New Member Says Hi, And Help !

[sc0tty]

Hi everyone, I am new to the forums, and I used to keep fish many years ago.

Basically, I want to set up a new tank, approx 200 litres/4ft wide, and I would really like to keep cichlids. I am not a fan
of planted aquriums or community fish.

I live in Reading, Berks and the water is fairly hard I would say.

Can anyone suggest or advise whether I can keep blue acaras, firemouth cichlids and kribensis fish together? is there a general rule about keeping cichlids in male and female pairs? The reason I ask this is I keep reading that these fish can be terrotorial especially at breeding times, but when I spoke to my local aquarium they suggested keeping male and female of each species. I am confused as to what fish can be kept together, what fish are suitable for my water conditions, and how to prevent the fish fighting !

Apologies for all the questions, I really am a novice. Finally, I really like the look of a tank with no plants, just rocks and coral sand !!


Thanks

Scotty

 

[minxfishy]

Hi welcome

If you really want rocks and coral sand I would suggest Aftican Mbuna cichlids, very easy to care for and can be slightly overstocked to help spread aggression.

However, for NW cichlids, blue acara and firemouths should be ok, but I would leave out the Kribs (Kribs are african cichlids), Kribs can be extremely teritorial when spawning.

Firemouths are also territorial when spawning and I honestly dont know much about them but have a look thru the species index which is pinned at the top of the forum for more information on all the fish you are looking at.

Blue acaras are lovely fish (I have two) and are relatively peaceful cichlids.

Most NW cichlids apart from the large Oscars, Jack Dempsey etc like well planted tanks to make their own territory as well as caves, so maybe not what your looking for.

Other will be along shortly to give more advice.

 

[sc0tty]

Hi welcome

If you really want rocks and coral sand I would suggest Aftican Mbuna cichlids, very easy to care for and can be slightly overstocked to help spread aggression.

However, for NW cichlids, blue acara and firemouths should be ok, but I would leave out the Kribs (Kribs are african cichlids), Kribs can be extremely teritorial when spawning.

Firemouths are also territorial when spawning and I honestly dont know much about them but have a look thru the species index which is pinned at the top of the forum for more information on all the fish you are looking at.

Blue acaras are lovely fish (I have two) and are relatively peaceful cichlids.

Most NW cichlids apart from the large Oscars, Jack Dempsey etc like well planted tanks to make their own territory as well as caves, so maybe not what your looking for.

Other will be along shortly to give more advice.

Many thanks (not sure why this is a quote post when I clicked on 'reply'?!!) could I keep keyhole cichlids with the acaras and firemouths aswell??

 

[minxfishy]

You could keep keyholes with acaras as they are both peaceful enough. I wouldnt then add the firemouths as I think the keyholes in particular would suffer.

In a 200 Litre tank, 2/3 Keyholes, 2/3 acaras and a large shoal of tetras, the larger species of tetras would be nice. But you will need some caves, rocks and probably plants as I said, they like planted tanks. You dont have to go with real plants, silk can work just as well.

 

[jb12288]

firemouths are very territorial when they spawn, i had a breeding pair for the longest and if they were gaurding eggs at the time of a wc they would attack my hand and the syphon. i personally wouldnt keep keyholes with blue acaras. but you could always try it. you could do a blue acara, two firemouths, and a pleco of some sort but the you would be stocked to the maximum capicity. if you dont want a pleco you could do a blue acara, 2 firemouths, a convict or a sajica.

NOTE:
the convict and sajica is a choice between the two, not have both

 

[Davo86]

Due to your preference of coral sand and rocks along with the hardness of your water then you may well want to research african cichlids as these will truly thrive under these conditions.

If you do go ahead with NW cichlids then you may want to add some nice pieces of bogwood at the very least to make them feel more at home in the tank, Although most of the smaller species would feel more secure with some plants in the tank to break up lines of sight.

 

[sc0tty]

Due to your preference of coral sand and rocks along with the hardness of your water then you may well want to research african cichlids as these will truly thrive under these conditions.

If you do go ahead with NW cichlids then you may want to add some nice pieces of bogwood at the very least to make them feel more at home in the tank, Although most of the smaller species would feel more secure with some plants in the tank to break up lines of sight.

I do like the african cichlids, but I know nothing about the species, fish names etc !! I know there are the mbuna type fish from lake milawi, and I do like the look of those, but as I say, sadly I know nothing about keeping them, or stock levels, common fish names and do's and dont's. I am really struggling to find any info on the web about the mbuna fish. Maybe as a beginner I am biting off more than I can chew?!!!

 

[minxfishy]

Here is a list of lots of African Cichlids, Mbuna and others, this should give you a lot of information that might be helpful.

http/www.fishforums.net/category/41/Cichlids-African/

Whatever species you do eventually decide on, please have a read thru of how to cycle your tank safely for any fish. Do not take the usual advice of fish stores which is to leave your tank for two weeks and then add some hardy fish.

Fishless cycling: http/www.fishforums.net/content-page/113...ination/page/0/

 

[Davo86]

I do like the african cichlids, but I know nothing about the species, fish names etc !! I know there are the mbuna type fish from lake milawi, and I do like the look of those, but as I say, sadly I know nothing about keeping them, or stock levels, common fish names and do's and dont's. I am really struggling to find any info on the web about the mbuna fish. Maybe as a beginner I am biting off more than I can chew?!!!

Introduce yourself on the african cichlid board, I'm sure many people on there will be able to give you suggestions on beginner species so to speak

If you would like to try something totally different have a look at some of the Tanganyikan species such as Neolamprologus lelupi or Brichardi, These would also do great in that kind of setup.