New tank... Cichlids maybe?

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Jgeezer1986

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GOT A NEW TANK TODAY!!!!! Its only a 20g though, like the one i had before. It was on sale at petco for $70 down from $110..kinda couldnt pass it up.... Set it up today and put play sand in for the substrate. Jump started the cycle from my 55g which is acually working throgh a mini cycle. i put 15 gal of water from that tank into the 20 gal.. had .25ppm ammonia, 0 nitrite and 10 nitrate.

Anyway, i was thinking about maybe some cichlids? I dont know a whole lot about them other than what i read.. but i was thinking maybe 6 electric yellow cichlids? They may stay in that tank , so i want to plan on that right now.
 
With only a 20 gallon tank to work with, I'd say most cichlids are out of your range. Electric Yellows get to be around 5 inches I think. 6 is probably out of the question. I think most African and New World cichlids need a minimum of 30-50 gallons.

I'm not sure if there are any dwarf varieties that would be fine with a 20 gallon aquarium.
 
I believe a 20g is too small for cichlids unless they are dwarf species like rams and kribs.

As for kick starting your cycle, very little of the bacteria live in the water column, you should use some of the gravel in a piece of new panty hose or a media bag.
 
I am curious as well, trying to stock my 10 and would really love cichlids but none small enough. As for you, geezer, I would suggest checking out a couple pairs of bolivian rams maybe? They were suggested to me for my 29 gal which I thought was 25 at the time. Not sure exactly how many you could have in there, and I haven't done a whole lot of research on cichlids, but just a thought. Keep us posted on what you decide! I love to see all the different varieties that go into tanks :D
 
Oh yeah, I remember seeing those before when browsing fish. Not that species in particular, but I remember seeing basically that shell dwelling cichlids are smaller. At least from what I have read so far. They kind of look like the Scarlet Badis!
 
It must just be my area but I can find them quite easy..theyre cool little fish. I have a 20 l and have kribs and 2 balloon rams and I love them. The rams are sweet little fish.
 
Thats interesting! Here is what im thinking maybe.

I was researching the convict cichlid. Seems as though their breeding habits can be very interesting. I am debating getting them to breed , but seems my tank might be a little small for that , considering i only have a 20g to work with , and they like to have a 5:1 ratio of females to male. From what i understand , they can grow up to six inches , which would mean the minimal tank size would be a 40 gal or more. To breed them and keep their young with them would mean a 55 or more would be requred correct?

From what i seen though, they would be a great beginner fish for me because their PH requrements are not as strict and they are a hardy fish.

Considering anyone might think this would be possible , my thoughts would be to keep my sandy substrate. Right now i have a 6" PVC pipe decorated with white gravel , and a white coffe cup i bought from the store just becase i thought it would look really cool, and give a good hiding spot for them.

If i use the convict , i am going to put in a clay pot and a couple small flat pieces of slate for them to lay their eggs, and nix the HOB filter and use a sponge filter.

I like the shell dweller as mentioned before , but i am wondering if that would be a good fish for me seeing as how im just a beginner. Information so far seems to be a little scarce on them and I didnt see them at the LFS either.

Still researching.....
 
You would go from a few convicts to a few dozen convicts very quick. And they are too large of a species for a 20 gallon tank.
 
update...

Went to LFS. I figure i have to buy something to keep my fishless cycle going. Also my pH is 6.4 and it definately needs to be higher than that, so i wanted to look into that. I also wanted to look and see what cichlids they had. Here is what i got:

Convict cichlid: LFS said they would do good in the 20g but they will breed like crazy. I asked if i got them if they would take the fish that bred. She said ofcourse. But they didnt have any!

African cichlid: LFS told me they are a hardy fish and would do well for me because i do now know alot about it yet. They will be forgiving for me until i learn more.


Here is the big thing right now. They told me that i can cycle my tank fishless, but there is a good chance that with cycling and balancing the pH, then add the fish and there is a good chance that i am going to change the whole water chemistry...

