Which Cichlids to Choose?

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On_a_dishy

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I am deep-cleaning my 145 litre tank this weekend, replacing the gravel with dark grey sand, and preserving the plants but losing the mopani wood. Having made all the rookie fish-stocking mistakes, all my fish except for 6 x cory, 1 x bristlenose pleco and 2 x dwarf gourami have now gone to my brilliant and patient LFS. I am flexible about the gourami going too.
I have finally accepted that my water is hard, and would like cichlids. Please advise! My LFS has given me a list but I would like to browse beyond it. I have a dream of having just one or two large fish in there, but I don't think my tank could accommodate that.
The tank is a 145 litre Aqua One. Parameters are:
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 10 mg/l
GH between >7 and >14d
Carbonate hardness between 3 and 6d
pH 7.2
Thank you for all your recommendations - I'm going to try to sidestep mistakes this time round!
 
What are your tank dimensions ? A Gh of 7-12 dgh isnā€™t hard water in my opinion itā€™s soft to middling Iā€™d be looking to keep Central American cichlids or even South American cichlids, tank might be a little small but there are good option for dwarf cichlids , apistos , rams , even keyholes
 
What are your tank dimensions ? A Gh of 7-12 dgh isnā€™t hard water in my opinion itā€™s soft to middling Iā€™d be looking to keep Central American cichlids or even South American cichlids, tank might be a little small but there are good option for dwarf cichlids , apistos , rams , even keyholes
Hi - there are 2 big pieces of mopani wood in there at the moment which are lowering the pH - they would go. In fact, I should clear it all out and then re-post the parameters, I suppose...
Dimensions are: Height 18 inches; Width 15 inches; Length 31 inches.
I'll have a look at the ones you mention!
How many of each one would I be looking at?
 
Hi - there are 2 big pieces of mopani wood in there at the moment which are lowering the pH - they would go. In fact, I should clear it all out and then re-post the parameters, I suppose...
Dimensions are: Height 18 inches; Width 15 inches; Length 31 inches.
I'll have a look at the ones you mention!
How many of each one would I be looking at?
Hiya!
Hmm in all honesty it really depends what you're looking for in you're fish! If you want behaviour, go for central american cichlids as they are full of activity and personality however they come with a downside which is they are more aggressive to your average south american counterpart and thus limits stocking ideas. If you want looks and colour then south american is the way to go! It's alot easier to do a south american cichlid community with a variety of fishes however they arent as active and dont have as much personality as the CA cichlids. Also CA cichlids are alot more likely to attack the gouramis and possibly even the cories if you picked out a really mean one.

Good CA cichlids for your tank:
Convict cichlid (Only 1 as they are hyper aggressive when breeding)
Firemouth cichlid (If you're wanting a cichlid community I'd try a male and two females)
The convict cichlid will likely not tolerate alot of tank mates but will tolerate firemouths but if you do go for one I'd still keep an eye on it as it may be smaller than alot of cichlids but it makes up for it in fiestyness!
Firemouth cichlids are a little more easy going but have full potential causing trouble in tanks so again I'd keep an eye on them but they will tolerate way more fish species and will live with convicts.
Most other CA cichlids are unfortunately quite larger than these two and more aggressive aswell so I could only really think of the two :(

Good SA cichlids for your tank:
Bolivian ram (could go for 4 or even 6 if you really wanted)
Keyhole cichlid (Probably the most peaceful cichlid you could own!)
Kribensis (slightly more aggressive than the other two but very beautiful, I would only go for a pair)
Apistogramma (Stunning fish, peaceful and you can keep 3 with no issues!)
German blue ram (nice little fish, nowhere near as hardy as the others though)
Electric blue acara (Absolutely beautiful fish however the max size of this fish is contriversial with some growing larger than others but should be fine, I would watch out for this fish as it is slightly more aggressive than the others)
Orange head tapajos geophagus (One of the most beautiful freshwater fish you could own in my opinion! Again size may become an issue however they are the smallest of the geophagus so it really depends on you're stocking level)
last but not least
Angelfish (you could go for a pair of any colour of scalare angelfish out there! Again this might limit you're stocklist as they tend to grow fairly large for the tank you own)
I really hope I helped :)
 
This is brilliant - thank you so much! An update to my tank is that I now have nothing, so can start completely from afresh without worrying about the gouramis, corys and pleco (who have all gone to a good home). I shall browse your recommendations with a beer tonight!
 
The blue acara! What a lovely fish! My favourite so far...
Would I only get one for a a 145 litre tank? Or do they need company?
 
This is brilliant - thank you so much! An update to my tank is that I now have nothing, so can start completely from afresh without worrying about the gouramis, corys and pleco (who have all gone to a good home). I shall browse your recommendations with a beer tonight!
No worries at all! Sounds like a good night!
 
The blue acara! What a lovely fish! My favourite so far...
Would I only get one for a a 145 litre tank? Or do they need company?
Hmm I would say it depends on whether it is an electric blue acara or a true blue acara now I know how confusing that is sorry but basically the electric blue acara is not only smaller but is also better behaved in aquariums than the original true blue acara, itā€™s really interesting though as they are roughly the exact same fish but the obvious colour difference? I will say though that both are stunning but I would suggest the electric blue on its own purely for its smaller size :)
 
Thank you - I think I have made my mind up! I will get a single electric blue acara :)
Could I now trouble you for advice about decor and environment? As a reminder my tank is 145 litres; Height 18 inches; Width 15 inches; Length 31 inches. I have completely cleared it out so am starting completely fresh. I know I want a sand substrate and have ordered:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B006CPUC0U/?tag=
...but I don't mind changing this as an idea. And that's all I know at the moment! Once I get the tank going again it will take weeks to cycle so I have time to source some really nice stuff and to grow any plants that you might recommend. Thank you! (Again)
 
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Absolutely no worries at all! Electric blue acaras are beautiful fish! Now with this fish you have lots of tank mate options and lots of scaping options too! I would recommend trying to replicate a rocky environment in the sand, with smaller pieces of driftwood here and there and if possible some nice hardy live plants so the acara feels more comefortable in its new home! Good tank mate options would include some south american tetras? Or most tetras would do as long as they were on the smaller side, most synodintis catfish species would be a good pick as long as it doesnā€™t go past five inches or you could go with bristlenose plecos? It really depends on what kind of environment or look to the tank you want but generally speaking your tank sounds more peaceful community as opposed to boisterous or aggressive so as long as the tank mates arenā€™t too small you should be fine :)
 
Just the one blue acara, or could a 145 litre tank cope with 2? There would be no other tankmates except perhaps some corys further down the line.
 
Just the one blue acara, or could a 145 litre tank cope with 2? There would be no other tankmates except perhaps some corys further down the line.
Should be fine with two! They aren't very large and actually are more bulky as adults but they are a cichlid and cichlids are well cichlids haha, some are nice some are mean and some are just born serial killers it all boils down to the two but when you do get them if possible, try and look for a male and female or a female and female as two males will most likely have alot of random spats here and there and are more unpredictable with each other :)
 
Look at what I bought home today! A male and a female!
 

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