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Psyhampster

Aquarium Advice Addict
Joined
Oct 11, 2004
Messages
1,424
Location
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Hey all!
I've been wanting a chiclid tank lately, and my dad had an Idea last night(dosen't happen often, belive me :D ). Anyways, he thought we should move all the fish from the 20 gal to the 30, and put the chiclids in the 20. If we did this, I'd like to add the 20's filter to the 30, and get a better filter on the 20, maybe a smallish canister. I'm really considering this, and wanted some input. I'm think Malwai chiclids, probably yellow labs, and maybe just yellow labs, get them to breed, etc. Just running the idea by you guys for some input.

Psy
 
I have only had cichlids for a couple of days but let me tell you, I am VERY VERY happy with them. they are truly beautiful fish...yellow labs are especially gorgeous...i say go for it...u wont regret it...u can see my 3 in a previous post of mine...
 
I'll be the killjoy...

I don't think a 20 gallon is big enough for Rift Lake cichlids. These fish are, as a rule, very aggressive, particularly in small spaces. They're incredibly territorial and (usually) ruthelessly defend their young from other tankmates. Even Yellow Labs are aggressive... Quite aggressive, actually. Hold off on Malawis until you have a 55 gallon.

On a lighter note... there are a couple of possibilities left to you. I see you have 875 posts, so you probably know all this. Just in case you don't...

1) Kribensis tank. Kribensis (Pelvicachromis spp.) are beautiful African cichlids that don't originate from the rift lakes. They are more tolerant of each other in smaller spaces, but become aggressive when spawning. Speaking of spawning, these guys are famously easy to spawn... Keep plenty of rocks, wood and plants in the tank and the fish will do well. Kribs are fairly widely-available, so there is a good chance you'll be able to find them in a local store.

2) A shell-dwellers tank. Many of the Tanganyikan (also African) shell-dwellers will do well in a smallish tank. Examples include Neolamprologus ocellatus and N. multifasciatus. You can find these guys online, and at higher-quality fish stores. You may have to ask beforehand for the store to order them for you, however.

Best of luck in your choice.
 
I will say too that a 20 is just a little too small for yellow labs, However a 29 or a 20long is ok for say 5 yellow labs.


JMHO
 
Kribs (African riverine cichlids) and Rams would work well, but I can't really think of any African rift lake cichlid that would do well in a 20G. You might also consider some of the smaller Central-/South-American cichlids. Wait for the 55G to go ARLC :)
 
Kribs (African riverine cichlids) and Rams would work well, but I can't really think of any African rift lake cichlid that would do well in a 20G.

IME, even a 30 gallon tank is too small for "peaceful" yellow labs. I had them, I had plenty of hiding spaces, but after 8 months of no problems all hell broke loose. I currently have the champion cichlid residing in his own 10 gallon tank, where he'll live out his life.
 
Yeah, I typed out a third choice of South American Dwarfs as an option, but deleted it when I noticed Psyhampster has Blue Rams. I should have kept the section, though. There are a lot of really beautiful SADCs that look very little like Blue Rams in color. Apistogramma cacutoides, A. borelli, A. trifasciata, A. baenschi. I think a lot of these are frequently available on Aquabid.com, under their South American Cichlid category. You might be interested in checking this out.
 
I would say even with the 20gal. you could get about 4 pseudotropheus demasoni, they are a beautiful little fish, and stay very small, if you put in enuf rock they would be ok.....hope that helps
 
I wouldn't recommend putting a group of Ps. demasoni in anything smaller than a 55G. They're small, but without enough room their aggression will likely lead to fish death, with the dominant male endlessly harrassing all of the others.
 
now the apisto's. they would do great in a 20g. The only thing I would say is cacatuoides are your best bet for a couple of reasons.
1. they are a very tolarant fish. ph(5.5-7.5), do fine in hard and soft water.
2. You mentioned breeding, I breed cacatuoides, they are very easy to breed and very good parenting fish.
3. extremely colorful, and large fins.
4. only grown to around 3 inches
5. I would shy a way from the other apisto's because they tolerant a much narrower water chemistry, and most to be truely heathy need RO water. Most orginate from blackwater conditions in the amazon. I hope this helped
 
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