Need Some Ideas Please

[acetennis2002]

Hello everyone,

I have a 29 gal. (us) tank and i was thinking about doing new world cichlids any ideas of some starter fish i could do ive never done cichlids before besides my German Gold Ram.

Thanks for your comments

 

[freddyk]

Were you hoping to keep them with non-cichlid companions, or was this to be a species tank?

 

[acetennis2002]

ummmmm i have no idea i was thinking just doing all cichlids i just need ideas

 

[freddyk]

Well, you can do two pairs of Rams, a harem of Apistogramma, or a mix of both and still have room for some suitable community fish, or a couple of pairs of keyhole cichlid. you can do a pair of Meeki (firemouth), Convicts, or smaller type Acara. I hope by 'all cichlids' you don't mean randomly adding all sorts.

 

[acetennis2002]

By all cichlids i ment things that will work together i just wanted to know like what could live in that space and would me ok for a beginner cichlid keeper scence ive never kept them b4 ive kept community fish but not cichlids

 

[CluelessScot]

How about a pair of bolivian rams? they are really nice and fun to watch, rather hardie too

Kev

 

[aardvarkfromspace]

Jewel cichlids are very nice and one of my favorite cichlids... they don't get too large and are pretty cool in my opinion. If the 29g is tall rather then long, I would probably only put 2 in there as they are aggressive, but might be able to get away with a top dwelling fish as well.

 

[parker313]

Jewel cichlids are very nice and one of my favorite cichlids... they don't get too large and are pretty cool in my opinion. If the 29g is tall rather then long, I would probably only put 2 in there as they are aggressive, but might be able to get away with a top dwelling fish as well.

Bad idea. A "pair" of Jewels, when they decide to mate, will decimate anything else in their tank.

For a 29g, you could go with blue, gold or bolivian rams or even a pair of kribs. Although they're African, they are from the rivers there, not the lakes and their water conditions are very similar to the NWs.

My suggestion would be a pair of rams (any kind) or kribs and then a nice shoal of some smaller fish.

 

[aardvarkfromspace]

Said 2, not a pair..... but anyways, even if they were to pair off, a top dwelling dither fish might even work..

regardless, I think jewel cichlids are way more personable and nicer looking then rams or kribensis... good luck keeping kribensis and rams together in a 29g tank.

 

[freddyk]

good luck keeping kribensis and rams together in a 29g tank.

The operative word he used was 'or'. Jewels are nice and can be done as long as there are no tankmates (like convicts and such). Keeping just 2 is very risky, because when they are not a pair they are not really compatible anymore, even if they do come to a sort of truce.

As far as mixing a pair of cichlids with other fish, Rams and Keyholes and apistogramma are the best options. Most cichlids end up too aggressive and territorial.

 

[aardvarkfromspace]

oops sorry didn't see the >or< part...

Yea keyholes would be ideal if you don't want really aggressive fish.

 

[Griz]

My suggestion is for a community tank based around either rams OR apistogramma. There are numerous tankmates that will go well with these for example hatchetfish, small tetras, corydoras, pencilfish and others. You will be able to enjoy the behaviour of these cichlids in a somewhat natural setting. Putting too many cichlids into a tank is a recipe for disaster since they are very territorial. Have a look at this pinned topic for some more insight into this.