16 gal cichlid tank?

[littlebevis420]

i have a 16 gal bowfront that i would like to put a pair of small cichlids in my bedroom. what would be the best pair for this tank? rams? convicts are probably too big but there are mixed feelings on that from different people. any other suggestions? maybe some cool shell dwellers?

 

[mooman]

I would go with shell dwellers, or julies. You might be able to do a pair of both. 16g bow is kinda tall. If you can make a reef of limestone rocks toward the back all the way ot the surface and open sand up front then a julie tanscriptus/ornatus pair and some shellies would probably work together. If you just want a single species, then N. multifasciatus is great. They will quickly breed and form a colony of various sized individuals. I don't know if they'd work with the julies however since they work as a group to defend the colony and might put a hurtin on them once they're numbers are high enough.

You could also to planted SA with keyhole, apistogramma, or rams. Make sure you have somewhere to remove the male to in case they spawn (other wise the female might kill the male.

 

[littlebevis420]

Rams M/f In 16 Gal Bowfront! Help!

to be honest i really would just like to get 1 pair for that tank. i dont want to crowd them in. i would like a male/female pair that will not kill each other during spawning. i have a tank i could use for the fry but not one for the male. rams seem to have my interest but i am open to other suggestions. i dont think i have ever even seen a shelly. really i am looking for big cichlid pair activity (so fun to watch) in a small package. i definatly want color as well. the cichlid tank is a litle plain. (beige texas river sand and river rocks.1 texas holy rock as well) so i want the fish to give the tank a little pop. rams and convicts seem to be the only small cichlids available in quantity (not just one sick lookin fish in a tank) where i might be a ble to get a health pair at my lfs. the convicts i wont put in the tank (tank too small) so unless i order through mail i dont think i can find shellys. and i have never ordered fish through mail so i wouldnt know where to start. any advice on how that works the mail order thing? anyone have success with it?

 

[Left C]

http://www.apistogramma.com/cms/The_Gallery/South_American_Cichlids/Apistogramma_Species_Gallery/

and

http://www.apistogramma.com/cms/The...ichlids/South_American_Dwarf_Cichlid_Gallery/

I'm fascinated by these tiny guys. I haven't tried any of the African Rift Lakes Cichlids.

 

[littlebevis420]

i really want 2 do rams. the more research i do on them the more i like them. any advice for a first time ram owner?

 

[littlebevis420]

ok so i found a store with a decent selection of HEALTHY rams. they have 3 healthy females and 6 good looking males. i will go get a pair soon and post some pics of this tank.

 

[NowherMan6]

they have 3 healthy females and 6 good looking males. i will go get a pair soon and post some pics of this tank.

Just a word to the wise - just because there is 1m and 1f does NOT make them a pair. A sure way to get a real pair - that won't kill eachother during spawning, as you put it - is to but all of them, put them in a tank together and let them pair off on their own. If you can't do that - and with the size of your tank i imagine it's not an option - I suggest you browse some of the places on this list, make a few calls and see if any place has an established pair. You may get lucky and have your selected m/f pair off on their own, but the chance is just as good, if not better, that some stressed out fish will be the result.

 

[mooman]

Often times if the fish have been in the store for awhile you can watch them for 10 min or so and pick out at least one pair that has "paired off". Male and female cichlids not accepting each other is a realistic problem, but I've not heard of this happening too often with rams. Usually once the female is ready to breed then they accept each other. Its the time before she's ready to spawn that the male can pester the female to death in too small a tank. Picking a female that has already paired off with a male and is looking plump will help aleviate this.

 

[littlebevis420]

that is exactly what i did! i observed the tank at the store for about 30 min. there was a pair that stayed close to each other, and the female would gently rub against and some times gently groom the big male. i bought them and have had them for two days. they are never more than a few inches from each other and my friends say they "cuddle" sometimes too. they seem quite happy in their tank. i have them with a sand substrate. a big structure of caves made from local river rock i got here in austin texas, and some artificial plants. i do have a questions though. first of all i need a cleanup crew. i was thinking glass shrimp. i love the way they look and i dont think the rams are big enough to kill them. also will any live plants live in sand and not die in a few months. rams are real sensitive to water conditions so i thought a couple of live plants instead of the articial ones would help them out. besides the sand and river rocks look so natural the artificial plants kinda bring the natural lokk down. any ideas?

 

[mooman]

I kept ghost/glass shrimp with rams once. It worked untill the shrimp molted, and then the rams chowed down. Not a bad thing really. They are cheap, used as feeders, and it added some variety to the rams diet.

Plants that grow from rhizomes like anubius, java fern, and bolbitis will grow well simply attached to a piece of driftwood or wedged between some rocks. They are also undemanding and only require low light.