Opinions?

[labpig]

Ok, I went for it. I dismantled my community tank & set up my first cichlid tank

4 yellow lab
3 blue with yellow tail
3 blue on blue stripe
2 rust colour


My tank is only a 70L jewel. I thought it was really over stocked, but the LFS advised this amount to avoid aggression and so far there has been no fights. I also put in a new eheim 250 external filter, in addition to the standard jewel filter.

The problem is I think it's a bit bare, considering I took most of the live plants out, as I read they would Be destroyed

I don't want to put a lot more rocks in as it displaces water

Any suggestions? I changed the background to the blue as I thought the rock background made the whole thing too pale.




Any opinions / advise would be appreciated

Thanks guys


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[CCXGT]

70L is WAY TOO SMALL for any Cichlid...

You'd best be moving them to a 240L at some point in the future.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[labpig]

I wasn't sure if my tank was ok for cichlids, but the LFS said it was ok as long as I put in an extra ext. filter

Should have asked here first!


Can u ID these for me?





Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[TheCommunityCichlid]

That tank is too small for any of those fish. At adult size your fish will be 4-6" (12-16cm) depending on the species. You need to rethink your plans. There are many cichlid species that stay smaller and would do much better in your tank.

The first one is a johanni
Second is a sunshine peacock
Third is a yellow tail acei.

Saying 70L is way to small for any cichlid is inaccurate and over exaggerated. The ones you have on the other hand are no good for that tank.

 

[gilpi]

I had almost the same kind of fish about 14 of them for a couple of years in a 240L and I thought I was overcrowded!

 

[labpig]

I feel really bad now

I Knew what I was at with my community tank, but told the LFS I don't know much about cichlids. I let them guide me

They told me these fish would be ok if I got an ext. filter

I'll have to bring the fish back, but I don't think they have any other types cichlids


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[TheCommunityCichlid]

Find out what they have and post it, I will help you find some well suited cichlids for your tank. Your tank is plenty big for a pair or trio of any dwarf cichlid species.

 

[labpig]

Thanks I really appreciate your help

So 3 dwarf cichlids would be My max?
Would 3 not fight?


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[TheCommunityCichlid]

It depends on the species. Some species can get along with multiple fish, others do best in pairs. You can always add a school of neon tetras with dwarfs. Gives you a nice active tank at all levels.

 

[labpig]

I have a confession-
when I was switching over from community to cichlid tank, I gave most of the community to LFS on the same day that I was getting the cichlids.

That left my old neon tetra in the tank with the new cichlids overnight. The next day when I went to give the neons a to a friend who wanted them, they had all gone. I first thought they were hiding, as they're was a trace if them. But no, the cichlids had eaten them all.

I felt soooo bad about that. Actually felt a bit sick. Its the only disaster I've had since I started my aquarium a year ago.

I knew cichlids were aggressive, but I never realised they were that aggressive

So I don't think I'll be risking keeping tetras with even dwarf cichlids !!



Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[TheCommunityCichlid]

When people talk about aggression with cichlids that is not what they mean. Almost all fish will eat another if they can fit in their mouth. That's not aggression that is just nature. Cichlid aggression is different. By aggression they mean fighting, cichlids will nip, chase, lock jaws, intimidate other fish. Sometimes to the point of death. Those are some examples of aggression. Neon tetras would eat new born yellow lab fry if you dropped them in the tank. The neons aren't aggressive just hungry. You learned a lesson and that's all! Dwarfs won't bother neons. I have them in my dwarf tanks


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[gilpi]

Hey you don't have to feel too bad about it, you didn't know. I suggest doing some internet search on what ever species you think you might want, you'd be surprised how much information is out there. As far as cichlids go, yes you will have to go with a tank at least 4-5 times bigger and even then you'll have to weed out the trouble makers and even with something in the 200-300L you still have to be careful what cichlids you put in there. The ones you mentioned grow to 4-5 inches long. There are also small cichlids (dwarf) you might want to look into. One thing about cichlids, they are all somewhat aggressive and territorial so keep that I'm mind. Good luck!

 

[Freakgecko91]

Hey you don't have to feel too bad about it, you didn't know. I suggest doing some internet search on what ever species you think you might want, you'd be surprised how much information is out there. As far as cichlids go, yes you will have to go with a tank at least 4-5 times bigger and even then you'll have to weed out the trouble makers and even with something in the 200-300L you still have to be careful what cichlids you put in there. The ones you mentioned grow to 4-5 inches long. There are also small cichlids (dwarf) you might want to look into. One thing about cichlids, they are all somewhat aggressive and territorial so keep that I'm mind. Good luck!

