Toying with idea of Cichlid tank -- advice, help appreciated

[Smcoyle87]

For a "cichlid beginner" i would suggest something easy like Kribensis. A pair would terrorize the community at breeding time though.

 

[George9]

Hm....how aggressive? Would my small fish be killed? I'd feel awful if that happened, but at the same time it would be so cool to have a mating pair. And figures that Severum Mama just posted her new stock list and she happens to have a pair of Apistos! I do have an empty 20 gal I could use temporarily but..... I can't win I guess lol

Really agressive lol. Any fish that gets too close will get a few good pecks, I dunno I've never experienced it though because I don't keep them in pairs.

The safe way to go is one of each with the dwarf cichlids. Even though a breeding pair is just so cool! I asked SM about her apisto pair she posted, she says the fem is 1" long, lol what a young little couple

 

[librarygirl]

Darn. So if I nix the idea of a breeding pair and have singles, what should I go with? Do they have to be in pairs to be happy? I'm visiting an LFS tomorrow after work that I've never been to but it's family owned and they've been around for 30+ years, I'm curious to see what they have. I'm not ready to buy anything yet of course (unless they have a good price on a large tank ) but just browsing (which is always fun).

Now I'm re-thinking the idea of keeping the 30 for my small fish and going with a 40 breeder with Dwarfs so I can have at least one pair.

Decisions, decisions.....

 

[George9]

Darn. So if I nix the idea of a breeding pair and have singles, what should I go with? Do they have to be in pairs to be happy? I'm visiting an LFS tomorrow after work that I've never been to but it's family owned and they've been around for 30+ years, I'm curious to see what they have. I'm not ready to buy anything yet of course (unless they have a good price on a large tank ) but just browsing (which is always fun).

Now I'm re-thinking the idea of keeping the 30 for my small fish and going with a 40 breeder with Dwarfs so I can have at least one pair.

Decisions, decisions.....

Nope, they do just as well alone as in pairs. I have a gbr and an apisto, both are happy and doing great

I really would have no idea what kinda of dwarfs you should go with, the only three i know of are rams, apistos, and kribs. Not sure if i would mix all though. I know rams and apistos are fine together, was thinking of a krib for mine, but after some more reasearch, I've found mixing all thre isn't a good idea. Kribs are probably the most aggressive of the three.

if you go with singles, small fish and others can be kept with them.

Or, you could consider a smaller tank with just a pair of kribs, or a nice pair of apistos.

I'm a little confused too. Are you setting up two tanks, one community upgrade, other dwarf cichlids? Or one tank and mixing dwarfs with your current stock.

Maybe I should read back a little bit

I'm no expert on this stuff either. I Would pm Severum mama about aggression with pairs of apistos and being kept with other cichlids. She knows tons about apistos.

 

[librarygirl]

Thanks George. I guess we're the only two reading this thread. lol

I'm reading/getting conflicing info. I've heard they can be very aggressive when breeding but I've also heard that they will chase other fish and nip fins but not mortally would another fish and most fish would know to stay away.

To answer your question, I have a 29 gal tank now with the stock mentioned above. I'd like some larger fish though so inititally I thought of setting up a separate larger tank (40 breeder maybe) for some "larger" fish (not shark large, just larger than the mostly nano fish I have now lol) and the first fish I thought of were Cichlids. Then I wondered if I get a bigger tank (~55) could I keep both species together instead of having to maintain two separate tanks (well three, as I have a 5 gal Betta tank too).

I'm still confuzzled. I might have to ask SM even though I hate to bother her. Thanks

 

[Andrew McFadden]

I'm watching and learning I just don't know about SA cichlids

 

[a.tetreault]

I know a lot of people who keep pairs in there community tanks and it has been fine, I would say do a pair of Bolivian rams or something like that.

 

[Sake]

Thanks George. I guess we're the only two reading this thread. lol

That is incorrect, I am following it, but have no experience! Just following and learning from your questions keep asking please! lol

 

[Loudog21]

I am following too. I just looked up Kribensis and it said it was an African but said nothing about brackish water. Does it require salt?

 

[George9]

Thanks George. I guess we're the only two reading this thread. lol

I'm reading/getting conflicing info. I've heard they can be very aggressive when breeding but I've also heard that they will chase other fish and nip fins but not mortally would another fish and most fish would know to stay away.

