Question: Starting with cichlids

kindghost · November 11th, 2009

hey i got a 55 gl tank and i want to get some cichlids. any suggestions on a few specific cichlids on which to start off with. the tank has been set up for a year so the water is good. no fish are in it now. i took them out and gave them away.

bolivianbaby · November 11th, 2009

How long ago did you remove the fish? You may want to keep "feeding" the tank so you don't lose the bacteria.

What type of cichlids are you interested in? New World or African? Any specific species that catch your eye?

kindghost · November 11th, 2009

well i'm probably gonna go with african. i went to petsmart today and its apparently all they have. what are some good african cichlids? i do want some bright colors. i've never ordered fish online so i don't know how that would go. what do u recommend?

Shawnie · November 11th, 2009

welcome to fishlore!
heres a great link for african cichlids for a 55g tank http://www.cichlid-forum.com/article...cutter_55g.php

but more important as BB asked, how did you keep the tank cycled? if you removed all the fish, there is no ammonia source and testing your tank to be sure its still cycled, is best before buying any fish

gmen4life · November 11th, 2009

just rember heavy female to male ratio keeps um all behaveing lol

namehater · November 11th, 2009

i keep yellow labs, red zebras, and yellow tail acei. i love and would recommend any of them, if you wanted to go with those three a good stock list would be 2m/5f of each species. that is 'overstocking' but they will have plenty of room and keeping the tank with high numbers will help eliminate aggression.

your also going to want a lot of caves, be it rockwork or PVC pipes.

kindghost · November 11th, 2009

its only been a day since i removed the fish. how do i know the difference between male and female?

Camacho · November 11th, 2009

oscars are really hard and neer to imposs to tell the sex untill the lady popps out eggs.... and so aint jouvies but alot of ppl on this forum know what to look for in sexing your fish you can also look at alot of pics and some tell you what to look for. i would recomend a JD, it really depends on you do you want a lot of cichlids or just a couple? cons are nice rams are nice and kibs are also nice

Oh and welcome to the forum

bolivianbaby · November 11th, 2009

I look for egg spots to sex them as males, but I've been told both sexes have them.

Red zebras, yellow labs, socolofi, yellow tail acei, and electric blue johanni are all wonderful african species to keep. Zebras and socolofi come in different colors. Check out the pics in the african cichlid section. That'll help you pick out some species as well.

Shawnie · November 11th, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by kindghost

its only been a day since i removed the fish. how do i know the difference between male and female?

make sure you are putting in some fish food..a day of not eating, can do allot of damage to a cycle ...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Camacho

oscars are really hard and neer to imposs to tell the sex untill the lady popps out eggs.... and so aint jouvies but alot of ppl on this forum know what to look for in sexing your fish you can also look at alot of pics and some tell you what to look for. i would recomend a JD, it really depends on you do you want a lot of cichlids or just a couple? cons are nice rams are nice and kibs are also nice

Oh and welcome to the forum

oscars are not african cichlids....nor are the jds,rams, kribs , or cons

Camacho · November 11th, 2009

....... oops i must of skipped over the african part lol but those are nice fish also just never had any exp with em JD's FTW haha

deathtroll · November 11th, 2009

the red zebra, labs and acei the only way that I know the sex them is venting them

Camacho · November 13th, 2009

leave the 2 EBJD. 1 JD is suppose to be alone in a 55. gotta go bigger to keep more lol shawnie posted up a link and here is it again http://www.cichlid-forum.com/article...cutter_55g.php that will help you on your misson

Shawnie · November 13th, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Camacho

leave the 2 EBJD. 1 JD is suppose to be alone in a 55. gotta go bigger to keep more lol shawnie posted up a link and here is it again http://www.cichlid-forum.com/article...cutter_55g.php that will help you on your misson

2 jd's can fit if you dont go with a ton of other fish

Camacho · November 13th, 2009

lmao GM shawnie thanks for the advice oh funny story all my barbs got eaten so now i can put my kribs in my 30 also found out last night and hopfully my blue ram in there and keep my jd in my 55 with my spotted raphel

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