New guy

[Aqua dude18]

Hello I own a 4ft 280 litre tropical freshwater tank and a 3 1/2 ft 190L tank I love cichlids catfish and plecs.

[Aqualady40]

Hi, welcome to AA

[vance1013]

Welcome to AA

[Aqua dude18]

Thanks I'm not to sure on whether to start a live coral marine setup but seeing as I only have experience with the freshwater tropical I need some advice on how to start and the best way to do it

[melosu58]

Welcome aboard. We are glad you found us here at AA.

[Aqua dude18]

Thanks. This is the most helpful forum and advise site I've seen so I'm glad to be apart of it

[Slagrunner]

yes it is i have come here many times for advice...just joined tonight finally.

[Aqua dude18]

How do you edit your additional info ?

[Slagrunner]

Top of the screen right hand side click on your name.

[Andrew McFadden]

to AA! Hope you enjoy and nice tank

[DWilliams]

Welcome to AA your tank looks great

[Aqua dude18]

Thanks. I want to redo the layout so there's more territory's for the cichlids but have enough room for the plec to swim around. Ideas are welcome or should I leave it how it is?

[Andrew McFadden]

Originally Posted by Aqua dude18

Thanks. I want to redo the layout so there's more territory's for the cichlids but have enough room for the plec to swim around. Ideas are welcome or should I leave it how it is?

If it was me id re do it but that's because mine gets changed every couple months. Well some would tell you I change it every month but I don't think I do lol I know I know its hard to keep yourself from touching it lol. But it looks great the way it is imo

[Aqua dude18]

Lol ok I used to do that but I always find something I'm not totally happy with but since I've learnt that it's better not to have things symmetrical and have them at angles I'm starting to get there.

[Andrew McFadden]

Originally Posted by Aqua dude18

Lol ok I used to do that but I always find something I'm not totally happy with but since I've learnt that it's better not to have things symmetrical and have them at angles I'm starting to get there.

Me too lol
I think I've finally found a winner on mine tho so it may just make it several months. With african Cichlids its not a bad idea to re arrange every once and awhile anyway

[Aqua dude18]

Yeh, I've just had a look at you setup and I'd love to have a tank like that. I like the idea off having a big open space and then the sort of rock hill to the side full of spaces and hide outs. I suppose it's the advantage of having a bigger tank. What rocks do you use and what cichlids would be good to start off with because I have my blue dolphins and my green terror plus a pair of jewel cichlids so its a bit of a crazy mix lol

[Andrew McFadden]

Originally Posted by Aqua dude18

Yeh, I've just had a look at you setup and I'd love to have a tank like that. I like the idea off having a big open space and then the sort of rock hill to the side full of spaces and hide outs. I suppose it's the advantage of having a bigger tank. What rocks do you use and what cichlids would be good to start off with because I have my blue dolphins and my green terror plus a pair of jewel cichlids so its a bit of a crazy mix lol

The dolphins if they are what I'm thinking of get to big to be in there and shouldn't be mixed with the others. A jewel cichlid is an african river fish unlike the blue dolphin where its a african rift cichlid. A green terror shouldn't be with them either because its a new world cichlid.

So you have a lot of options but you'll need to decide on this

African rift Cichlids
African riverine Cichlids
New world Cichlids

Once you figure that out your going to need to re home some of those fish. Then get ones that do mix. Their are a lot of newbies that go the cichlid route. They just ask more questions then people that started out with say tropical fish

[Aqua dude18]

I should be upgrading within the next 3 to 5 months so the fish I have now will go in the bigger tank then il move which ever type of fish to the current tank I have now and decide on a biotope. It's just the trouble with decided which one. And the pros and cons of each type if there is any.

[Andrew McFadden]

You'll need 3 tanks to keep all of those fish. 1 being over 5' long(dolphins), one being a 55 (green t.) and one a 40 breeder (jewel) I believe.

The jewel and the dolphin may get along but their water requirements are different.

[Aqua dude18]

I'm not keeping all of them, I'm trying to sell and re home a lot of them so il be left with my plecs, catfish and the cichlids and then go from there and see why my options are. I have many years ahead of me so it can always be a project for me later on in life but thanks for the advice. I'm already breeding the blue dolphins and the jewel cichlids have attempted to breed a few times.