The grains are larger than many other sands you find and the sand is pre-washed so there is no extra labor involved cleaning it plus you have no cloud of dust like if you used play sand or something. Not to mention some of the "suprises" found in play sand. My multies will eat anything and actually prefer flakes.
Captive bred apisto's will usually adapt to most any water although breeding may be a problem in harder waters. Most will readily eat flakes although wild caught fish or specially fed captive bred may be picky. Same goes for the Ram's and like I said earlier, if the store can't tell you where they came from, I wouldn't waste the money. I would search out ram's from a good breeer, local clubmember or at least some that are labeled as "locally bred" or something similar. Water parameters are overrated in most cases so don't spend a lot of time trying to adapt. 9 times out of 10 you do more harm than good. Kyle
I've noticed most all Tanganyikan cichlids (where the shellies come from) are sensitive to colder water. My Neolamprologus Multifasciatus will start dropping like flies if the temps get below mid 70's. Mine were F1 fish (first generation from wild caught fish) and have done fine in lower PH water (around 7.0) and bred like mad. They will do ok with a small gravel but they are much more entertaining with a good sand. Go to a pool supply store and buy "pool filter sand". I buy it in 50lb bags for 10 bucks. The grains are larger than many other sands you find and the sand is pre-washed so there is no extra labor involved cleaning it plus you have no cloud of dust like if you used play sand or something. Not to mention some of the "suprises" found in play sand. My multies will eat anything and actually prefer flakes.
Captive bred apisto's will usually adapt to most any water although breeding may be a problem in harder waters. Most will readily eat flakes although wild caught fish or specially fed captive bred may be picky. Same goes for the Ram's and like I said earlier, if the store can't tell you where they came from, I wouldn't waste the money. I would search out ram's from a good breeer, local clubmember or at least some that are labeled as "locally bred" or something similar. Water parameters are overrated in most cases so don't spend a lot of time trying to adapt. 9 times out of 10 you do more harm than good. Kyle
