azzman

Hi, i am going to be stocking my cycled 40g with cichlids this weekend,
would like some help from you experienced people for some stocking options.

Need to know what gets along with what, and what i should keep away from.
African, SA, im completely open to suggestions but would like the most colourfull.
I have a angel and a BN that id like to leave in there if possible, but not a must.

Im going to add another filter so i can afford to overstock a little to
help with aggresion.

Also weather any loaches or small plecs that may be compatable.



Thanks.

Allie

If you want africans...I wouldn't recommend putting them with any other kind of cichlid other than themselves. You could have some mildly aggressive ones like yellow labs, red zebra, acei...with africans you wanna do research up the wazoo. I'd have mbuna tank...here's links to all kinds of species: believe you & me...there are a lot too chose from.
I'd stay away from anything that gets larger than 5-6"
http://www.malawimayhem.com/profiles.php
SA or central american I'd go for the ones that get 5" too...see what lives with the wild angels in the amazon...there are lots to chose from too.
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/
Hope this helps out.

azzman

Thanks allie, a lot of information, but maybe to much, it hurts my brain trying to sort through it.
If someone has 3 or 4 of their personal favourites 6" or under that would be a good stepping stone into the cichlid world,
id appreciate hearing them.

I think im leaning towards south american so i can keep my angel and bn plec.

Thanks guys.

Allie

If I were to stock a 40g...5 species 3-4 of each. Have plenty of hiding spots...they love rocks...plants are hard to keep being as they like vegetation.
Best types IMO are:
Yellow labs
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profile...ies.php?id=713
Red Zebra or Cobalt zebra..zebras are best kept in one species...I had 3 types..let me tell you meanies.The red zebra males can come in blue or red (orange). The true type is the blue male tho.
Blue male
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profile...ies.php?id=791
Red male
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profile...es.php?id=1730
I'll do a little more research...as in the future I'd like to have a small african tank. I'll tell you more later... My 80g was a lot of work and cleaning...dirty fishies.

Allie

We're getting a breeding trio of Rainbow Eartheaters to put in our 120g.
You get some dwarf american cichlids or Mesonauta festivus...they look cool.
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profile...ies.php?id=200

azzman

Well ive taken the plunge and just gone for africans, dont ask me what type they are as
they were all in 1 massive tank labeled "africans". I got 7, all with different colourings so
am now trying to research and find out exactly what they are.

Allie

Post some pix maybe I could help identify them.

azzman

Yea ive been trying, there to fast.

1 is white with pale stripes and pale blue fins. spots on anal fin, Looks exactly like red zebra so albino maybe?
1 is orange with pale dark stripes. spots on anal fin. Red zebra. died last night, no apparant reason?
1 is pale blue with yellow fins and faint dark stripes, head is slightly darker than body. Peacock maybe.
1 is b&w verticle striped. 'Tret'.
1 is a fluro blue with pale yellow stripes. Large eyes.
1 is kinda blue and yellow marble. Maybe peacock colour varient.
1 is defenatly a rusty.

Dunno if its much help because im quite colourblind.

Ive looked at the photos youve posted of yours and
none are what ive got.

azzman

some sketchy pics

Allie

With africans by the time most male mature they are a different color than when they are younger.
I have an Ad Konigs Lake Malwi book...I'll see what I can find..

azzman

edited descriptions, see my previous post. Is 7 africans in a 40g about stocked? bearing in mind I have 2 filters. Plus a yoyo, a clown and a bn.

azzman

revised stock list

1 peacock male
1 OB peacock female
1 yellow lab female
1 albino red zebra male
1 rusty sex unknown
1 unidentified, peacock i think but has large eyes?
1 bristlenose plec
1 yoyo loach

Hows this?

Allie

You can add about 7 more africans and you should be good...I'd get some red zebra females otherwise you male ARZ will get pretty cranky in time.

mlinden84

As for stocking:
My friend at the fish store has been raising cichlids for 15 years (so i trust his advice). He told me that I should put no more than 15 fish in my 55 gallon tank. I think it depends on how big your fish are going to be... mine will be between 4-6".
Personally I think adding 7 more would be too many, especially since you have the bn and loach. That's just my opinion.

Allie

The advice I am giving is from my personal experience....the more fish you have with Africans the better on aggression...if you over stock it a bit gives you a chance to find out who the bullies are, then you can sell them or whatever. I also found that peacocks were the nastiest of all of my fish and I had a male chipokae.
I had 38 cichlids and 3 plecos in an 80g and they all did fine. Sold/gave away the ones who didn't get along with the main ones I liked.

mlinden84

I didn't mean for it to sound like you were wrong, I was just stating my personal opinion on the matter. I also think you should not get pets with the intention of possibly getting rid of them in the future. I do not have a pleco for this reason (i know he would not have enough space in my tank). I feel the same way about cats/dogs/any other pets. I think that people who do are bad (well ok in some cases i do) but sometimes they have good reasons. In the case of fish, as long as you have someone to give them a good home it is ok. Not trying to start an arguement, just expressing my opinion.



Azzman - regardless of how many you put in, just make sure to keep up with water changes and testing for ammonia/nitrite/nitrate to make sure everything is ok. Overstocking will mean more waste which will mean you have to do more to keep everything perfect. (But with african cichlids they are better off overstocked to help with aggression). I have 2 whisper 60 power filters in my 55 gallon tank. I've found that it helps a lot to over filter the tank, plus it keeps the water moving a lot better than just 1.
Beautiful fish by the way! How are they doing?

Allie

With africans I have learned it's best not to get attached to indivual fish...their personalities & level of aggression gets worse when they get older. Most people I know have changed their african scheme 100s of times before they settle on particlar species of fish.
Fish/aquariums aren't only considered pets, but a hobby.
My angelfish and kribs are my babies...but the SW we had was just pretty, same with our african tank we had.

Oh yeah with an african you want extra filtration...I had an aqua clear 500 and a Fluval 404 on the 80g...it just kept it clean. Africans are dirty fish so you have to be prepared to clean the tank a lot...twice a week here.
Between the fish meaness and dirtiness...it's why I changed to anglefish.

mlinden84

I understand everyone has different opinions. To me, they are all my babies and I couldn't imagine parting with one. But I know not everyone feels the way I do. Thats ok

Yes they are dirty! I've noticed the last few water changes that the poop seems to be getting bigger and bigger and I vacuum up way more "crud". And they are only 2-3 inches or so.... lol can't imagine how it'll be when they are full grown!

One thing I like about them, even though they are dirty and mean to each other.... they are truely beautiful fish and make for very stunning aquariums!

azzman

now have 9, have added 2 more peacock females, and 1 red empress.
i have now added salt, i know the bn will be sweet with it, but what about the loach? I fully expect my stocking list to change
numerous times as it did when i started with tropicals.

I have 2 filters, a fluval 2 and fluval 3 running full noise. My pH is 7.6 out of the tap but have been adding a litle ph up
to get it closer to 8.

MissMTS

How is your tank working out? I am starting a 40 gallon cichlid tank and I was looking at your post for stocking ideas. I would like to see pics if you have them