african cichlids and pleco- compatible?

[staceyv]

I have a 20 gallon high tank. All I have in it right now are some guppies that won't stop breeding, a couple of danios and a swordtail, plus my 4" pleco. I want to redo the tank- I'm bringing all of my fish back to the petstore- and I want to start an african cichlid tank.

I'm keeping the pleco, and these are my questions:

1) Can the pleco adjust to brackish water, or should I just keep the africans in freshwater? I used to keep africans in freshwater, so I know they'll be okay, but I would like them to breed, so if it won't kill my pleco, I'd like to make it brackish.
SO, basically, for the pleco's sake, freshwater or brackish?

2) I'm going to start the tank off with all small africans- as small as I can get them because they're cheaper that way, and there won't be other fish in the tank that can eat them. Since I'm starting off with small fish, I want to buy them all in one shot. (I know from experience that if I try to add more in later, they might get killed!) I was told that african cichlids get along better if they are crowded or if there are very few- in either case, they don't bother to try to kill each other over territory. I prefer to have a nicely stocked tank,
SO, How many africans will live comfortably in a 20 gallon high tank with plenty of hiding areas?

Thanks for any advice you might have for me!

[TankGirl]

African cichlids are not a bit brackish, so keep this tank fresh. They often do well with the addition of some lake "salts" that are not really sodium per se, but closely replicate the conditions of the rift lakes of Africa. These are lakes, though, not estuarial or brackish conditions.

If your pleco is mature and will get no larger than 4" then it should be a fine addition to a cichlid tank. I do believe you are very limited on what you can keep in a 20 high. Here is a link to some "cookie cutter" stocking suggestions for a 20gal tank: http://www.cichlid-forum.com/article...cutter_20g.php from cichlid-forum.com.

Shellies would be wonderful in there, as would a pair of Alto calvus or Alto compressiceps. My vote would be for N. brichardi, as I am particularly partial to them, and they will tolerate their offspring in the tank for a while.

You could also consider some of the African riverine cichlids, like kribensis and some similar species, and they do not prefer such hard, alkaline water as the rift lake Africans, in case your water is on the softer, acidic side.

[poppab02]

I'll echo what TG said

African cichlids aren't brackish, so don't keep them in brackish water

The cichlids that TG listed are the only ones that I can think of that will do well in a 20 gallon, it's too small for most of the african species you see at the store

also, the "crowding" theory works only in large tanks, I've never seen it work in less than a 55 gallon tank, so don't even take that into effect.

[Fishyfanatic]

The addition of all of your cichlid's at one time is to cut down on aggression. In a tank that small, it can cause an ammonia spike that could be hard on your fish is proper water changes are not done. I also agree with TG. You are very limited on what can be stocked in your tank.

[TankGirl]

I'll also interject that I have a 44gal (wide, low tank with a large footprint) and am having trouble keeping things peaceful in there, and have decided that I won't try to keep a bunch of Africans in anything smaller than a 55. I am switching this tank over to a N. brichardi tank, like it used to be, and forget mbuna and peacocks for it.