new to cichlids

[ajwetton]

I am getting a 55g anr considering going cichlid with it amd ive done a little reading on them but im lookin for beginner advice so I dont end up with a tank full of dead fish, itll be live plant with sand substrate. Any and all advice welcome. Links tp guides and essays appreciated. Thanks in advance

 

[FrankoQ]

lots of information in this site.
do your research before going to get fish.

 

[ajwetton]

Yea I havent boight the tank yet so ive got to do that then 6 weeks or so for cycling. Im gonna use all that time to research and get all the scaping done in the tank.

Sometimes the forums are hard to sift throuhh and I didnt really see any stickies with beginner information.

 

[josh7]

Nice I'm glad you decided to join the Cichlid World! I have to put in my opinion though you should definitely consider going new world they are bigger more personable and can be just as colorful as Africans.

 

[ajwetton]

I know that they can't be mixed, or at least i remember reading that. But can i ask why you prefer or recommend the new world over african cichlids?

 

[FrankoQ]

Yea I havent boight the tank yet so ive got to do that then 6 weeks or so for cycling. Im gonna use all that time to research and get all the scaping done in the tank.

Sometimes the forums are hard to sift throuhh and I didnt really see any stickies with beginner information.

I just finished cycling my tank. Literally. It ended today and took under a month. Here is the link of my experience to share with others. I am also a beginner so I read a lot in here and other sites.
My son started a 10g tank and all fish died in about 2 months.
I then realized I needed to do my research before repeating that failure.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f15/new-90g-tank-feedback-appreciated-282293.html

feel free to ask. There are others a lot more experienced and they are very good at trying to help.

Good luck and be patient during your cycle.

 

[FrankoQ]

Here is the link I followed to do the cycle:
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...guide-and-faq-to-fishless-cycling-148283.html

 

[ajwetton]

Here is the link I followed to do the cycle:
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...guide-and-faq-to-fishless-cycling-148283.html

Yea I've cycled tanks before, and i think its part of the reason i get into live plants so i have something to do with the tank while there are no fish in it. it helps fight the itch of wanting fish in it now. lol i'll check out the link about the 90g though

 

[TheCommunityCichlid]

Well if you are going with a live planted tank your Cichlid options become limited as most will eat or destroy live plants. Almost all mbuna will eat them and others will just uproot them. Your best bet is going with a new world species as they normally don't go to hard on plants. Also what you read is true do no mix the worlds. (Africans=old world, south and Central American= new world)

 

[ajwetton]

Thanks for the tips, keep'm coming, if thats the case with plants then yea i'll probably go new world. I love live plants to much not to have them in the tank. and i have yet to find fake plants that can look as nice.

Also in a 55g aquarium how much space (approx, im sure some breeds are more territorial than others) does each cichlid need, meaning how many should be in a 55g tank approximately without it being over stocked and causing them to kill each other.

 

[FishMang]

Yea I havent boight the tank yet so ive got to do that then 6 weeks or so for cycling. Im gonna use all that time to research and get all the scaping done in the tank.

Sometimes the forums are hard to sift throuhh and I didnt really see any stickies with beginner information.

I'm new to this site, but not to the aquarium hobby.
I've raised and bred cichlids for many years. Go to Amazon or Ebay and buy a couple of inexpensive beginners cichlid books. Decide which type of cichlids you want. So. American or African, each has it's atributes. Buy the least expensive fish after you learn their requirements, especially PH, DH & hardness. Buy the largest tank you can, and the best equipment.

 

[josh7]

I reccomend New World cichlids because to me they are much more interesting. They have what seems to be moods and are what I call a Wet Pet. They can become attached to you almost like a dog like when you approach the tank they come swimming over quickly almost like they missed you.

Also I would advise against any live plants in all cichlid tanks except for dwarf cichlids.

As far as your territory question goes it really depends on the fish in a New world type tank in a 55 gallon you could do a single large cichlid. Or a breeding pair of medium sized cichlids. Or even 2 medium sized cichlids and a few tankmates. For example in my 55 gallon I have a single Jack Dempsey and 4 pictus cats. The tank seems to be doing extremely well and the JD has not shown territorial behavior because he has enty of space and no other cichlids to compete with for territory.

I think a good solo cichlid for a 55 gallon is a single male Texas cichlid. Max out at 12 inches usually 10. Or a single male green terror max out at 12 but usually only gets up to 10.

As far as a breeding pair you could do a pair of blue Acaras, convicts or firemouths

If you want some tankmates I think you could do a stock of
1- Blue Acara
1- Firemouth
1- Raphael or Cuckoo catfish
6- Giant danios or 7 tiger barbs odd numbers work better.

That type of stock though will require good maintenance

Or you could do something like mine with a jack Demosey or female green terror make sure it's female and a few tankmates.

 

[ajwetton]

I will probably do something like you suggested with tank mates I like more movement in my tanks. Thouhh not gonna lie thought there'd be more cichlids than that in one tank. But ill defonitely heed th3 advice and I think I loke the new world cics. And im a clean freak I do at least one WC a week. Nother question I thought of im guessing shrimp are a no go in cichlid tanks? Im planning on lots of hiding spaces both plant and rock.

 

[FishMang]

Nice I'm glad you decided to join the Cichlid World! I have to put in my opinion though you should definitely consider going new world they are bigger more personable and can be just as colorful as Africans.

I've had and spawned many of both. Over the years I've learned to love and prefer the mouthbrooders of Tanganyika. Both have dazzling beauty, exotic spawning displays and great rewards. A big factor here is the hard, alkaline water.

 

[josh7]

The cichlids will hunt out and eat every shrimp lol. I just thought of a peaceful large new world you could have plenty of tankmates with. Why not get a Severum? Check them out they have a discus shape but much easier to care for! You could do something like

 

[ajwetton]

I liked the look of that one. What kinda stuff could I do with it?

 

[josh7]

Not a ton with a Severum but you could house a Severum for life plus they reach an impressive size of 10 inches. You could have a stock of
1- Severum
1- Raphael, Featherfin catfish or green/ blue phantom pleco as a bottom feeder.
6- giant danios, or 6 Congo tetras or 4 Denison barbs. If you go with the barbs you might be pushing your bio load a bit though. I would stick with the teras or danios as a dither.

 

[ajwetton]

If I went woth barbs (always wanted them) would I just want extra filtration/bigger water changes every week?

 

[josh7]

You want both I would recommend 2 marine land emperor 400s or 2 aqua clear 70s and at least a 50 percent water change each week. Actually if you go with the barbs I would just get 5 and not get any type of bottom feeder. I think with a bottom feeder I wouldn't get anything under 75 gallons.

 

[ajwetton]

Kk, im assuming your talking HOB filters yes? Im a big fan of the fluval C's im using them in my current tanks. Think 2 c4's rated 40-70g would be ok its 264gph.

Or i could try the emperor biowheels but i've heard that the marineland biowheels get kinda loud, which is always a turn of for me, have you had any issues with the biowheels? they seem to be a slightly less expensive filter than the fluval C4 which is an upside. but i've just always heard that people love or hate their biowheel filters.