Rainbow Cichlids Info

Hi, everyone.

My LFS is has got new cichlids in this week, and one in particular caught my eye: the Rainbow Cichlid.

From what I've read, these cichlids can reach 5" in length, and do not eat plants. However, there is a lot of information I cannot find, which is:


Can they be kept in a tank 32" long, 15" deep and 20" high?

If so, how many can be kept in a tank of that size?

What substrate do they prefer?

How much waste do they produce?

Can they be kept with Corydoras or BN plecs?


If anyone can answer these questions, that'd be great. Thanks.

 

First off, I'm impressed that you gave the dimensions of the tank rather than the gallons.

I think that's plenty big. I wouldn't try to keep more than a pair, but I'm not very familiar with them so maybe more.

All fish prefer sand.

How much waste they produce is a function of how much you feed them More than your average community fish, I'm sure. Generally the bigger the body, the more waste fish produce.

I think the pleco would be fine, but I don't know about corys.

 

Thanks, Jaysee.

Just a quick question here: Will a trio of male Rainbow cichlids fight?
Thanks.

 

They shouldn't. They are kind of like Discus in that they like groups. Keeping them in a breeding trio will be easy as long as you have multiple spawning sites.

 

Okay, thanks.

And 3 males are fine for a tank 32" long?

 

Hmm...probably not. I would do a breeding trio if you where going to put them in a tank that small.

 

Okay, thanks.

How many males would you put in this tank, with how many females?

 

1 male 2 females.

 

Okay, thanks.

 

Also depending how aggressive maybe 1 more female.

 

I actually have a mated pair of rainbows in a 29 gallon, along with 6 cories. They have never made any attempt to hurt the corycats, but they do establish a territory at one end of the tank when they've laid eggs and are guarding fry that the corycats seem to be very respectful of.

I would only keep either a single fish, a male/female pair (WILL breed so be prepared), or multiple females. I've had 2 males nearly kill eachother in the two mintues it took me to separate them. I would advise against keeping multiple males.

Also, even if you only have females expect them to lay eggs. In my female rearing tank (I separate the males and females as soon as I can tell what they are) i've had them lay eggs without the presence of males and multiple females would take charge of fanning the eggs.