Changed my mind.

[pondmom]

Since doing alot of research on converting my FW in to SW, I was learning that the cost to convert would be astinomical($1000+) SO.....
My DH & I took a trip to a LFS that has been rated #1 here in Minnesota(World of Fish) I was impressed. We looked around for a bit before "Bob" (real name) asked us if we needed any help. We told him what we had(125g angels and assorted other fish) and what we wanted(more color)
I said SW was not in the budget right now. Thats fine he said and showed us to 2 display tanks that had Cichlids in it(adult size and smaller) They were stunning. We talked, asked questions, he told us that they were "really" hardy and we would have no problems keeping cichlids.
So we bought 40# of rock, went home to catch and trade some fish, and clean and install the rock.

Went back with 14 fish to trade for cichlids.(I did keep my Angels)
Upon returning to the store, I had asked Bob how long he has worked there, 14 years he told me. This guy was not only a wealth of knowledge, but an employee who took "the time" to explain everything we wanted to know. He also told me about his "personal" tanks at home. Bob knew his stuff!!
I ended up leaving with 5 new baby cichlids.
I'm VERY happy with the way I was treated and the look of my new tank!!
I WILL be back for more.

 

[Allivymar]

Oh I'm jealous. I want a good lfs like that near me!

And what sorta cichlids did you get?? I just worry you wound up with Africans, who are stunning, horribly aggressive and have very diff water parameter needs then angels. Hopefully you got a few rams; they are stunning as well, and are great tankmates for angels.

Pics girl! We want pics!

 

[ferret]

Sounds good but I got the same concerns as Ally about the angels. If they're africans, they need roughly the opposite water conditions of the angels and will beat the poor things up.

 

[pondmom]

Sorry I didn't make myself clear

I "removed" all the fish from the 125g and went strictly w/cichlids.
The angels were moved to the 30gal. I couldn't bare giving up my lovely angels.

Now I'm not great with the names, this is what my receipt says:
Hap Moori (blue dolphin)
PS. Msobo(yellow)
Hap Zebra(looks like a perch)
Hap Insignus
Lab. Electric yellow

I also got a clown loach that went missing till this morning. No idea where it was hanging out

I love the look of the tank now with the rocks & plants
Let me know what else I can add.
These are small fish(about 1 1/2") I think I'm hooked!!

 

[ferret]

You can add a huge number of african cichlids to that tank. I must stress to research every species you buy though, as there's a lot of potential compatiblity issues. I normally don't do this, but I'd really suggest placing a post at cichlid-forum.com and seeing what advice you can get there. They're a good bunch of people with a lot of knowledge.

 

[pondmom]

Can a common Pleco be in the same tank as cichlids??

 

[grimlock3000]

"Can a common Pleco be in the same tank as cichlids??"

Yep, no problem there, just make sure you start off with a Pleco that is a couple inches long or so.

 

[Thaiboxer]

Hey Pondmom -

I'm glad you had such a great experience there! They're pretty far from my house, but World of Fish is pretty much the only LFS that I really trust in the Twin Cities. There's another near me that sometimes has good South American cichlid selection, but WOF is great with the Africans! They really know their stuff there, and they're not afraid to ask for help from their coworkers when they don't know!

How common is that these days?

I got a red-tailed Green Terror there about a month ago, and he's super healthy! I'm going back for some clown loaches or bala sharks soon... haven't decided which.

Glad to hear you're happy! I still want to see your pond sometime!

 

[Menagerie]

Pondmom,
When my fiancé started his cichlid tank, he went through many cichlids (aggressive issues) until having the fish stabilize. I will admit to being part of the problem. After 6 months of dating, we were in the LPS and we bought 4 baby cichlids for his tank. It worked out for a while, but now that everyone is grown, we can only add in 5-6" fish.
The only concern I have for your tank is watch them closely as they mature. We had a beautiful red humped geophagus, who was generally "peaceful" and by far the biggest fish in the tank. Within the course of 36 hours, his dorsal fins, top fin and back had been chewed up (as graduate students, we watch our fish as much as possible, but we missed this one ). We immediately put him in QT, but he did not make it. In my fiancé’s 5 years of caring for cichlids, we have only given one away for being too aggressive--and he was just a little guy!
We also kept a clown loach in the tank, he hid most of the time, and one day he turned up dead--no marks on him at all. We would like another clown loach, and have done a ton of reading on them. IMHO, you should get a couple more because they like company.
As for whom else you can put in the tank—go for catfish. Just research them ahead of time. We have one synodontis who hides all the time, which for me is fine—he is one UGLY fish! When looking for catfish, look for ones that are not nocturnal. We bought a Mystus vittatus and he has been a lovely addition.

 

[pondmom]

My clown loach went missing over night. I had no idea where the thing was. We were puzzled :?
This morning, she turned up.
Well it's back to the LFS(45 miles away) tomorrow for more rock and "maybe" a few more fish
I love this hobby!!

Hey Thai~
This summer you'll have to stop up. Look for "rice creek gardens" on the net/phone book. I'm just 2 skips from there. Very close.