Stocking A 30 Gallon Aquarium

[BWBettas]

O.K, Hi i'm bret and im looking for a new fishkeeping venture and found cichlids! they are the most beautiful fish i've ever seen (Apart from my bettas, just though id say that to keep them happy) and my lfs said they would order me some in I'm now wondering; How many could i keep in there? I want vibrant colours and possibly fish that swim in pairs or 3s but that's not a need, it would just look cool. But what i ened to know is what are the ideal water parameters and Decor for the tank (rocks and the such) also could i keep a few Bristlenose catfish in with them?

Bret!

EDIT: Forgot to add i dont want, Keyholes or angels

 

[Valyrian]

How about firemouths?

 

[BWBettas]

Hmmm.... my uncle has a pair of them and they are UGLY i do like the look of pink convicts, any one got any information that i could miss on google?

 

[Joeyg2100]

I would go with some German Rams, and add a small school of Cardinal Tetetras. That would be a lot of bright brilliant colors that I think you would like. If color is what you are looking for.

 

[Krib Crazy]

How about apisto??

Convicts are really cool but you cant really put anything with them (from what ive been told)
They are really good if you want to start breeding cichlids

 

[Griz]

A pair or perhaps a trio or Apistogramma should work in a 30. You could build a nice community around them. What are the dimensions of the tank? (footprint is more important than gals with these fish) There is a wide variety of possible tankmates: small tetras, corydoras, pencilfish, hatchetfish. Options are a bit more
limited however if you wish to breed them.

They're not New Worlds, but shellies are another good option for a smaller tank.