New to Cichlids

[lucy42083]

now that s somethin interstin ... but lemme see if i can find any mbuna here

Most LFS, including the chain stores, carry a decent selection of African cichlids, especially mbuna and other Lake Malawi cichlids. There are several threads on stocking a Lake Malawi/mbuna 55G that are active right now on the African Rift Lake Cichlid section you can check out. When you have some idea of the fish you are interested in, you can start your own thread over there asking for specific stocking suggestions, there are many members very experienced and knowledgable that I'm sure would help you.

 

[Sharky Loach]

african cichlid tanks are great! Lots of color.. only downside is u have to keep the PH very high so u cant mix in any other types of cichlids.

 

[blue2fyre]

African cichlids are very entertaining and add a lot of color and movmrnt. They don't need a high PH since many are tank raised and can adjust. They do prefer it but won't die if the Ph is lower than ideal. It can be a little tricky to get the stocking right due to aggression but once you do it's well worth it

 

[KarlTh]

They don't need high pH because pH isn't important. They do require hard water, however. There's far too much emphasis put on pH in aquaria; it's really mostly of tangential importance.

Most Central American cichlids are in fact compatible with Rift Lake species as far as water conditions are concerned; the issues are behavioural rather than chemical.

 

[faun]

If you don't want to go down the african route the are plenty of dwarf cichlids that would fit in a tank of that size here are just a few.
Apistogramma agassiziiAgassizi's dwarf cichlid Apistogramma cacatuoidesCockatoo cichlid Apistogramma macmasteriMacmaster's dwarf cichlid Apistogramma nijsseniPanda dwarf cichlid Microgeophagus ramireziRam cichlid

 

[Star_Rider]

If you decide to keep the angel and cories. you may want to look at the apisto's and rams.
keyholes can also be kept with angels, apisto's and rams.