Converting To Chiclids

[Lamby_Lee]

Hi, I've had a 70 litre tropical community tank for around 3 months now. I already have a few fish so my filter media should be matured (I hope). I fancied a chance to convert this tank into a Chiclid tank but I am blank on knowledge of these fish. I realise that they are aggressive so would need to be kept seperate from any other tetra or livebearers. The fish I already have would be transferred into another community tank which is ALOT larger and around 6-7 years old. Would a 70 litre tank be large enough for Chiclids? How many Chiclids, if any, can I keep in this tank? Do they need the same temperature (around 25 degrees) as my other fish? What food do they need? Do they like fake plastic plants that I have already have or real shrubbery? Do they like a rocky aquascape? Is gravel alright? My tank is a Juwel Rekord 70 which came with the lighting, filter and pump; do I need to make adjustments to these or will they be sufficent? Can they have any tank mates eg. Plec? I've heard they are messy yet hardy fish so are they picky on water conditions?
I look forward from hearing your replies!

 

[minxfishy]

For a 70L tank your looking at the dwarf cichlid species, rams, apistos mainly, these are relatively peaceful species of cichlids and can be kept in community tanks with other peaceful fish.

Most required a ph of around 6.6- 7.6ish (although tank breed most are used to 7-8), temperature 26-28, they require planting real or fake, plenty of hiding spaces, like caves, rocks, wood to form territories.

Apistos are probably the hardier of the dwarf varieties, bolivian rams being more hardy than the german blue rams. In a 70L I would say no more than 2 of either the rams or for apistos 1m - 3female.

All will eat flake, frozen or live food, not overtly picky eaters. I wouldnt say they were messy or were you referring to plecs, in which case yes plecs are messy little fish, substrate is fine with gravel or sand, your preference really. Normal filtering required, tip top water conditions needed though, no ammonia or nitrIte and as low as possible nitrAtes, if possible keep it under 40ppm or 20ppm for the german blue rams.

Have a look thru the SA/CA cichlid species pinned topics for more information.

 

[Lamby_Lee]

Thanks for your advice. Can I keep 4 Chiclids (1 male, 3 female) or is that really pushing it? I've heard about dwarf chiclids but rams are boring. My LFS has bright yellow chiclids and blue striped (light and navy blue) ones too, are these dwarf? I've kept rams in the older tank and they are pretty boring; I want something with a bit of life. Am I asking for too much in such a small tank?

 

[Miss Wiggle]

hi there, well cichlids is about the biggest group of fish you can think of, so yes there are most certainly some cichlids out there for you! But it depends a bit on what you want.

The first thing that springs to mind is neolamprologus multifascius (probably not spelt like that!) otherwise know as multies or shell dweller cichlids.

They are a really fascinating fish, you need a species tank for them so no other fish, but you get a colony of them and the behvaiour in the group is really fascinating. So that's one potential to research. Don't be put off by the pics, they may not look much in a photo but their behaviour really is something else.

rams are one of the tamer dwarf cichlids, if you look at something like apistogramma you'll see much more interesting behaviour between them. it really works best if you've got something like 5 females and 2 males, then you'll see the males sparring and displaying at each other all the time. again fascinating fish to watch and you can get them in a wide range of beautifully coloured species, most are also hardy and easy to breed so you could do a little breeding project with them if that took your fancy.

i suspect the ones you describe are yellow labs and the blue one will be another african cichlid, they need a specialist malawi/mbuna tank, needs to be around 40 gallons minimum and they can't mix with normal community fish so that's a no go for the 70l tank i'm afraid.

 

[doresy]

On behalf of the OP I will thank the replies to this thread as they are interesting to me too.

I have a 155ltr AquaOne (see sig) that I wish to possibly convert to Cichlids and these replies have set me thinking again

All I need is a free 3' tank in which to place my current community stock while keeping my canopy filter cycling then I can collect and build my rock formation...........whooops, sorry for the hijack

 

[waterdrop]

There was a great thread recently (minx, I thought I remembered you commenting in it??) where Davo or somebody gave a nice grouping of various Cichlids.. in the case of that thread I think the relative aggressiveness was being discussed but it would be quite interesting all the same I thing to lamby and dorsey.

Maybe somebody can locate it, it was in "New" and was fairly recent I think...

~~waterdrop~~

 

[minxfishy]

There was a great thread recently (minx, I thought I remembered you commenting in it??) where Davo or somebody gave a nice grouping of various Cichlids.. in the case of that thread I think the relative aggressiveness was being discussed but it would be quite interesting all the same I thing to lamby and dorsey.

