baby cichlid

[zach_1_6]

hi everyone, about a month and a bit ago i bought a 65 gallon tank from a guy who bred african cichlids in it. he drianed the tank and cleaned it up before i bought it. i got home set it up and let it cycle. a week or so after i was ready to move my fish into the new tank, and a little baby fish shows up. he lived and my cats or sjarks didnt eat him and turned out to be a cichled, so i had to quikly move him out of my tank before he killed my tetra. he is in a 10 gallon tank now, how long will that last him? or will i have to find new home for him soon?

 

[mfdrookie516]

really depends... what kind is it?

 

[mommytron]

if you post this in the cichild forum you may get more responses

 

[HN1]

Can you get a pic?

 

[JustOneMore20]

Moved to Cichlid Discussion.

 

[zach_1_6]

not sure what kind still brownish colour, little bit of yelloww coming through on its tail fin.

 

[mfdrookie516]

does it look anything like the one in thisthis thread?http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f19/baby-yellow-lab-cichlid-130620.html

 

[zach_1_6]

yes identicle

 

[mfdrookie516]

Ok, then you've got a yellow lab. IMO, you'll need a 55g tank or larger for it, but you'll also want to get it some friends It'll be fine in the 10g for a few months probably, I wouldn't keep it in there once its more than 1.5" though. That 65g you have would make a nice looking african setup

 

[zach_1_6]

thanks, and cichlids havr crossed my mind a number of times, just got to convince my parents to let me buy another tank

 

[zach_1_6]

any suggestions or tipps on african cichlids?

 

[mfdrookie516]

Suggestions would depend on the size of tank they were going in. Assuming you would have a 55g for them, I would suggest (and this is only personal preference):
4 Yellow Labs- 1 male, 3 females
4 Acei- 1 male, 3 females
4 Red Zebras- 1 male, 3 females

You would, of course, have many many options as to what you choose for fish. There are literally thousands of possibilities. One place you may want to look just for info on the fish would be Cichlid-Forum.com. They have a profiles section that has info on practically every cichlid. Just keep in mind that you want to stick with African Cichlids, and you'll also want to stick with fish from Lake Malawi.

 

[toddnbecka]

A yellow lab isn't likely to kill your tetra, or much of anything else for that matter. You can keep it in the larger tank w/out any worries assuming there isn't anything big enough to eat it.

 

[Aquarium1]

Also if you do decide to get a cichlid tank I highly recommend setting up a quarantine tank as well. Cichlids can be pretty pricey fish and just by introducing one contaminated fish could cause things to downhill fast. A 10g or larger is suitable for this purpose (bigger is better), and put new fish in there for at least two weeks although the longer the better.

 

[zach_1_6]

ok thanks everyone, il keep these tips in mind, and if i do decide to set up an african tank il let you all know.

 

[Crepe]

Cichlid set ups aren't expensive either just tell them that to convince them haha. The most expensive thing I've seen on cichlid set ups are the fish and the 50/50 bulbs people get to help display the blue in the fish. Really all you need is sand and rocks.

 

[Aquarium1]

Well and a good filter(s) haha, they aren't exactly the cleanest fish.

 

[Crepe]

You can DIY your own filter with a bucket, nail, pump, duct tape and a mess of batting . It won't look good but it would only cost 20 bucks to make two and another 60 to get pumps.

But in all seriousness yes, that's probably going to be a 240 cost for 2 eheims or the like.

 

[Aquarium1]

Yeah it'd probably be cheaper to diy unless you can find some good ones on craigslist.

 

[zach_1_6]

ok, if i can convince my dad i will put some money away and get going, i heard they like alot of slate? and what for substrate? sand gravel... etc?