Dwarf Cichlids And Tank Stocking

[Neya]

Hi there everyone!

I'm new to aquarium keeping and am looking for help in planning out what will go in my new tank. I recently bought what I was told was a 55 gallon aquarium, but it is actually a 46 gallon bowfront (3ft long). When I was under the assumption that it was 55 gallons I started researching what to get and had my heart set on a Malawi Cichlid Tank. I did a ton of research on who I was going to add, water conditions, proper habitat etc. Now that I realize the tank is smaller than orginally thought, and being a beginner I've decided against that setup and am back to square one. I'm feeling really overwhelmed on what to add to create a colorful and balanced community tank.

I still need to finish setting up the tank and get it cycled. Once I do that I would like to add some type of hardy schooling fish, but I have no idea what type.

Eventually I would like to have a mix of dwarf cichlids but I don't know how many would be safe in my tank. Also, are they all bottom dwellers, or are any more middle to top? I love most of the dwarfs, including rams, curivceps and keyholes. From what I have read it sounds like keyholes swim in varying strata so would it be possible to mix them with a pair of rams?

Since rams need a well established tank I know I need to wait some time before I get them. To start off my community what fish would you guys recommend? I really like congo tetras and rainbowfish. Since some of the rainbowfish can get a little big I'm not sure which are best?

I also like patys, mollies and dwarf gouramis, would any of these work? What type of algae eater would be good?

Thanks for any help you can give me!

 

[orangefish]

I'd start off with something small such as a school of tetras (maybe 6 or 7)- neon tetras, harlequins etc. Rainbowfish get big and some types are more difficult than others and require certain pH's etc. I would just consider some basic community fish such as livebearers- mollys, platys, guppys etc. for your first shot at fish keeping and see how it goes, as cichlids can be difficult to keep.

 

[OldMan47]

Welcome to the forum Neya.
I see no reason to abandon your original plan. A nice African rift lake tank can definitely be around a tank of about 46 gallons of water. The main considerations for any fish is the space it needs to swim in, the tank mates it can work with and the water conditions it needs. All of these can be solved while using your original plans. You may need to take a group of 5 fish down to 4 fish but that won't hurt anything in the larger scheme of things. For Africans, I am under the impression that the fish need lots of interference for the line of sight. It seems that African cichlids need to be able to make believe that no others of their own particular species are present, so they need something to break up their ability to see each other.
I recently got a small group of Lake Victoria fish with location information at a fish club auction. Those fish have been put into a tank that contains several South American fish, mollies, but has water that should work for the Africans. Even though I have a mix that would never happen in nature, I fully expect all of the fish involved to prosper.