New to Cichlids - 40 Gallon Breeder

[Soupy97]

Hey everyone, this forum has been very helpful to me in purchasing my new tank so I figured I would make an account to join the community.

Anyway, I am building a 40 gallon breeder tank right now and I am looking to put cichlids in it. I dont know enough about cichlids to make good choices as to what should go into my tank, so any help with stocking advice would be appreciated. In my previous tank I had live plants, and that was one of my favorite parts. I know cichlids and plants don't go well together, but it would be really great if you guys could recommend cichlids that will get along in a planted aquarium (if possible).

Thanks for the help!

 

[nathanden]

I have live plants in my mixed African tank no issues the just love eattin the leafs which don't bother me


But I've heard rustys are good in planted tanks

Are you look at American or African cichlids

 

[josh7]

Really not any larger cichlid will get a long with plants you could just get like rams or angels if you want plants to. If you want larger more aggressive cichlids I would reccomend doing mid sized 6-8 inch South American/Central American cichlids.

I would do a pair of firemouths or blue acara cichlids. If you want some to breed or just have 2 of them. With these you could probably add a school of 7 tiger barbs and a BN Pleco and they would be fine.

Or you could do a mix tank like

1 Comvict Cichlid
1 blue acara or firemouth
7 or 8 tiger barbs
1- BN Pleco

If you do any of these options just make sure to keep up on water changes and make sure to have plenty of filtration.

 

[Soupy97]

I am really indifferent to African or Central/South American cichlids, i really just want to be able to have both the cichlids and live plants. That said, I think that since africans tend to be smaller (to my knowledge) they may be better fit for the size of my tank.

Josh, could you recommend any other cichlid that would work with the ones you mentioned to replace the tiger barbs?

 

[josh7]

I'm thinking you could do 3 cichlids and no tiger barbs or Pleco like
1- Convict Cichlid
1- Firemouth Cichlid
1- Blue Acara

Or maybe

1- Firemouth
1-Blue Acara
1- Salvini cichlid

Really you can pick any of these 3 and they will live fine together and the Africans won't really fit better you can just have more of them is all. But to me I would rather get the Central/South Americans they have much more personality and can get a little bit of size to them IMO.

 

[Soupy97]

I like the second suggestion; 1 firemouth, 1 blue acara, and 1 salvini.
Would these fish work well with plants though?

And, just so I can compare my options. What could I put together for an african tank?

I liked the Rusty suggestion

Sorry for all the questions

 

[josh7]

Don't worry questions are good. But I mean you can try plants these fish all like to dig but I think they don't really tear up plants just anchor them down they may nip at them once in a while nothing to drastic. I would definitely do the hardier plants though like java ferns.

Really Africans don't do great with plants they come from rocky habitats so you would have more of a rock cave type setup with fewer plants.

The South/Central American cichlids come from places with a lot more wood and plants.

 

[Soupy97]

Alright well if thats the case I think I will just go ahead with the south/Central american cichlids. I was doing a bit of research and I was told that these cichlids will be resonably ok with plants.

-Rainbow Cichlid
-Apistogrammas
-Keyhole Cichlid

What do you think?

 

[msumpter87]

Watch the salvini if you get one. They are hit and miss on there personality. Some are wimps some are killers. Mine is a wimp but I have seen very very mean ones and the firemouth and acara might be bullied. Just keep an eye on them.

 

[Soupy97]

So I think I have determined the fish I am going to get, I just want to make sure I wont have any problems. This is the plan:

1x Rainbow Cichlid
1x Keyhole Cichlid
8x Apistogramma (2 each of 4 different species).
1x Bristlenose Pleco

In a Planted tank with driftwood for the pleco.

Thoughts?

 

[Tobykourtney]

I've had a jack dempsey with amazon swords,java fern,banana plants and dwarf grass for a couple of weeks and they seem to be doing fine. I think it's just luck of the draw with there personalities.

 

[T-Rex91]

Like home boy said,, a lot of times it's luck of the draw,, ... I have a 55g 4 ft long tank that's heavy stocked... You wanna take into account that cichlids like long tanks to swim around... I'm big into African cichlids... That are awesome and there are so many of them.. Ive had Oscars.. Jack dempseys, blue acara... And now I'm just keeping the Africans... But i only have one plant to see how it worked and at first it was fine but my fish started nipping at it bad.. Some will mess with it through out the day and i never see others touch it... I have different species but basically all are lake malawi Africans... Also remember the ph is really high with Africans and they like hard water.. So try to match that with the pants.. My experiment was i have a bunch of fake plants knowing they tear up plants... So i am slowly trying to add more and honesty it's not working bit that doesn't mean it won't work with you... Go for it but don't spend too much money on the plants just in case

 

[Aski247]

40b is not big enough to add a Sal with those other fish. Males can reach upwards of 10" not to mention the attitude on them. It would eventually wipe out the tank IMO.

 

[Soupy97]

Yeah i really wanted the salvini but i guess they can have a nasty attitude so it's not worth the risk. I think the rainbow cichlid is a good replacement: A little smaller and a little less aggressive.

 

[Aski247]

If you really wanted sals, just do a breeding pair. It's totally worth it.

 

[Soupy97]

Yeah i thought about that but I'd rather have a more active tank. I think the rainbow and keyhole as the main fish with apistos in the background would be a good setup. Im just worried about how the pleco would fit in there, and how many males/females i should get for the apistogrammas.

 

[josh7]

That would work to you could definitely do the group you listed. I'm sorry I didn't realize male salvo is could reach 10 inches I thought they stayed around the 6 inch range.

 

[jseiverd]

You could probably do like 8 smaller mbuna

 

[Andrew McFadden]

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/cookie_cutter_20g.php

Your tank is a little bit bigger but this will give you some options

 

[Soupy97]

Alright thanks for the help everyone. I decided that im going to throw some corys in there too for bottom dwellers.

I think it will be:
1x Rainbow Cichlid
1x Keyhole Cichlid
6x Apistos (2 of each of three different species)
4x Julie Corys
1x Bristle Nose Pleco

Looking forward to setting up the tank! Once again thanks.