Cichild

[Mikey214]

I am in the process of fishless cycling my 29 gallon freshwater aquarium , I love the look of cichild's but have no idea about these guys at all . . . . so i have a couple of questions
is a 29 gallon tank suitable for them?
are they aggressive?
can i house them with my tropical community fish?
thanks for the replies in advance ! :thumbsup:

 

[Mouth-Brooder-Fanatic]

a 29 is good for dwarf species, like:
shellies
pseudocrenilabrus
rams
apistogramma
killifish
kribensis
dwarf angels
dwarf gourami
(there are more but these are what i can think of)

most are aggressive, but all in different levels. angels, apistogramma and pseudocrenilabrus seem to be higher aggression, while rams and shellies are quite tame. gourami, kribs and killifish sorta in the middle?

with tropical fish such as....? guppies or mollies, no not really. kuhli loaches etc, maybe

what kinds of cichlids are you into? xx

 

[toddnbecka]

A 29 is alright for some of the smaller/less aggressive SA or CA species. Main consideration is your tap water, whether it's hard/alkaline or soft/acidic. That's the best place to start, it's easier to keep fish that are suited to your water conditions.

 

[Mikey214]

a 29 is good for dwarf species, like:
shellies
pseudocrenilabrus
rams
apistogramma
killifish
kribensis
dwarf angels
dwarf gourami
(there are more but these are what i can think of)

most are aggressive, but all in different levels. angels, apistogramma and pseudocrenilabrus seem to be higher aggression, while rams and shellies are quite tame. gourami, kribs and killifish sorta in the middle?

with tropical fish such as....? guppies or mollies, no not really. kuhli loaches etc, maybe

what kinds of cichlids are you into? xx

Right now I have four black skirt tetras and two ember tetras , and all the cichlids I've seen have caught my eye quite honestly so I guess whatever is suitable for my set up

 

[Mouth-Brooder-Fanatic]

if u like colour, i reccomend the pseudocrenilabrus, apisto or rams. plus the pseudo males are 'excited' over everything with fins :L
i think the tetras would be ok with a gentle cichlid like rams, or as long as they keep out of the way would be good with the shellies or kribs.

have a look on google or in your lfs to see what ones you like x

 

[Mikey214]

A 29 is alright for some of the smaller/less aggressive SA or CA species. Main consideration is your tap water, whether it's hard/alkaline or soft/acidic. That's the best place to start, it's easier to keep fish that are suited to your water conditions.

Just tested the tap water and it's just around 7.0 probably a tiny bit light so in between 6.8ish and 7.0ish

 

[toddnbecka]

Your tap water is probably soft as well, though I'd aerate it for 24 hours and then test again to see how stable that is. Neutral-acidic tap water is usually soft, so it would likely be suited to Apisto's and neons.
If you prefer fish that do better in hard/alkaline water it's much easier to raise/maintain the pH and hardness than to lower it and keep it stable. Baking soda and epsom salt are inexpensive, and you can use them to buffer the pH to around 8.2 if you want to keep Tanganykian shellies like multi's.

 

[Mikey214]

Your tap water is probably soft as well, though I'd aerate it for 24 hours and then test again to see how stable that is. Neutral-acidic tap water is usually soft, so it would likely be suited to Apisto's and neons.
If you prefer fish that do better in hard/alkaline water it's much easier to raise/maintain the pH and hardness than to lower it and keep it stable. Baking soda and epsom salt are inexpensive, and you can use them to buffer the pH to around 8.2 if you want to keep Tanganykian shellies like multi's.

Thanks for the info! :thumbsup: