fish keepers - cichlids?

[id10t]

Rescued a 35ish gallon tank from my brother... I have it all setup, cycling, etc. and the wife has said

"i like those pretty ones that look like saltwater fish"

In my mind, that means African Cichlids

Anyone got a combo they like? I've got hard water with a ph of 7.something, and rock and sand in the tank. Adding more rock for more caves/nooks/etc. as I find some in the next few days...

[Chocaholic]

African cichlids are the lookers. They're harty, aggressive, and are a blast to keep. Don't mix in other "pretty" fish, like neons or the like. They'll be gone the next morning and your cichlids will have fat round bellies.

[id10t]

Already have that figured out.... if the tank was bigger (75-90+gal) it wouldn't be a decision - it would have natives in it....

I'm thinking yellow labs and something else maybe blue...

[cstreit]

They also breed like rabbits, the tough part will be keeping the population down!

[vash]

i seem to remember that driftwood is a good thing in a cichlid tank. something about it, i cant remember. a natural water softner? who knows?...arent those things better in slightly brackish water?

[id10t]

vash - african cichlids like hard water with a ph between 7.5 and 8

[dhoward]

Don't make the tank too pretty. They "redecorate" to thier liking...

[id10t]

dan - 3 rock formations, sand, one ball of java moss from another tank of mine to give the danios something to hang with...

[dhoward]

Very cool.
Cichlids are great freshwater fish to keep.

[Super_Dave_D]

Go salt and get you some Lions and Triggers. Throw in some Damsels for more pretty - dont worry the Damsels can outrun the triggers unless they get lazy. Problem is that you need a feeder tank of goldfish to keep them all full.

[livi]

If you have hard water with relatively high pH, cichlidae from the big African lakes like Victoria are perfect. You do not need any plants (and they will eat or destroy them anyway). They are very lively and sturdy and have very interesting behavior regarding nesting and breeding. Many also have fantastic shapes and colors.

I had them for years in my youth, but then I discovered Discus and never looked back. Bred them for 15 years. Lovely. They however need the opposite in water quality - very soft with low pH.

[kycarguy 935]

I use to have 5 large fish tanks with African Cichlids.

I love them but do not currently have a tank.

Here is a link or 2 that may be helpful.

http://www.africancichlids.net/

http://www.allcichlids.com/

[Dave L]

I have had malawi cichlids for 6 or so years now. Great fish but a 35 gallon maybe small IMHO. Typically each fish will needs its own area so a lot of rocks or decorations are required. The other option is to overpopulate but the fish will typically always be fighting.

Here is a website that give a ton of info as well as some sample ways to stock your aquarium.

http://www.cichlidrecipe.com/crindx.htm#contents

Here is my set up. please ignor that fact that its in desperate need of a cleaning Aquarium is 12x12x48 a has lava rock from top to bottom.

[slodave]

I have four. They are Rusty Cichlids and are not much to look at, but I like them. They came from an over crowded Cichlid tank at the office building I used to work in. They are in a 30 gallon tank. Two males, two females. Doesn't matter what I put in the tank, the dominant male always owns everything. I also keep a tiger plecostomus. He does a great job of stripping the color off of the shipwreck I have, but he does not clean the glass very well. My two males are fighting as I type this...

Dave

[Fishcop]

Ahh, Now you can work out the 'Fish' from the 'Cop' in me

Fish are such a personal thing and you have to work out what part of the world you want to re-create. The thing I've found is that it's very hard to create an environment that suits all. You'll find Cichlids from Africa require virtually the opposite conditions to the South American Cichlids. You need to find the right fish for your personality and lifestyle. (I keep marines now)

Unfortunately we in Australia are suffering the consequences of releasing non-native fish. Please never flush or release what you don't want!

[Rusty Heap]

Once you go saltwater, you'll never do fresh again.......

It's not that hard to keep salt fish only, typically the fish are 3-4X more expensive than fresh, and all you need to do is add the synthetic salt mix. If you can keep a fresh water tank alive, you can keep a fish only salt tank alive.

For any tank, I'd recommend a 55 gallon minimun, the smaller tanks below 30-35 gallons just fluctuate too much and turn into actually more work than a bigger more stable tank.

I've gone hardcore the last 10 years and have kept a 135 reef with hard and soft corals, aquaculturing them and trading coral frags with other reefers.

Trust me, a reef tank makes porsche parts look almost cheap.......almost.

Heavy duty lighting, protien skimmers, live rock, and lots of patience. The more I leave it alone the better it does, most people yank their water chemistry around always searching for a magic bullet or pill to solve their problems, read read and read some more.

good reef tank sites at

www.reeffrontiers.com

www.reefcentral.com

If anyone has salt water tank questions, PM me and would be glad to make suggestions.

[Rusty Heap]

Also, another fun trick to do with your cichlids is to hang an old audio CD in the tank on a fishing line, or put a mirror in the tank, the fish go check it out, see a fish and they puff up trying to show off, of course the fish in the mirror does the same thing, and man oh man they sometimes attack that "other fish"..........great head games I used to play with my Oscars and Jack Demsey.

For your plecostomus (sp?) feed them some cucumber or zuchini slices by putting the slice on a teryaki stick or long tooth pick, a nylon zip tie will also work, secure the slice and mounting device under a rock or stone and this a a great way to feed or supplement your algae eating fish feeding......try it and post your results, you'll love these tips!

[slodave]

I've tried cucumber, and it can care less. The cucumber lasts about two days, before getting too soft to remove. It's a tiger pleco, cool colors, but the thing has spent most of the daylight hours hiding. It's out more during the day now, so, I feel a little better for the extra $ spent (over a plain pleco). Oh, my tank is deep and getting anything off the bottom requires a little skill. The females have released fry, but I have not been able to get them in time. I saw one tiny one, but the large male was chasing it. Never saw it again. I keep hoping...

Dave

[Tobra]

I have a 135 gallon tank in the office with an 18 inch Jaguar Cichlid, he has not eaten all the zebra danios I put in there, so I presume they don't taste that good. He will not tolerate another decent sized fish in with him. Put rocks and fake plants in there. They want plenty of nooks and crannies to hide out in.

If there is not an adequate number of spots, they will end up fighting over what there is. Cichlids are pretty nice fish, interesting behavior, very active.