What Path Has Your Cichlid Keeping Taken?

[markandhisfish]

mels earlier thread about being addicted to cichlids made me think back to when i 1st started with cichlids and how it evolved. so how did cichlid keeping start for you and how did it pan out?

for me , i started with a little 120L community tank, then the missus got me a 4x2x2 543L for my birthday i went and bought a severum ( vinny) and a blue acara , from there i tried many different cichlids with them including jade eyes, firemouths, geos, angels etc , and now im moving into my next challenge ,a planted discus tank .

 

[MermaidMel]

mels earlier thread about being addicted to cichlids made me think back to when i 1st started with cichlids and how it evolved. so how did cichlid keeping start for you and how did it pan out?

for me , i started with a little 120L community tank, then the missus got me a 4x2x2 543L for my birthday i went and bought a severum ( vinny) and a blue acara , from there i tried many different cichlids with them including jade eyes, firemouths, geos, angels etc , and now im moving into my next challenge ,a planted discus tank .

You know what Mark, it was actually you that was my turning point in cichlid keeping, do you remember how I posted on here about how much I would love to have a gold severum, I'd always stared at them for ages in the LFS and you gave me the confidence to go for it, so I did. Since then (plus the 5 keyholes I bought the same week) I've been a changed woman, as you know, I've recently got a blue acara, 2 firemouths, 3 geos and a festivum, so I can safely say my path was quick and certain! Thanks to you and Minx really, your passion for cichlids and your ability and determination to make things work for you, has really inspired me.

 

[shelaghfishface]

not far for me im afraid Mark,, started with oscars, had a few rams, convicts and kribs in the middle.. but here i am again back where i started .. totally in love

 

[markandhisfish]

wow ermmm high praise indeed thankyou. altho to be fair i wouldnt be keeping the fish that i am keeping these days without the help from members on here. everything i have learned about fishkeeping ( and i mean literaly EVERYTHING) has been learned here .

 

[england]

my first cichlids were firemouths and convicts...then i changed....then my missus got me a oscar to keep with my goldfish so i had to buy the 5/2/2....perfect exscuse....then i had oscars/jag/vieja/dempsey/green terror/chocolate cichlid/Paratilapia bleekeri/some malawi's temp and now a electric yellow...also had angels/kribs/keyholes/tbar and a few others that cant remember i can see them in my head

 

[markandhisfish]

not far for me im afraid Mark,, started with oscars, had a few rams, convicts and kribs in the middle.. but here i am again back where i started .. totally in love

i hear you about being back in love again shelagh. my tank at the moment only has 40 cardinals in it but because ive had no fish for ages and i think this is the nicest my tank has ever looked , it almost feels like having my 1st tank all over again

 

[MermaidMel]

wow ermmm high praise indeed thankyou. altho to be fair i wouldnt be keeping the fish that i am keeping these days without the help from members on here. everything i have learned about fishkeeping ( and i mean literaly EVERYTHING) has been learned here .

No, take it on the chin, your relationship with Vinny really was endearing and your advice gave me the confidence to try it out and it's working brilliantly, my sev (who isn't named) but is so full of personality and one of the best fishy moves I ever made

 

[markandhisfish]

glad youre enjoying the sev i do still miss having vinny but at the end of the day i couldnt have my cake and eat it , plus hes gone to a good home

 

[MermaidMel]

glad youre enjoying the sev i do still miss having vinny but at the end of the day i couldnt have my cake and eat it , plus hes gone to a good home

And what a great feeling that must be
My sister had a syno for years, from a baby who has outgrown its tank and she feels so much better knowing I can look after it now, it's very comforting

 

[markandhisfish]

yeah its the only reason i let him go , tbh i think if he didnt go to minx i probably wouldnt of let him go at all.

 

[snowflake311]

For me it started with rams. Then the fish I wanted got bigger and bigger so I needed more tanks and larger ones for my large fish.

 

[kaivalagi]

In October last year I started a community tank in my Roma 125 and added a pair of firemouths, then got very interested in them and read lots.
Eventually I convinced the wife on a new bigger tank and got some more fish into the Roma on the basis I could move them into a bigger tank before they got too big.
In April I got my new 5ft tank and moved the fish into that and managed to make a deal to keep the Roma too for breeding hopefully

Since then I have got 4 more tapajos and a female HRP, the current stocking is in my sig
I plan on some Hatchet fish next, shortly followed by some Severum (5/6 juvies, keeping 1 pair eventually) then that's me done, honest mrs

 

[star4]

I blame Minxyfish for my addiction, I went to her house to collect a firemouth, saw her tanks and

 

[chrisbassist]

I think I'm only at the start.

Recently got a Roma 125...

Wills suggested a couple of dwarfs for a centrepiece so I spent some time lookingxat them, stood in the shop in that section and noticed how nice the cichlids were compared to the standard "colourful" fish

 

[char la]

About 8 years ago my mum and dad bought me a large parrot cichlid which after just a few days layed aggs, so then i had to find its mate at the shop where they got it from. I ended up with two convicts, a marbled and an albino. So then i had to make them breed again. Lots of research later i figured both the convicts were female and the parrot was too big for the tank so it had to go back. Finally got a male marbled convict for my female marble and it began! New fry every month. Next came kribs and their breeding escapades.
3 years ago...started working at an aquatics store and was opened to a whole new world of cichlids. So then came the apistogrammas, rams, laetacaras at home and of course the many others at work.
2 years ago...looked at the african cichlid section and thought 'how can i learn more about these fish so i can answer customers questions...? I know i'll keep them!'
It really is amazing how much you can learn about something when you have a real passion for it! Cichlids are by far the best fish!