I jump started my tank off of my 55g. 75% of the water in the 20g is from the 55g. Also i have a good pound or so of gravel from the 55g in the 20 and also some of the filter media.

On my 55g i have two HOB power filters. One is a whisper 5 and the other is an Emperor 400. Both filters have two cartridges and the emperor has two bio-wheels. I want to take a whole cartridge out of the 55 and toss it into the 20g. Smart idea? Maybe hang one of the bio-wheels in the 20g. Any suggestions. Should i maybe to a cycle in the 20g with fish?

Also for africans, would a pH of 7.5 be sufficient?


Ugh.. Confused..
 
Ok, first the water you put in the 20 from the 55 will do absolutely nothing. The water does not carry the bacteria you need so basically your just putting dirty water in the 20. You benefit only from using filter media and or substrate and decore. If you put a bio wheel and a cartridge from your established 55 into the 20 as well as some of the substrate then you will see a mini cycle if that. Let it run for a day and you'll be ready to go.

As far as africans are concerned I'm sure some have already commented and advised against that. Africans need plenty of room and a 20 does NOT provide that space. You are asking for trouble by stocking it full of africans in their juvi stage cuz they will get larger and need a lot more space. As I suggested earlier....multis or dwarf cichlids is you safest bet IMO
 
CA_BroncoFan said:
Ok, first the water you put in the 20 from the 55 will do absolutely nothing. The water does not carry the bacteria you need so basically your just putting dirty water in the 20. You benefit only from using filter media and or substrate and decore. If you put a bio wheel and a cartridge from your established 55 into the 20 as well as some of the substrate then you will see a mini cycle if that. Let it run for a day and you'll be ready to go.

As far as africans are concerned I'm sure some have already commented and advised against that. Africans need plenty of room and a 20 does NOT provide that space. You are asking for trouble by stocking it full of africans in their juvi stage cuz they will get larger and need a lot more space. As I suggested earlier....multis or dwarf cichlids is you safest bet IMO
Click to expand...

I apologize.. I for got to add.. the reason why i used the water from my 55 is because it is actually going through a mini-cycle right now and the ammonia readings have been going between .25 and .50. I used it basically for the ammonia that was in the water, not for the bacteria. And as far as the africans are concerned , thats was the same thing i was thinking of. What size of tank would be minimum for the africans? I have the 55 set up as a community and acutally want to change them around at some point. As of right now , i cant because the fish i have in the 55 would overstock the 20. But my brother is setting up a 20 and if i split the fish between the two 20's later it will be ok.

Could i use the 20 as a starter for the africans? And if i do , how long can i keep them in there until i have to change them over? Just working around the ideas here, not planning on doing anything for a while yet..
 
55 is the lowest I would go and the lowest successful tank I've seen with africans and I think he had 12 in there. I'm not sure what kinds though. I think if you really want Africans and it sounds like you do, then I'd swap the community fish to the 2 20's and put Africans in the 55
 
CA_BroncoFan said:
55 is the lowest I would go and the lowest successful tank I've seen with africans and I think he had 12 in there. I'm not sure what kinds though. I think if you really want Africans and it sounds like you do, then I'd swap the community fish to the 2 20's and put Africans in the 55
Click to expand...


Do you think that the 20g would be a suitable temporary solution? I am not ready to send the com over to the 20's quite yet... would the 20 be able to handle it for now?
 
I think it would be fine only if you get juvi's and only for a month to two tops. PM mfdrookie he is the african cichlid master
 
Well after as much research as i have done , i think i am going to wait. on the cichlids. As much as i would love to set up a cichlid tank , i can not guarantee that i can give them the habitat that they will need. I do have a 55 gal tank , but i can not guarantee that it will be available to them when they need it and that would not be fair to them. it would also not be fair to my community fish to try to risk them in a 20g. I do thank you all for all the great info , but i think im going to shift the gears on the 20g to breeding mollies or sword tails. I think it would be better for all.

Some day when the 55 is available for the cichlids , i will have it set up for them.
 
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