20 Tall Cichlid Tank?

[Shovelman]

so ive pretty much decided to get a 20 gallon long tank for my fancy planted GBR tank instead of using my 20 gallon tall. Thus it leaves me with obviously, my 20 gallon tall tank to do something with. Originally i was thinking Crayfish, but then remembered there are SOME small african cichlids and had a few questions!

First off, in such a small tank as a 20 gallon, is it basically a NO when even thinking about doing some african cichlids? Basically is it just TOO SMALL for ANY species?

Please bear with me as im just trying to get a sense of things, but i do know a limited amount about this side o fw fish lol.

2nd question is, if my tank is not to small of a size, what smaller species would i be looking at and how many?

...and if there are any african cichlids that arent shell dwellers lol.

I allredy know the kind of layout needed (Big rock piles, lace rock? to buffer the ph up a bit, with a sandy substrate or crushed coral depending on species being kept)

Any guidence or comments would be appreciated! *note: I've only just thought about this, so no worries about not doing research, when it comes to fish, i research fish more than my history study guide the day before a test lol)

 

[Lufbramatt]

if you can stack the rocks up high, then a pair of the small julidochromis species would be fine, like ornatus or transcriptus. Then you could either have a single pair of shellies for the bottom, or some dwarf rainbowfish for the top.

If you go tangs though I would aim for no more than 4 ciclids in a 20.

 

[Shovelman]

Thank you very much! Yes i would try and make a trustworthy structure almost to the top, and possibly some tougher anubias for a tad bit of shade! Thank you for your input!

I'd still wish for a second opinion here, so anyone else feel free to comment!

 

[minnnt]

Hi there Shovelman. Are you set on Tangs? If not then there are quite a few small (er) species you could look at. I have recently set up a 90 litre tank with a pair of Anomalochromis Thomasi, they're very nice indeed. I have used Cardinal Tetra's as a shoal of fish for the upper levels of the tank but wishing now that I chose Glowlights or Red Eyes. You could also have Kribensis, or a variation of them such as Nigeria Red...

 

[Shovelman]

Hey there minnnt! Thanks for the suggestion! Im not fully set on Tang, or any other specific lake orientated fish so any suggestions, like yours, is greatly apprecieated! Im just looking for some cool cichlids as ive never really had cichlids and find their behavoirs quite aluring, expecially mouth brooders! I will look into butterfly cichlids some more and see what their all about thanks!

 

[minnnt]

No problem mate. They're quite peaceful cichlids and apparently easy to breed so are perfect for a beginner to cichlids.

 

[Shovelman]

Nice! Thanks again! lol sounds like my type of cichlid...hahhaha