Which dwarf cichlid?

[Piranha86]

I think I'm getting either a 29g or a 37g (same footprint as a 30g, just taller). I would really like to keep and breed some dwarf cichlids. I'm not really sure which kind to get. I really like some of the ram varieties. They have these aqua-colored kind at our LFS. But, they are $60 each. This would be my 1st cichlid, so I don't want to spend that much. Any input?

 

[pjrichar]

either find good source of blue rams... or go with a group of apistogramma....

 

[toddnbecka]

If you want something much less expensive than blue rams that will spawn and raise fry in a 29 I have a group of 6 Archocentrus cutteri available. They're just old enough to start spawning, I found a small clutch of eggs earlier tonight when I cleaned the tank.
They're sharing a 36x18" tank with 8 Gymnogeophagus Norte that are also pairing off and spawning now. I also have a larger pair of cutteri in a 29 with a swarm of 7-week-old fry, so I really don't want or need any more spawning pairs of them.
I can ship them to you UPS Ground for $30 total, and they'd arrive the next day. Keep a pair once they sort themselves out and swap off the extras for store credit at your lfs. With any luck you could raise a brood of fry and swap them off for some of the blue Ram's.

 

[rstrobel]

Go with Bolivian Rams. They're cheap at about $5 each, breed easily, accept a fairly wide range of water parameters, and have tons of personality. I have 4 adult in my 55g; three females and one male. They get along well except for when the pair is spawning. While they're spawning, especially when they have wigglers and free swimming fry, the mother will be very aggressive towards the other two females. She doesn't seem to mind the other fish in the tank, just the other rams. For that size of a tank, I would recommend trying to get a pair or buying a few and waiting until a pair forms and then selling or returning the others to your lfs. That way you can have them spawn but not have to deal with the aggression that comes as a result of it.