Need Help Figuring Out..

[dixaisy930]

I will be getting a 20 Gallon Long tank in a few weeks, and I am trying to decide between a puffer tank or African Cichlid tank. I am trying to get an idea of what fish could go in a 20 gallon long tank, but am having trouble. I also thought it would be a good idea to go to my LFS and see what they had available, and then try to find more info on them online....BIG MISTAKE! The fish at the LFS had common names, and some just had partial latin names...all very confusing non-the less. I was hoping I could describe what I would like in my tank, and get suggestions of fish that would meet that criteria. I am also going to give you some names (sorry some are a partial latin name or just common names) of fish I have found some info on, and would like to know if they could somehow go in a 20 gallon long tank.

Ok, first off I would like African's that are not highly aggressive. I would like to keep a more "peaceful" cichlid tank, but mildly aggressive is fine. I would also like a mouthbrooder, but this is not a "must-have"...just interesting. Most of the African's I've looked into need a higher pH, which is what I would like, since my tap water has a pH of about 8.5.

I really liked to colors of several different kinds of peacock cichlids at the lfs, but from what I found out, they are too big for a 20 gallon?

I also liked the socolifi, neolamp. cylindrius, daffodil (neo. brichardi?), leleupi, "snow white" (sorry for the common name, although I think it is a albino socolifi), and braziliensis (I didn't find much on the last one, but I think it gets too big for a 20 gallon as well).

Sorry for such a long and probably confusing post. I just need some pointers and helpful "african newbie" guidelines. Thanks.

 

[freddyk]

Since this 20 gallon long is considered an absolute minimum for these fish you really don't have much choice except to go with more mild fish. If you want mouthbrooders then Malawi is where you need to focus. Tanganyikans like Brichardi and Leleupi would both do fine in a 20, but you'd only have a pair of fish (they are monogomous) and they are substrate spawners.

Here are some Malawi cichlids you can do in your tank. In a tank this small it's best to go with just one species, that way you can maintain appropriate groups and avoid aggression. Whatever you do, don't impulse shop or buy any fish unless you are sure it will work, because most won't in this tank.

Labidochromis Caeruleus (aka Yellow lab, lemon yellow, electric yellow): this is the single most popular African cichlid available, probably due to it's vivid color and milder nature. Another bonus is that when they are raised together you don't need to worry two much about gender, as long as there is at least as many females as males. In the end you're looking at about 5-6 of them.

Pseudotropheus Acei: This is a unique cichlid in that they tend to hang around together a lot of the time and can almost be considered a shoaler. Quite mild and again gender doesn't matter much as long as you have at least as many females as males. You're also looking at 5-6 of these guys too.

Pseudotropheus Saulosi is excellent for smaller single species setups. They top out at about 3.5" and aren't too aggressive, and because the males and females are different colors (males blue striped, females yellow) you can get two colors going with one species. Ideally you're looking at a group of about 8 of them. 1 male and 7 females, or 2 males and 6 females is ideal. WIth two males expect the sub-dominent male to suffer a certain amount of abuse, and he'll never show his full color.

Iodotropheus Sprengerae is an mbuna of unique color that can also get by in this tank, but you need to take care because they can be pretty feisty among their own and grow pretty large. The previous are better choices.

Socolofi can be considered less aggressive, but I've found that in tighter spaces their aggression rises. You can certainly give them a shot, but there's a good chance you'll end up with aggression problems with them in this tank. Since the albino's are merely line bred varients of the regular version you can mix the two if you wish. You'll be looking at about 6 of them with only a single male in the tank.

All of these fish are impossible to sex at a young age, and except for the Saulosi they are very difficult even when they are older. The best way to ensure enough females for the group is to start off with extra fish. This is particularly important with the latter 3 species, since the m/f ratios are that much more important.

Don't forget to check out the pinned article, it covers the basics of keeping these fish.

 

[dixaisy930]

Thank you so much for the help.

If I would pick Tanganyikans, would I just have one pair in the tank?

I also like shelldwellers, but they are very hard to come by. With shelldwellers, should that be a species-only tank as well?

 

[fish_r_great]

Yeah only one pair. They get pretty aggressive.

Shelldwellers are best kept in a species tank or with a few bottom dwellers. You could have more than a pair of these thoguh.

 

[freddyk]

Yeah, mixing species is a bad idea. You can go with a couple of pairs, a harem, or a colony of shelldwellers in that tank, depending what type you prefer. For example, you can go with two pairs of Brevis, A harem of 4 Occelatus, or a colony of 6 Multifasciatus. They don't have the color or size of the mbuna, but they sure make it up in personality and character.