Anyone here keep cichlids?

I found a 20 gallon aquarium at a gargage sale this weekend. I certainly wasn't looking for another aquarium, since I have a 55 gallon community tank, but this was a great deal. I got the aquarium, stand, two pumps, filter, two heaters, plants, ornaments, gravel, books, food, etc ... for $18! So I bought it!

I have been wanting cichlids for a while, and I think I'll put them in this tank, after I cycle it. Does anyone here keep cichlids and have any advice for me? I know I'll be wanting dwarfs, obviously, since it's a small tank. And since we have naturally hard water here, with high Ph, I'll be looking for cichlids from that type of water.

Thanks!

I raise, breed and sell Cichlids to the local pet stores here. If you do decided to get cichlids, my advice to you is get them in groups, not just one at a time. If you do it that way, they will more likely get along then if you added one at a later date, wanting to defend/fight over their area. They like to stake out a area thats their own and defend it, but alot of it is just bluffing the other one out. :) If you get Ram, they are more willing to get along better, then other. A convict for exsample is also less aggresive, then others. So make sure if you do mix, mix the right cichlids toghter. Also Rams are better about not uprooting you plants as much as the others do.

Have lots of hiding places for them, also cuts down the picking on each other. Use slate rock, plided up, giving them lots of hiding area. You can even get rocks from your yard if you want, cleaned well of course. :) Wood pieces, plants etc.

It sounds like you have a good natural Ph for them, but you still will need cichlid salt for them. Senes your ph is high, in a 20 gal tank, you shouldn't need more then a teaspoon, maybe two.

Rams are not my cichlids of choise, I more into the Lake Malawi cichlids their colors and tude are just more fun for me. :) But if have any certain ?'S let me know, I'll be gald to answer anything I can.

Here's a picture of one of our tanks, so you can see that they are happier with lots of hiding places and plants. And of course, just to show them. :D lol
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/...6/f9fa5ddd.jpg

There are these cichlids at the pet store here that are bright neon yellow ... and other ones in the same tank that are blue striped. I don't know the names of them? Do you know what I am talking about, or am I just babbling with not enough information? Could I keep those?

I would guess those are Lake Malawi cichlids, if the strips run down around the body of the blue one and not the lenth of her body. Without seeing them, I can't say for sure, but they are more common in pet stores. And Yes you can keep those, they are a little more aggressive then the Rams, but like I said all you need is lots of hiding places, to keep them happy. Also remember they like their water around 78

Does the yellow one look anything like this one?
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/...5/f9fa71f8.jpg

If so, they really like hidding places. Mine lives in a hole in a pice of wood. If not and it's more, almost electric sprakle yellow like, then they just need to have a hiding place to go to, unlike my guy here, who lives in her hole most of the day.

There's also this kind that is also yellow, even though she's orange in the picture. They are a little easier to care for, then the other guy. You can tell the difference by their shape and size.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/...8/f9c3e290.jpg

If the ones you are looking at have more of this type shape, they will get bigger then the other yellow guy, about 5"'s or so. (sorry the pic bad)

Their are just so many types of cichlids, it's hard to say, but rule of thumb is the more they cost the harder they are to care for. If that helps any.

But with your water and the higher Ph, you shouldn't have to much problems. We too have the same high Ph water and it has made it perfect for us to raise cichlids. Less work! :D

Hmmmm ... I'm not sure which body shape the yellow one I saw had. I just noticed it was BRIGHT yellow, like neon yellow. It looked like a salt water fish, actually. Soooo cute.

And the blue ones do have stripes running up and down, like the little striped guy below the yellow one in the first picture you posted of your tank.

Cheap = hardy .... oh, I SO like that! :D

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Originally posted by Twisterdog

Cheap = hardy .... oh, I SO like that! :D

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In most cases. There are a few that can be hardy, but not cheap. They are just harder to breed so they cost more, Of course! :(

What ever you decided to get, just remember.
water temp 78, even 80
lots of hiding places
Cichlid salt added
and a little higher ph level then fresh water fish. It doesn't have to be perfect, think of it this way, most pet stores keep them in fresh water tanks, so they adapt well. It's just a higher Ph is healther and they are more active.
Oh and don't forget the cichlid sticks/food.

If you get them, you will enjoy them, I promise. :D

Now here is a thread for my husband! He has been keeping fish since 1970 and we currently have two tanks. I think they are a 50 and a 65 gallon. At one time we had a 125 gallon tank. We have run the gamut of fish types, but for the past 10 years or more he has had only African cichlids. Some of them are very large. We gave up on having plants in the aquariums because they like to dig them up! LOL! Right now he has lots of layers of rocks (to make them feel at home) and to provide hiding places as well for any new ones that get introduced. I will have to show him this thread tonight. I can't tell you how many pictures of fish he has taken over the years. :rolleyes: Maybe I can post a few. :)

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Originally posted by Pam
We gave up on having plants in the aquariums because they like to dig them up! LOL! Right now he has lots of layers of rocks (to make them feel at home) and to provide hiding places as well for any new ones that get introduced.

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Just an idea for the plants, this is what we did, the plants are held down with the slate rock. There's no digging them up now. :D Once you put pounds and pounds of slate rock on top of them, they are not going anywhere. :D ;)

Our 75 gal is piled end to end and top with slate rock, giving so many hidding places that sometimes there are days before we see some of our guys. And the Slate rock, makes for great hidding places, espically when you have babies being born. Cause as you know, once babies are born, they become food. :mad: :(

BTW: my husband was the cichlid guy, also, in our house for years, but somehow over the last few years they have become mine. Men seem to have a thing for cichlids, I guess. I think it's the tude of a cichlid that does it for them. LOL

My sister has an Oscar who she loves to death. He knows when she comes into the room, when she is talking to him and everything! If I walk in the room Guy (the ocar) won't give me a second look, but when my sister does he gets all exited!!!

I think they are WONDERFUL fish, I want one myself. Hee hee. But thats the only kind I know about.

Ash

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Originally posted by Aspen and Misty
My sister has an Oscar who she loves to death. He knows when she comes into the room, when she is talking to him and everything! If I walk in the room Guy (the ocar) won't give me a second look, but when my sister does he gets all exited!!!

I think they are WONDERFUL fish, I want one myself. Hee hee. But thats the only kind I know about.

Ash

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We had oscars several years ago. There were two of them (a red one and a tiger oscar) and they were huge. When hubby would start getting their food ready they would start splashing with anticipation and occasionally water would fly out of the back of the tank! :eek: He had a friend who would occasionally throw in dry dog food for his oscars, so hubby would do that as well occasionally and you could actually hear them crunching on it! :)

We do have lots of slate pieces in the tank and occasionally we'd have a fish that would cause a "rock fall" because he/she would insist on digging at the base of the rocks! :eek: We have also had many "unplanned pregnancies." hehe! We were fortunately able at times to be able to net out the babies and take them to the local aquarium store.