To answer your question, I have a 29 gal tank now with the stock mentioned above. I'd like some larger fish though so inititally I thought of setting up a separate larger tank (40 breeder maybe) for some "larger" fish (not shark large, just larger than the mostly nano fish I have now lol) and the first fish I thought of were Cichlids. Then I wondered if I get a bigger tank (~55) could I keep both species together instead of having to maintain two separate tanks (well three, as I have a 5 gal Betta tank too).

I'm still confuzzled. I might have to ask SM even though I hate to bother her. Thanks

I love helping you, it's the least I can do after you helped Me sort out the whole cycling sitiation.

Don't be afraid to bother her lol. You'd think she Hates me with how much I bother her

If you get a 55, maybe you could try a pair of rams, and a single apisto because rams are the least aggressive of the three IMO (the three being rams kribs and apistos) kribs are really territorial either way, and like to take over tanks. So id leave them out of your dc list.
I dont think they will kill other fish when breeding, yes. But they could quite possibly hurt them.

SM is an apisto expert. I'd double check with her also

 

[librarygirl]

Woo hoo!!!

I PM'd Severum Mama and she got back to me quickly (she rocks!!! ). She said that a breeding pair won't actively go after my fish but they'll defend their terrority when breeding and in a 40 breeder or a 55 gal tank my fish should have plenty of room to keep away from the breeding pair and for the pair to establish a territory. I'm very excited!!

I want to plan out a scape, something that'll give everyone enough hiding places and some open areas to keep everyone happy. Is it OK to have driftwood with Cichlids or do they just prefer stones/caves? Hm, I'll have to do some searching on that. I'm probably overly paranoid but I'd hate for my current fish to get so stressed out that they get sick. That's all I need.

I have a fair number of live plants too and I know Cichlids can tear them up but I'll give it a shot. I'll try anchoring the Anubias and Java Fern to wood or stones and see how that works.

So.....next step is tank, stand and decor shopping. Probably this weekend. Since I live alone and I'm a fairly small woman it'll be intersting to see how I'd get a large tank and stand up 3 flights of stairs. I guess I'll have to beg a neighbor's help. I wish PetCo would have it's $1 per gallon sale NOW but I don't think I'm that lucky. I've been searching Craigslist too but most people with ads on there that I've emailed haven't returned my messages.

I'll probably start with one pair and see how it goes. Even if I just have one pair and then a single Ram or something I'd be content with that.

I'm on 3rd FL too so I'm just hoping my floor can support a 55. I'm sure it can, but...I have nightmare visions of the tank going through the floor into the apartment below.

I guess this thread is going to turn into a build.

 

[a.tetreault]

Sorry if I totally missed this but which dwarf pair have you decided to get? I think driftwood or rocks would be fine it's mostly on your personal preference, I have both in my mbuna tank. But your dwarf pairs will benefit from caves the most when it comes to breeding.

 

[librarygirl]

Sorry if I totally missed this but which dwarf pair have you decided to get? I think driftwood or rocks would be fine it's mostly on your personal preference, I have both in my mbuna tank. But your dwarf pairs will benefit from caves the most when it comes to breeding.

I'm not 100% sure yet but I'm leaning toward Cockatoo Apisto. Depends on what I can actually get when the time comes. I've never looked for Cichlids around here so I have no idea what's available. Severum Mama has a pair now but they'll probably be gone by the time I'm ready to buy them.

For the heck of it last night I checked Craigslist again and someone posted a 55 with black stand for $100! I emailed him but no word yet. He supplied a phone number though so I might just call him. That would be a sweet deal!

I want to get a different sand color than what I have now though. In the bag it looked like a nice brownish tan color but in the tank it's of course a lot lighter with the lights and my fish's colors are very washed out. I had black before and it was OK, but if I can find a darker brown that would be great, just not sure such a color exists. Most of my plants are Java Fern and Anubias (I did just order some Swords from a member on here but not sure if I can keep them alive with my lights) so I don't think I'll need a plant substrate. I'll have to see what I can find.

I'll definitely provide a lot of stones and cave structures with some driftwood and the plants. I wonder if I put the stones and caves more at one end of the tank if the Cichlids would claim that end as theirs and leave the other end alone so my other fish would have some place to inhabit?

I'm going to try to hit up some LFS here this weekend too and find some decor although I checked a few sites online and they have some nice Cichlid stones and other things that might look cool too.

Once I get some items and start putting things together I'll probably start a new build thread.

Thanks everyone.

 

[George9]

Yay! I hope you find a good deal!

I think the apistos will deinately claim their side of the tank, but i don't think they will always stay confined to that area. But I doubt they will bother other fish very much either way.