Maybe somebody can locate it, it was in "New" and was fairly recent I think...

~~waterdrop~~

I did? There was? Somedays I cant remember my own name, I lose track of the threads, so if someone else can find it that would be good

 

[Davo86]

There was a great thread recently (minx, I thought I remembered you commenting in it??) where Davo or somebody gave a nice grouping of various Cichlids.. in the case of that thread I think the relative aggressiveness was being discussed but it would be quite interesting all the same I thing to lamby and dorsey.

Maybe somebody can locate it, it was in "New" and was fairly recent I think...

~~waterdrop~~

As it is only 18G, you really limited to either a very nice sized multis setup, with lots of rocks and shells,
or a SA themed tank with either a pair of Rams or a trio of apistos as the centrepiece and then possibly a shoal of say 6 tetras, (rummynose/black neons/cardinals/lemons are just a few options) and a few cories or otos, ideally in a setup with a number of bankwood caves and plants (real or fake)


link to post referred to above

 

[Lamby_Lee]

The Cichlids im looking at are around 10cm a piece. Is that too big, how many could i have? Do they have to have bogwood? Ive heard it tans the water, not a great look! If they need it then needs are at a must. Ive thought about doing a rocky aquascape, with rocks piled up at the back, this would provide caves and hiding places too! I already have fake plants but i would invest in some more. By the way, Is live rock just for marine fish? I didnt know if that was for tropical aswell. In my LFS they have a setup where they have loads of small cichlids plus a catfish that in my book looks like a Angelicus pim/Pimelodella or Pimelodus pictus, Im guessing it needs plenty of swimming room but please correct me. That would look absolutly great but im guessing a 70l is not at all big enough. I want some bright, striking cichlids that are active, what about a Malawi Golden Cichlid, Golden Dwarf acara, Fairy/Lyretail Lamprologus, Lemon Cichlid, Krib, Eygptian/Nile Mouthbrooder or Zebra/Nyasa Blue Cichlid. Are any of those okay?
In the book they are all around 10 cm, but how many cm could I have. Is 10 cm too big? I want a species tank but does that mean i can only have one type of cichlid? I want a cichlid tank but with all sorts of them in there (maybe 3 or 4), can they be kept on there own or do i need more than 1 of each type. Sorry about the essay! Im confussing myself.

 

[Davo86]

Angelicus pim/Pimelodella or Pimelodus pictus - These all need a lot more room, at least a 200L

Malawi Golden Cichlid, , Fairy/Lyretail Lamprologus, Lemon Cichlid, Eygptian/Nile Mouthbrooder or Zebra/Nyasa Blue Cichlid - all are too big and/or aggressive

Krib - Kribensis is a possibility, they are an african dwarf cichlid so benefit from rockwork and caves.
Golden Dwarf acara- This is your best bet, it a South American Dwarf Cichlid and would thrive in a SA themed tank with bogwood/real plants

In your tank you would only get away with a pair of one species, with a few dither fish
most dwarf cichlids need 20USG per pair (you have an 18USG) so if you wanted 2-3 different pairs you would need a 40-60G tank

 

[Lamby_Lee]

What do you mean by dither fish?

 

[Davo86]

What do you mean by dither fish?

dither fish are any shoaling fish that are active in the tank (that make a centrepiece fish more confident to swim in the open) and sort of give you something else to look at in the tank,

i.e. for dwarf cichlids you could use any shoal of small tetra or rasbora as a dither
i.e. for aggressive Cichlids you could use Giant Danios or Larger Barbs as dithers
i.e. for Large fish you could use Silver Dollars or Silver sharks as dithers

 

[Lamby_Lee]

Im really interested in the krib fish. Can i just have two of them (male and female) or would the female get hurt! what 'dither' fish can i put in my tank with them and would the krib eat them?

 

[Davo86]

Im really interested in the krib fish. Can i just have two of them (male and female) or would the female get hurt! what 'dither' fish can i put in my tank with them and would the krib eat them?

you could have a pair of kribs with:
a shoal of 6 tetras (any apart from rummynose or neons IMO as these are the most sensitive)
and then something like maybe 3 Hatchetfish for the top or 3 otos or some kuhli loach or anything else thats fairly small

 

[Lamby_Lee]

I have 8 cardinal tetras that are gonna be transferred into the larger tank if i get the kribs. Would my corys be safe or would they have to be taken out if the kribs come. what aquascape would the kribs like?