My first cichlid tank! Am i ready?

[severum mama]

All mine have been anomala... they look like the ones in my photos and the photo you linked. The females are kinda golden and tan in color, but when they get ready to spawn the female will change her appearance completely and show a checkerboard pattern all over. The ones I have are old enough to breed and are showing adult coloration.

 

[siva]

True. The males look more like the females when young.

Adoketas (usually called ivanacara's) are more expensive. I've never seen one mislabled for the other, but then again, I've haven't come across that many nannacara sellers. If I found an adoketa for the price of an anomala I would grab that up.

 

[severum mama]

Oh, Ivanacara? I definitely don't have those. A couple people in our club just got some, they were not easy to find from what I understand.

 

[VioletEmber]

All mine have been anomala... they look like the ones in my photos and the photo you linked. The females are kinda golden and tan in color, but when they get ready to spawn the female will change her appearance completely and show a checkerboard pattern all over. The ones I have are old enough to breed and are showing adult coloration.

Oh! I bet that is what I was seeing in pictures... Females ready to spawn. Very cool. I just tend to see all sorts of weird fish show up in google image searches, I just assumed people had gotten their species mixed up!

 

[siva]

Oh, Ivanacara? I definitely don't have those. A couple people in our club just got some, they were not easy to find from what I understand.

The only seller I know of who often has them is The Wet Spot. wetspottropicalfish.com. But at $40 a piece I've had to pass them up!

 

[VioletEmber]

The only seller I know of who often has them is The Wet Spot. wetspottropicalfish.com. But at $40 a piece I've had to pass them up!

Hey, if I can pay $9 for a guppy... What's $40 for a rare cichlid? (I still can't get over that...)

But back to cichlid pairs... Since I will most likely be ordering my pair, and since I don't have the money or the space to buy 6-8 to see who hooks up, how reliable is it that I will be able to get an actual bonded pair by ordering them?

 

[severum mama]

Please do not feel obligated to order anything from me, but if you are asking about my pairs, it's not going to be a problem. I do not have any proven pairs at this time, but these are not a tough fish to breed at all and once you get a male and a female in a tank, they're going to breed. They are cave spawners and some clay pots or the like can quickly get them "in the mood". One pair I had, I put the male in the tank with the female and added a clay pot, and literally 30 minutes later I caught them spawning. The pairs I have are not spawning now because I am keeping several pairs in each tank and IMO they are just not comfortable enough to spawn. The tanks are only 20 gallons so they do not have a whole lot of room. I am only doing this because it is temporary for them, plus, I already got breeder points on them so I really don't need more spawns. LOL.

 

[VioletEmber]

That's good to know! Are apistos and rams more "choosy" when it comes to partners? Or more violent towards their partners? I would like a nice happy couple with only occasional quibbles!

 

[severum mama]

IME neither rams nor apistos are "choosy" when it comes to mates. 2 sexually mature adults is usually a pretty good bet, especially when we're talking about captive bred fish vs. wilds. Actually, HN1 and I have to keep our Apisto atahualpa males and females separately when we have them, because if we try to tank them together they all try to spawn and it's like WW3. LOL

 

[VioletEmber]

Another question: bottom feeders? I adore my cories but have read they are a no-go with cichlids. I tend to like bottom feeders- just think they are cute. Do any work in this tank with cichlid pairs?

 

[Ryanlr88]

Another question: bottom feeders? I adore my cories but have read they are a no-go with cichlids. I tend to like bottom feeders- just think they are cute. Do any work in this tank with cichlid pairs?

Synodontis catfish, specifically petricola or multi. I have upside-down cats myself.

 

[VioletEmber]

I would love a catfish- but since I am leaning heavily towards south American dwarf cichlids and the catfish you mention are African ... Is that a problem? I did some research and it seems that the upside down catfish has the most compatible ph requirements.

I fell in love with a Rafael catfish at the store the other day but I think that may be too big... The interweb experts recommended a 29+. But if I'm not mistaken, a 20 long has the same footprint?

How bout a bristlenose pleco? Sooo cute...

 

[a.tetreault]

I think a BN pleco would get a little big for your tank, and I believe upside down catfish should be kept in groups of at least three...someone correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[VioletEmber]

I think a BN pleco would get a little big for your tank, and I believe upside down catfish should be kept in groups of at least three...someone correct me if I'm wrong.

I think you are right about keeping them in a group of at least 3. Would that rule them out for a 20 long?

 

[VioletEmber]

Here is the tank as it is now. I went ahead and got an upside down catfish- can I get two more?











Some of the plants are in there because I was helping it cycle and I'm not attached to them. I'm planning on attaching some java moss to the driftwood. I have some anubias, an amazon sword and some floating plants like hornwort and some kind of floating thing I got at a garden place from their water plant section. They gave it to me for free cause it's winter time and they looked awful, but they are growing new leaves now. oh, and some compacta.

Is there enough open space? Too much? Enough hiding places? I'd rather not do fake caves unless I have too.

 

[Basefrog]

WOW! Love the layout! Looks like enough hidding places tbh. Especially when the plants fill in =D

 

[Aspencer]

I did not go through all the post but you may have algae problems being that close to a window with sunlgiht coming in.

 

[Basefrog]

I did not go through all the post but you may have algae problems being that close to a window with sunlgiht coming in.

+1 Though it looks a bit late to move now. Just keep on top of WCs etc.. and it shouldn't be too bad.

 

[VioletEmber]

I did not go through all the post but you may have algae problems being that close to a window with sunlgiht coming in.

Oh for sure! I actually could move it - now that you mention it. But when I bought the tank off of craigslist it turned out the lightbulb had blown out ... So for now I'm using sunlight lightbulbs! I'll just do some scrubbing with water changes until I can afford a new light. Got any recommendations?

 

[Malawi Freak]

Really nice setup. I like how that wood looks.

If you're not afraid of some DIY you could do like I did in my 29. Go to home depot and get some t5 lights that will fit and wire them in. They've been working for over a year now and have a real nice crisp white to them.