Africans VS Americans

[Voorhee]

Well the more i read about both spieces the more i want both lol.. but i can't..

Just wondering if anyone can post benefits of each..

i love the colour of africans.. but i love the size of Americans...

its a delemia..

i have driftwood and rocks..

My Tank:

65gal 48x15x20
200wat Ebo heater
XP2 filter
402 powerhead/quickfilter

let me know!! thanks all!!

 

[jerryjr569]

Well i love Ocsars They are smart and cool

 

[yhbae]

Personally, I like Africans better. Although American cichlids look impressive and interesting, their requirements are often very high (i.e. your tank is probably too small for many of them) and you can only keep few fishes in large tanks. I prefer to have more variety of groups...

 

[rvm]

with americans you can generally keep fewer than if you were keeping Africans in the same tank. However, Americans tend to get larger and IMO are more personable than Africans.
It all comes down to personal choice and whether you can meet the demands of the fish. With Americans, that is generally a big tank, and with Africans it is ususally hard water with a high ph.

 

[yhbae]

Voorhee, what is your water parameter out of your tap? Perhaps that should dictate what you should go with...

 

[parker313]

If your tap water has a high pH and is hard, go with Africans. If it's soft and has a low pH, go with New Worlds. It's much easier to get fish to go with your water than to change your water to suit your fish

 

[yhbae]

If your tap water has a high pH and is hard, go with Africans. If it's soft and has a low pH, go with New Worlds. It's much easier to get fish to go with your water than to change your water to suit your fish

My point exactly...

 

[rvm]

My tap water is hard and alkaline, but I keep NW cichlids. They will adapt very easily as long as the parameters staay stable!!

 

[Dwarfs]

You could have a whole bunch of dwarf cichlids (apistos, rams, keyholes)

 

[Voorhee]

any way i can keep 2 american cichlids in a 65gal?

maybe a oscar and a flowerhorn? or something?

 

[modernhamlet]

An oscar would eventually kill just about any tankmate in a 65g. I wouldn't suggest keeping one (even alone) in a 65g, but people have done so successfully.

The flowerhorn is a hybrid. I and many folks here would strongly urge you to not purchase one or purchase fish from anyone that sells them. There are many, many, many naturally occuring species of cichlid that are beautiful, interesting, and would suit your needs. There's no need to propogate "man-made" ones.

There are many American cichlids that would do well in a 65g, including Firemouths, Rainbows, Texas Cichlids, Severum, Eartheaters, Convicts... on down to the smaller, but very interesting dwarf species like Apistogramma and Rams.

Do a little research and see which ones strike your fancy. We'll be happy to help out further from there.

Hope that helps. Good luck with your tank...

 

[Becca]

Well, I have both - South American and Africans. Although, my South American setup still holds toddlers (lol) and is new, but here's what I see:

My South Americans are meaner towards other fish than my Africans are, but they both have the same traits and seem to have (so far) the same personality. They both dig up the bottom like crazy and they both beg to be fed. The one difference I have noticed between the two, so far, is that my African tank has a LOT of activity - the fish are constantly swiming back and forth where as my American tank - the fish inch their way around - they move a few inches, stop, move a few more, stop again. (That is, of course, unless the one big-bad-dude is chasing them around the tank.) Both are fun to watch.

As for your tank - if you're planning to upgrade in the future to something bigger, South Americans are a nice choice, but if you're planning to make this your perm tank, then I'd suggest some Africans.

Wow, I wasn't any help, was I?

 

[619 Fish GOD]

You could have a whole bunch of dwarf cichlids (apistos, rams, keyholes)

wHAT ABOUT kribs

 

[Vip]

An oscar wouldnt kill any tank mate its more likly to die its self from a tank mate, there very wimpy and cant stick up for themselfs all to good at all.
Why not try this:
Texas, Severum, 2 silver dollars.
2 Firemouths, 2 Blue Acaras, 1 Severum

There is heaps of combos you can do but if you want alot of fish you are better off going african.

As for me i hate african cichlids besides jewls and frontosa American All the way baby.

 

[lucky62]

By Africans I guess you mean lake cichlids , there are a few riverine cichlids from Africa that have more similar behavior traits to new world cichlids then African lake cichlids .

Kribs .[have many like species , for instance , p. taeniatis ], very colorful , stay around 4" and under]

Jewels [ about 6" , can be extremely aggressive ]


Dwarf African butterfly cichlid [ small , 3" and under] , sometimes called dwarf jewel , though not nearly as aggressive]

Tilapia [few occur in lakes , not very attractive , some grow large]

to name a few for example .

I myself prefer new worlds and African river cichlids to the lake variety , and have kept a representative number of each through out the years .[ though now I mostly keep dwarf sized fish ]

Most fish will adapt to various water chemistry , within reason .

new worlds and the like can be Territorial as well as aggressive [ less fish per tank]

where as with African lake species for the most part you'll need more fish to displace the aggression .

CHOICES , CHOICES