swimbear12285

hey everyone im new to cichlids but they have really got my eye. just got a 45 gallon tank and want to house cichlids. im still not sure if the african or if the south and central american areright for me. any input on the matter would be great.

Lucy

Hi swimbear. I don't have cichlids so until someone who keeps them can give help you, here's a good place to start some research:

For cichlid newbies:How to set up cichlid tanks

Good luck.

outlaw

Welcome to Fishlore!

Are there any that particularly catch your eye? Everyone has their own likes and dislikes for which type to keep and why. The good thing about cichlids is you can slightly overstock to help keep aggression down but the bad is they are messy so you will need to invest in over filtering for sure. With 45Gal you have quite a few options.

What I think to be 2 of the biggest things to keep in mind is Adult Size and Aggression.

swimbear12285

well the convicts the jack dempsy and the burundi have got my eye and i also like th eoscars but as we all know they get HUGE!!! and they are real messy... im sort of in a hard spot tho because the water where i live is pretty high in pH its at around 8 and i know that pretty hard ive tried alot to make it drop but it does not seem to stay that way for long

Angela_96

If your water is high ph, hard water its perfect for african cichlids. Oscars def need a big tank (I would say 100g). Just remember when looking for cichilds not to mix the lakes, for instance lake malawi cichlds are only compatable w/ lake malawi cichilds, lake tang are compatable w/ lake tank, and so on.

For the ph, once you get your fish picked, its a lot easier on the fish to adjust to the ph than for you to buffer the water it will cause unstable shifts in the ph and is not healthy for the fish.

However, when setting up a tank for malawi cichlids you can put crushed coral for the substrate to keep the ph up, for the acidic water cichilds their peat that you can put in the tank and other stuff that will be long term for the fish. Or you can get a RO/di unit for you water it will def lower the ph.

swimbear12285

if i were to go to a well known fish store not a petco or petsmart that is near me i assume they will be able to tell me what ones come from which lake?...i love the blue and yellows and i like the multicolord i am just stuck on what to get i want it to be perfect but dont we all

Angela_96

Most fishstores should be able to tell you the difference, but remember LFS are out to sell. You could go on aquabid and check out the cichilds there, they are labeled by the lake they are from. I have bought a bunch from aquabid.

Escobar

Here are a few sites for you to check

http://www.aquabuys.com/page/aqb/CTGY/z2d

http://www.fishforums.net/index.php?...&#entry2017185

http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/mbuna1.htm

I hope they help.
I went from keeping community fish to keeping African Malawis, they are very hard work. ie, need constant water changes, feeding, looking after. But trust me, they are amongst the most beautiful fish you can get. The colours are amazing and every individual fish will have its own individual chararcteristics. Amazing. But do bear in mind to be very careful when selecting what to keep together and definitely do extensive research before getting whatever you decide to get. Good luck and let me know how you get on.

Angela_96

I do have to say that I disagree w/ the malawis being hard work. 9 of my 10 tanks are full of them from full grown size to newborn fry size in grow out tanks. As long as you have a good filitration system, vaccum the tank once a week they are easy to care for. I have kept over 18 species of the little guys, and as long as you don't cross them (species wise) they do get along, also keeping aggression levels the same, not mixing very aggressive cichilds w/ mildly aggressive.

swimbear12285

that is true they are in it to sell what they can which is kind of a bummer because help is always good..then again thats why all of u are awsome...i did get a magnum 350 canister from someone but i know its missing parts but im not to sure what they are..so filter should be ok when i get it goin...i know they are messy but i do water changes once a week so im use to that

Angela_96

Thats a great filter system, and if you are used to weekly water changes then you will have no issues. Good luck! the cichlid forum has profiles on all types of cichilds on it, that can be a big help. Plus do a search for the cookie cutter (it will help you find a compatable group of cichlids for your size tank)