African or South American aquarium?

[JoeZ]

I am in the process of acquiring a new aquarium. I'm thinking it will be anywhere from 90-125 gallons. I rage seems to be Africans due to the fact that you can load the tank with fish and the varieties of colorful fish is great. Just curious what the census would be on this. I have always kept South American cichlids and possibly looking for a change.

Thanks.

 

[HUKIT]

Neither I would do central americans.

 

[Mogurako]

I am going to have to agree with Hukit, Central American.

 

[gman42]

ive had both types of cichlids, and i like africans more. but thats just my opinion.

 

[Jacobsal91]

African cichlids are a personal favorite of mine, Ive had them on and off for years i would take them over south americans any day

 

[ashleynicole]

I would recommend trying something different from anything youve done before so you don't get bored. If you already have south American than I would say research and look into African or central American

 

[johnnteresa]

With the size tank you stated Africans are your best choice.

 

[JoeZ]

I actually meant Central American, but I think we were close to being on the same page anyway. Lol!!!

The Africans really seemed different. I am extremely intrigued by the fact that you can load a tank with so many fish, and somehow the tank doesn't "blow up."

 

[HUKIT]

The Africans really seemed different. I am extremely intrigued by the fact that you can load a tank with so many fish, and somehow the tank doesn't "blow up."

Who ever gave you little tidbit of info was badly mistaken, Rift lake fish require more research than new worlds due to the shear numbers of fish available which is a result of their ability to evolve faster than any other species on the planet. Most people tend to regurgitate info they're seen or heard without actual first hand or long term knowledge, when properly researched and stocked you don't need cram 80 fish into a rift tank to reduce aggression and even then it can still fail. So many people just buy fish cause they're pretty without taking into consideration the interaction between genus of fish, my favorite one is saying things like they get along great so far! Well that doesn't take into account the fish have not reached maturity yet and that's when the aggression peaks, and trust me you'll never hear back from them when it implodes on them. So to say that it can't blow up is false...trust me it can.

The other issue when cramming all those fish into a tank is the deterioration of water quality. I've read hundreds of threads stating things like "why are my nitrates over 120ppm", well maybe it's because you have 30 fish in a 55g aquarium. I could go on and on but you see the point.

 

[JoeZ]

Great reply. Thank you! Hence the reason I am doing so much research, prior to making my final decision.

 

[Labenator65000]

I am in the process of acquiring a new aquarium. I'm thinking it will be anywhere from 90-125 gallons. I rage seems to be Africans due to the fact that you can load the tank with fish and the varieties of colorful fish is great. Just curious what the census would be on this. I have always kept South American cichlids and possibly looking for a change.

Thanks.

It's your preference. 90-110 could do either one. I would not overstock, though. To me that seems like the wrong way to control aggression. It would also yield high Nitrates unless you were doing PWCs every other day.

 

[JoeZ]

That, more-so than anything is what had me really confused. All these pet shops tell ALL their customers this same crap about putting 20 or 30 fish into a tank.

 

[ashleynicole]

I actually meant Central American, but I think we were close to being on the same page anyway. Lol!!!

The Africans really seemed different. I am extremely intrigued by the fact that you can load a tank with so many fish, and somehow the tank doesn't "blow up."

Years ago I had an Africa tank, at first I just brought random Africans and tossed them in my 55 gallon..after joiningba few cichlid forums and reading a few books and tons of articles let me tell you it is not easy. I actually had to take back most of the fish of bought but kept a few and settled with lake Malawi mbuna. Let me tell you it is not easy when they start to mature. You have to either go with all males and only one make of each species or the right combination of male to female which is hard if your buying and flowing out juveniles and makes sure you have enough space to establish territories. I had to constabtly remove fish as they matured because I bought them small and would had to many males, not enough females, etc etc etc. I wound up with a decent combination of yellow labs, electric blue and acei but in my 55 gallon I only had about 10 fish and I still felt they didnt have enough space which is why in the end I took them all and sold them back and decided Im not going to try Africans again until I have at least a 75 gallon.

 

[5x5]

That, more-so than anything is what had me really confused. All these pet shops tell ALL their customers this same crap about putting 20 or 30 fish into a tank.

JoeZ, Glad your doing your research. Don't forget that pet shops have different incentives when advising on your tank stock than people helping you on Internet with nothing to gain. Even with the best of intentions, LFS employees tend to be biased towards stuff they carry or want to unload.

Regarding your tank question - easiest recommendation I've made all day - Go with SA/CA cichlids. An African tank is just going to be a ball and chain once you inevitably decide to make the move!

I'll agree with the guys above that overall CA cichlids are better than SA cichlids....but there are some SA cichlids not to be missed.