Dwarf African Cichlids...

[bogwood]

I was interested in setting up a small (20UKG) tank for a pair of Apistos, but have been informed my PH is too high at '8.5'... and I can't be bothered with RO units/collecting rain water tbh...

...so I am now considering a pair (or 1M and 2F) of 'Dwarf African Cichlids' instead - which I 'believe' live and breed in a similar, higher PH to mine...

...can anyone suggest to me a suitable species of 'DAC' that will be happy in a 20UKG? What, if any, other fish can I keep with them?

...and what about real plants - or should I be aquascaping with just rocks, wood, caves etc?

 

[nelly3164]

hi, for a start dont bother with any wood in your tank, i dont pretend to be an expert this is just personal choice. plenty of rocks with caves, holes etc,. maybe try something like lodotropheus sprengerae (rusty cichlid) grows to about 3 to 31/2 inch just not many in a 20g.

 

[bogwood]

hi, for a start dont bother with any wood in your tank, i dont pretend to be an expert this is just personal choice. plenty of rocks with caves, holes etc,. maybe try something like lodotropheus sprengerae (rusty cichlid) grows to about 3 to 31/2 inch just not many in a 20g.

thanks nelly3164... anything with a bit more colour?!... would Kribs be a possibility... or too aggressive for a 20UKG?...

 

[Ginge]

What about Pseudocrenilabrus nicholsi, Hemichromis cerasogaster, Hemichromis lifalili are all my favorites.

 

[nelly3164]

you could try something like labidochromis zebroids a very pretty colorful fish. with a 20g you might be able to house 2 males and say 4 females, i am not 100% sure on that but you could ask other people for their input on this.

 

[freddyk]

African cichlids like Kribs are from the rivers of west Africa, where the PH is soft just like new world cichlid biotopes. The high PH that 'Africans' prefer are actually only referring to the Rift Lake African cichlids from lake Malawi, Tanganyika, and Victoria.

A 20 gallon is very limiting for these fish. Nothing from malawi is a good idea long term except for one mbuna called Labidochromis Textilis, and these aren't usually easy to find.

From Tanganyika you can make a very nice shelldweller setup, or if you only wanted a couple of fish you can do a pair of rockdwellers like Julidochromis, Neolamp. leleupi or Caudopunctatus, or a dwarf Altolamprologus if you can find them.