Need advice

[jayant]

I have had a 10 gallon tropical tank for 1.5 years.. I used to have tetras/ guppies in it.. It is empty right now..
I have a big house for decoration: My first freshwater aquarium - part 1 - YouTube

I am thinking of keeping 2 cichlids which have adult size of 4 inches or less..

I have a few newbie questions about cichlids:

1. Is the decoration (big house, has caves) good enough or do I need to have rocks for some other reason?

2. I used to feed previous fish with tropical fish flakes mostly and sometimes other items.. (Flakes, BabyShrimp, Granules and Crisps). Can I continue to feed that same food or cichlids have different diet requirements?

3. Which cichlid are hardy and max 4 inches that you guys will recommend?

 

[Mogurako]

I would not keep any dwarf cichlid in a tank with a footprint less than 24"x 13" so you're smallest option would be a 15 gallon. As for feeding them a 1mm sinking pellet by NLS, Omega One, HBH or Hakari will work well.

 

[jayant]

I have TetraMin Tropical Flakes and TetraMin 3 in 1 pack which has tropical Crisps, BabyShrimp and Granules. I have them in decent quantity.

Do I really need to buy another fish food which specifically says cichlids or can I continue to use the existing food for cichlids as well.

 

[Malawi Freak]

I have TetraMin Tropical Flakes and TetraMin 3 in 1 pack which has tropical Crisps, BabyShrimp and Granules. I have them in decent quantity.

Do I really need to buy another fish food which specifically says cichlids or can I continue to use the existing food for cichlids as well.

You can but you need to look at the specific dietary requirements of the fish you choose. Some require more veggies than protein and vice versa. Nls and hikari are recommended brands to use because they contain quality elements to really make your cichlids look as good as they can.