Cichlids

[parker313]

Is that the priness cichlid your lfs has? If so, it is an african cichlid, and a very aggressive, territorial one at that - definitely not what you're looking for (and not a shellie). Bolivian rams may seem a bit drab in the lfs, but when you get them home, they really come alive. They are a bit bigger than the blue rams and in general, are hardier and more disease resistant. Many lfs have a hard time getting hardy blue rams in due to overbreeding.

Kribs are not overly aggressive unless they are spawning.

 

[KingofthePisces]

cant see the pic its there but its not showing so they are agressive i would have thought somthing so small wouldnt be aggro i was thinking about getting one big fish just for the tank and do the cleaning by myself i was thinking a barramundi or compressed cichlid somthing with a big mouth that eats live fish

 

[parker313]

A 20g tank is not big enough for one big fish to live happily.

 

[kat11180]

that tank is way to small for a large fish to live in happly and doing so would put it in uneeded distress and end in the fish dieing which one not being a good carer for the fish two not neccesery and three not fair on the fish. it seems to me you just want a large fish so you can feed it smaller fish for fun which is not right.

 

[KingofthePisces]

settle down! i didnt say i wanted to always feed it live fish!! i realise that little fish dieing isnt right its just most of the fish i want to get have to be fed live fish and i cant avoid that oh and by the way i measured my tank today and it turns out that the my tank is around 30 gallons not 23 the pet shop put the wrong label on the fish tank

 

[fishytyke]

just out of interest, what are the fish that "have" to be fed live fish??

and 30 gallons still is not a big tank i'm afraid, i still would not put more than a pair of dwarfs in there if i wanted them to be able to hold anything like a decent territory,

you really should not be thinking big fish (i.e. anything over 4"), the tank just would not be able to house it


neil

 

[kat11180]

settle down! i didnt say i wanted to always feed it live fish!! i realise that little fish dieing isnt right its just most of the fish i want to get have to be fed live fish and i cant avoid that oh and by the way i measured my tank today and it turns out that the my tank is around 30 gallons not 23 the pet shop put the wrong label on the fish tank

no fish HAS to be fed live fish no fish have to be fed on live food alone i would also love to know what these fish are that HAVE to eat live fish as you say. and as you have been told by more than one person that tank is so small iv kept all sorts of fish from guppys to oscars to even two red bellyied piranha and they didnt even have a diet of any live fish. do you actually know how big these fish eg oscars/convicts etc can grow to??

 

[parker313]

settle down! i didnt say i wanted to always feed it live fish!! i realise that little fish dieing isnt right its just most of the fish i want to get have to be fed live fish and i cant avoid that oh and by the way i measured my tank today and it turns out that the my tank is around 30 gallons not 23 the pet shop put the wrong label on the fish tank

What are the specific measurements? Footprint size is more important with cichlids than strictly the number of gallons.

There are few fish that "require" live food and unless you have a guaranteed disease free source of feeders, then introducing feeder fish can be a recipe for disaster as most feeders out there are diseased and not very nutritious anyway.

 

[KingofthePisces]

settle down! i didnt say i wanted to always feed it live fish!! i realise that little fish dieing isnt right its just most of the fish i want to get have to be fed live fish and i cant avoid that oh and by the way i measured my tank today and it turns out that the my tank is around 30 gallons not 23 the pet shop put the wrong label on the fish tank

What are the specific measurements? Footprint size is more important with cichlids than strictly the number of gallons.

There are few fish that "require" live food and unless you have a guaranteed disease free source of feeders, then introducing feeder fish can be a recipe for disaster as most feeders out there are diseased and not very nutritious anyway.

its a wide tank being 2ft 3" wide it may seem small but im someone who never got things in large amounts so it seems large to me ive decided on what im getting anyways and it includes cichlids just another question can kribensis cichlids be kept safely with bolivian rams?
and yes im well aware on how big these fish can get so i changed my mind when i was doing my measuring

 

[parker313]

No. You should not keep more than one pair of bottom dwelling cichlids in anything smaller than 40g. Kribs are VERY territorial during spawning. Mine killed off all of my cories and most everything else in my 46g when they were spawning.

 

[KingofthePisces]

ive got a feeling that i dont know what im doing in the subject of cichlids ive had almost no expeirience (an old 55 gallon tank with 2 oscars ended badly from an ammonia spike) can you recommend a community for bolivian rams?

 

[parker313]

You want a community tank stocked around a pair of Bolivian Rams?

Just clarifying

 

[KingofthePisces]

You want a community tank stocked around a pair of Bolivian Rams?Just clarifying

yes ive found myself to be bad when it comes down to fish communitys

 

[parker313]

Check out this link. If you scroll down, you will get some stocking lists. One of the S American lists they have includes 4 rams - blue/gold or bolivian, your choice

 

[KingofthePisces]

dont know if my LFS gets in those types of tetras how about this community that ive had a crack at, it includes:
bolivian rams: 2 (M/F)
black widow tetra: 4
golden pencilfish: 4
platys: 2 (M/F)
bristlenose: 2 (M/F)
kuhlii loach: 2
so what do you think of that community? any conflict between them? any possible fry or egg eaters?