Generalizations about cichlids are useless. You can't generalize a family of fish that includes over 3,000 species in Africa, the Americas, some in the Middle East, and even a few Asian species. There are species that fit every inch of the aggression spectrum, from completely peaceful to monsters. They also range just as greatly in size, from tiny little n. Multifasciatus and n. similis at just an inch, to species that are capable of hitting almost the 2 foot mark, like caquetaia umbiferus and parachromis dovii. I have 10 cichlids in a 20 gallon tank right now as I type this. It's about finding the right species size and temperament wise to fit into a tank.

The dwarves that TCC was speaking of include the genera, but not limited to:
Apistogramma
Mikrogeophagus
Laetacara
Dicrossus
Ivanacara
Taeniacara
Neolamprologus (shell dwellers in particular)
Pelvicachromis
Nannacara
Nanochromis
Tanganicodus (goby cichlids)
Eretmodus (more gobies)
Spathodus (even more gobies)
Crenicara
Crenicichla wallaceii, regani, compressiceps.


The list could go on for a while. There are dozens, possibly hundreds of dwarf species, many of which lie on the gentler end of the aggression spectrum.



Sent from my iPad using Aquarium Advice

 

[gilpi]

Generalizations about cichlids are useless. You can't generalize a family of fish that includes over 3,000 species in Africa, the Americas, some in the Middle East, and even a few Asian species. There are species that fit every inch of the aggression spectrum, from completely peaceful to monsters. They also range just as greatly in size, from tiny little n. Multifasciatus and n. similis at just an inch, to species that are capable of hitting almost the 2 foot mark, like caquetaia umbiferus and parachromis dovii. I have 10 cichlids in a 20 gallon tank right now as I type this. It's about finding the right species size and temperament wise to fit into a tank.

The dwarves that TCC was speaking of include the genera, but not limited to:
Apistogramma
Mikrogeophagus
Laetacara
Dicrossus
Ivanacara
Taeniacara
Neolamprologus (shell dwellers in particular)
Pelvicachromis
Nannacara
Nanochromis
Tanganicodus (goby cichlids)
Eretmodus (more gobies)
Spathodus (even more gobies)
Crenicara
Crenicichla wallaceii, regani, compressiceps.


The list could go on for a while. There are dozens, possibly hundreds of dwarf species, many of which lie on the gentler end of the aggression spectrum.



Sent from my iPad using Aquarium Advice

And who is generalizing anything?

Sent from my iPad using Aquarium Advice

 

[Freakgecko91]

70L is WAY TOO SMALL for any Cichlid...

You'd best be moving them to a 240L at some point in the future.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

Hey you don't have to feel too bad about it, you didn't know. I suggest doing some internet search on what ever species you think you might want, you'd be surprised how much information is out there. As far as cichlids go, yes you will have to go with a tank at least 4-5 times bigger and even then you'll have to weed out the trouble makers and even with something in the 200-300L you still have to be careful what cichlids you put in there. The ones you mentioned grow to 4-5 inches long. There are also small cichlids (dwarf) you might want to look into. One thing about cichlids, they are all somewhat aggressive and territorial so keep that I'm mind. Good luck!

I highlighted what I was talking about. I'm not trying to be a troll or a jerk, just trying to put more accurate information out there. There are many species that show no aggression at all. Cleithracara maronii and bitodoma cupido are two good examples of this. I've even kept a 10" uaru amphicanthoides with a 1/2" mikrogeophagus ramirezi and had no issues whatsoever. I often see people make generalizations about cichlids on here, and those are often based around the cichlids of Lake Malawi, namely Mbuna. If my comment offended you, I apologize, but stand by my comment.

 

[loachy dance]

Yellow tail acei, especially, need bigger tanks. Im thinking 70 gallons. They get around 6 inches and need plenty of swimming space.
I got my 90 g on craigs list. If you are keepingthem its a good place to start.

 

[gilpi]

I highlighted what I was talking about. I'm not trying to be a troll or a jerk, just trying to put more accurate information out there. There are many species that show no aggression at all. Cleithracara maronii and bitodoma cupido are two good examples of this. I've even kept a 10" uaru amphicanthoides with a 1/2" mikrogeophagus ramirezi and had no issues whatsoever. I often see people make generalizations about cichlids on here, and those are often based around the cichlids of Lake Malawi, namely Mbuna. If my comment offended you, I apologize, but stand by my comment.

Not offended in anyway and I appreciate your comments and besides it would be tough to even have an argument when I feel the same way
I think most including myself were advising on the OP stock which happen to be a little to big for that size tank once matured, if they would even make it in such small tank and I believe they were Malawi mbunas.
Uaru is a sweetheart of a fish for the most part and to the other side of the spectrum so are Bolivian Rams but now we are going into another topic with south and Central American cichlids.

 

[Freakgecko91]

That's why whenever I talk about mbuna, peacocks, haps, tangs, vics, etc. I make sure to label them as such, as they truly are so different from South americans, Central Americans, Malagasy, and even the Asian/Middle Eastern species. Never hurts to be specific I guess