For me, it was Cryptoheros nigrofasciata (Black Convict).

Got him when he was about an inch for $4 at possibly the worst LFS on the planet. He was the only convict in a tank of Jack Dempseys and stood out like a sore thumb. After introducing him into my tank, he bossed around the cherry barbs and I couldn't help but laugh watching this 1" fish act like a bully and flare his dorsal into a little mohawk.



He's currently enjoying life in a 65 Gallon with a Herotilapia multispinosa (Rainbow) and some clown loaches and Bristlenose Pleco. They are still trying to figure out who is the boss, but keep it mostly peaceful.

Well since I started keeping cichlids long before the Internet and information was limited to old outdated books and local fish store employees who's knowledge was mediocre at best, my first was Andinoacara rivulatus(green terror). This was purchased on a whim and placed into a 29g community tank with small neons and such(they said he would be fine) and to no on's surprise he decimated the current stock including the common pleco I was keeping(yes a common). Since that first failed experiment into the world of CA/SA cichlids I have been fascinated with their behavior, personalities, and individual temperments. So I have invested a better part of 25 years researching and breeding new world cichlids, I would suggest anyone who might be interested to certainly give them a look!

Hey there! Thanks for asking me to join this group 5x5.

My first (cichlids in general, not SA/CA) was a failed attempt to keep a pair of German rams in my community tank some years back. Following a recent heater malfunction while I was on vacation last month that killed my entire tank, I was forced to start over. But where to go? I ultimately decided on a small colony of 3 firemouths. As mentioned in the breeding subforum, after only having them a couple of weeks, they already paired up and spawned! So, so far, my first real foray into S.A. cichlids is going...swimmingly.

Thanks again for inviting me into this group. I will likely have lots of questions. Here's my first: What is that gorgeous red/orange fish in the picture for this group?

exCichlasoma festae, a dramatic colored female in breeding dress.

First cichlid was my 2 convicts that I got about 6 months ago........hooked me!

My first try was German blue rams, my first success were bolivan rams. My favorite that I have are dicrossus maculatus

Got a picture of your Dicrossus maculatus? I imagine you have a small tank, all the cichlids you mentioned are dwarfs. What happened with the initial GBR?

Of course I have pictures of them! I just gotta figure out how to get them from my phone to my macbook and I'll be sure to post them (its a new computer, still getting used to it). I started my tank before knowing about cycling, and like everyone else, threw some fish in after letting the tank run for a couple weeks (it makes me cringe to this day thinking about it), so after 3 weeks, i added a pair of female GBRs, which lasted a week, as my ammonia was still high :/ That was my first awakening to the complexity that is a fish tank! Now, I'm maintianing several dwarfs in a 40 gallon column tank (small, but I hope to upgrade to a larger tank, just on a space constraint). The dicrossus are thriving! Absolutely love them! My water is 8.3 pH, so super alkaline, and they don't seem bothered in the least! My female feeds from the surface of my tank even, which is 2 ft deep! Awesome little guys! Sorry for the super long comment

As Cliche as it may sound, my first Cichlid was an Oscar bought from Petco. I know I know, but it was a situation where I was there buying some miniature poodle food for my wife's ankle biter. At that time I was still mourning a horrific CO2 accident in my 55 gal community. In a nut shell all of my community fish died, and the guilt was still eating me up. I decided to see what this Petco had for fish, just out of curiosity, and saw my Oscar; the rest is history. I absolutely love the SA cichlids!

Welcome to the group. No shame in an Oscar, they are very cool fish and respectable first Cichlid. Do you still have him in a 55g?