Cockatoo are my favorite!! I bought an athaulpa from SM and he's my favorite fish. Apistos are a lot of fun

This is my little guy. He's still pretty young.

 

[librarygirl]

Yay! I hope you find a good deal!

I think the apistos will deinately claim their side of the tank, but i don't think they will always stay confined to that area. But I doubt they will bother other fish very much either way.

Cockatoo are my favorite!! I bought an athaulpa from SM and he's my favorite fish. Apistos are a lot of fun

This is my little guy. He's still pretty young.

View attachment 88871

Aw he's cute!!!

Yeah I figure maybe if i set up rocks and stuff in mostly one corner that's where they'll breed and then the other fish will just stay away from that corner. I don't know if that's how it works. I know if they aren't breeding they'll be all over the tank and that's fine as long as my other fish are safe too.

I went to an LFS today. I had been there before but forgot. The only Cichlids they had were larger ones, no dwarfs. They had pencilfish which are very cool looking fish, I'd never seen them before. They had a good selection of stuff just nothing that I'd be able to get.

I did pick up some river rocks. I might make some structures with silicone or just scatter them around, not sure yet. They had some slate but it was expensive, I might try Home Depot.

I did call the guy about his tank and stand on CL and I saw he called me when I was out but my message machine was full so he couldn't leave a message. Hopefully he calls back.

I'm still overly paranoid about having such a large tank on my 3rd FL apartment though; I have a bad feeling about it. I hope I'm being stupid. But.....I'm scared enough to wonder whether I should go through with this or not.

 

[George9]

Well, this is how I would think about it. A filled 55 is about 625 lbs. Plus about 50 pounds of sand, the stand, maybe Another 50 lbs, and the rocks inside and stuff, I'll just say that's another 50.

That's about 825 lbs give or take. So, it would be about 4 normal size 200 lb adults standing next to eachother 48 in aross.I don't think that would break the floor.

 

[a.tetreault]

I think the op is more worried that the "four 200 pound adults" would be standing there for the next few months or years of there lives haha still tho I think it will be fine, If the building your in is fairly well made then it should be able to hold the weight. If you're really worried maybe try and find out where the...um...i have no idea what the word I'm looking for is, I mean the supporting walls in the floor underneath you are lol! And place your tank accordingly.

 

[librarygirl]

Yep, you got it! I toy with the idea of moving closer to work sometimes but I've been in this apartment for 5 years now so I'll probably be here a bit longer at least.

Ok so can someone tell me what the heck my floor is made of and that it's normal? See pic below. I did some searching about floors and aquariums and weight and read a lot about joists and load bearing walls, neither of which I can tell from the way my building is (even the ground level with the laundry room and boiler room has tiled ceilings so there's no way to see any of those things). For the heck of it I pulled up a corner of my rug and found what seems to be some sort of padding underneath and rather skimpy looking wood pieces along the baseboard and under that some sort of.... wood? I have no idea. I guess I was expecting to see beams. I'm not feeling very reassured at this point.

I had to go to PetSmart to get something for my cat and I looked at their tanks. They had a 50, 55 and 40 breeder. I have to admit the 50-55 looks very.....intimidating lol. I'm sure the fish would love it but I wonder if it would be too imposing for my space and ....um, wouldn't fall through my floor (I know, I know, I can't get it out of my head though lol).

I read somewhere that 40 breeders have about the same footprint as 50 gal tanks. The 40 is 12" shorter but it's 6" deeper. Might be a bit harder to scape but looks less intimidating (and um not as potentially heavy).

Of course none of the ads on Craigslist that I've seen involve a 40 gallon so I'd either have to buy new which would be fairly expensive especially given I need a stand too.

Yes, I make things more difficult than need be (my brain needs an off switch).

Someone please shoot me......

 

[Sake]

It's difficult to tell but It should be made out of 3/4 inch plywood. Or perhaps 5/8 inch plywood. The padding is for the carpet it's what makes it cushiony lol

 

[Sake]

Aquariums up to 55 gallons can be placed almost anywhere without much worry at all. Many tanks larger than 55 gallons and no more than 125 gallons will be okay, if they are placed in a good structural location and your floor framing is free from significant defects. For example, a 125 gallon tank, on a wooden stand, placed perpendicular to the joists up against a bearing wall, will often be okay without any additional structural support. If your tank is over 125 gallons, then it is likely that you should consider adding supports under your wood framed floor. Please realize that these are generalities that may or may not apply to your particular situation.

That was taken from http://www.african-cichlid.com/Structure.htm
It's towards the bottom of the page, the rest is just explaining why way better than I ever could.