Shortly I am going switch my tank over from a community to a cichlids tank...I have done some research and know that with a 30 gallon, I have to keep smaller fish, I am thinking about some blue and yellow :read: electrics...but I want the little guys to have a happy home. What are you making your caves (hiding places) out of?
I got a few pieces of PVC pipe from home depot, some 100% silicon and and a 1lb of the same gravel i used as my substrate(SP?) from my LFS, clued the rocks on the PVC pipe with the silicon so it looked more natural, placed them at a slight angle into the supstrate and let the fish dig out the rocks from the inside.
I also used about 10 lbs of slate type flag-stone for a nice effect to kind of blend in the pipes.
My 30 gal is a Mayan tank. It houses a pair of Cryptoheros sajica (T-Bar cichlid) and 9 tetras. The sajicas are cave breeders, so I provided a Mayan style clay tripod pot on it's side (and some other Mayan reproductions I ordered online from the Anthropological Museum of Mexico City).
With that size tank, I would't suggest any species other than Yellow Labs. You'll want to stack rocks all the way to the surface. Limestone from landscape supply store will work great and will cost pennies on the dollar compared to LFS prices.
Consider making it a Lake Tanganyikan tank. Aside from staying smaller, they are the considered the cichlid keepers cichlid. From a behavioral standpoint tanganyikans make mbuna look like overgrown tetras.
I look at them more like dumb little puppy dogs always begging for food swimming around going "duhhh BANG BANG BANG duuhhhhh BANG BANG BANG".
:OT:
I agree that Tangynikan cichlids would be a better choice for a 30 gallon tank. I would not even keep yellow labs in there long term, it just doesn't give enough space.
