To Cichlid or not to Cichlid
Narow Gate
Hi,
Right now I have a 55 gallon reef tank, another 55 hex that is currently
empty a 30 gallon tropical, and a 10 gallon with one cichlid in it. Im probably
going to get a 100 or so gallon tank, and get rid of the 55 hex and 30 gallon.
I never really got into cichlids, I like the display tank at my LFS. My
question is how expensive and how much work would it be for me to do a 100
gallon cichlid tank? And are there any live plants that can live under the
conditions of a cichlid tank? I'll probably just go with a planted tropical
tank so as not to have to spend to much money. Having a reef tank eats up just
about all I can dish out for that. Just thought Id ask your opinions.
Rick Rose
http://members.aol.com/Narowgate/rick.html
Romans 8:17
Waterbabi9
It all depends on what KIND of cichlids you'd like to have.
There are 2 main types: South American and African. Within African there are
the Lake Malawi cichlids and the Lake Tanganyika cichlids.
Most of the south americans are the "Bruisers" of the cichlid world.. they get
huge, theyre aggressive and they can tear up a beautifully planted tank. But
sometimes nothing is more amazing looking than a huge tank filled with a few
huge fish. Fish like Red Devils, Red or Green Terrors, Oscars (albino, tiger or
Red), Jack Dempseys, Green and Gold Severums, Jewels, Texas, Black Belts...and
many more.
Africans can be just as aggressive, though often not AS large. Frontosas are
gorgeous Tanganykian but are one of the largest of the variety, probably up
there with the S.A.'s. The Malawis are a lot of fun to have. They get to be
around 6 inches, and are extremely colorful! But dont be deceived by how they
look when theyre small. Often the uglier, plainer fish grow to be gorgeous...
Blue Ahlis start out in a drab grayish brown color but turn out to be an
amazing shiny royal blue! Some ones we have that we love are all the zebra
varieties (this includes Red, Cobalt, Albino, Red Top, O.B.), Obliquidens,
Venustus, Kenyiis, Lemon yellows, and a few more. The synodontis African cat
varieties go great with these guys as they can get very large.
Tanganyikans are just as pretty but smaller and more "delicate" looking. They
are more expensive, (usually 10 - 40 per fish) but are really cool! We have
had 3 species of julidochromis (transcriptus,reganni, marlieri...there's also
dickfeldi, and about 6 more), Lepingos, Lamprolugis leleupi, Brichardi (the
daffodil brichardis are gorgeous too!).
The africans tend to be somewhat kinder on a planted tank... :-)
Do a little research and try to get an idea of which cichlids you may be
interested in... then contact a reputable petstore who specializes in
cichlids..
Good luck
<')))><| Julie |><((('>
invisigoth
>
> It all depends on what KIND of cichlids you'd like to have.
>
> There are 2 main types: South American and African. Within African there are
> the Lake Malawi cichlids and the Lake Tanganyika cichlids.
and those that don't come from the rift lakes -- the riverine african
species. these species prefer water that is much closer to that of
central american cichlids.
>
> Most of the south americans are the "Bruisers" of the cichlid world.. they get
> huge, theyre aggressive and they can tear up a beautifully planted tank. But
> sometimes nothing is more amazing looking than a huge tank filled with a few
> huge fish. Fish like Red Devils, Red or Green Terrors, Oscars (albino, tiger or
> Red), Jack Dempseys, Green and Gold Severums, Jewels, Texas, Black Belts...and
> many more.
some corrections are due here: there are south american cichlids and central
american cichlids (in addition to africans of course). with the exception of
red or green terrors, most south american cichlids are fairly peaceful (south
americans in the above list include oscars and severums, in addition to the terrors).
the jewel cichlids are in fact african cichlids -- they just don't come from
the rift lakes but rather rivers. central americans are the "bruisers" you speak
of and include the red devils, dempseys, texas, and black belts, plus other
nasties like dovii, haitiensis, beani, etc. the central americans are, as a class,
hands down the most aggressive and destructive group of cichlids. but they are
also the largest (for the most part, there are exceptions) and present the most
complex behavior. so from that standpoint, their individual personalities,
intelligence, and numerous idiosyncracies are qualities that IMO are essentially
unmatched by most africans and south americans. a large central american cichlid
kept on its own truely becomes a "pet".
>
> Africans can be just as aggressive, though often not AS large. Frontosas are
> gorgeous Tanganykian but are one of the largest of the variety, probably up
> there with the S.A.'s. The Malawis are a lot of fun to have. They get to be
> around 6 inches, and are extremely colorful! But dont be deceived by how they
> look when theyre small. Often the uglier, plainer fish grow to be gorgeous...
> Blue Ahlis start out in a drab grayish brown color but turn out to be an
> amazing shiny royal blue! Some ones we have that we love are all the zebra
> varieties (this includes Red, Cobalt, Albino, Red Top, O.B.), Obliquidens,
> Venustus, Kenyiis, Lemon yellows, and a few more. The synodontis African cat
> varieties go great with these guys as they can get very large.
>
> Tanganyikans are just as pretty but smaller and more "delicate" looking. They
> are more expensive, (usually 10 - 40 per fish) but are really cool! We have
> had 3 species of julidochromis (transcriptus,reganni, marlieri...there's also
> dickfeldi, and about 6 more), Lepingos, Lamprolugis leleupi, Brichardi (the
> daffodil brichardis are gorgeous too!).
>
> The africans tend to be somewhat kinder on a planted tank... :-)
this really depends on the species. some africans are piscivores (i.e.
predators), others are strictly herbivorous (e.g. tropheus moori).
>
> Do a little research and try to get an idea of which cichlids you may be
> interested in... then contact a reputable petstore who specializes in
> cichlids..
also test your water -- unless you want to fiddle with water chemistry
(not that hard once you know what you're doing) you'd be best off picking
cichlids whose natural water parameters is close to what comes out of your
tap. for instance if your tap water is very hard and alkaline don't go with
south americans but tanganyikans or malawis.
>
> Good luck
> <')))><| Julie |><((('>
--
+--------{invisigoth: nvzi...@ix.netcom.com}--------+
"Mathematics is a lesser activity than religion in the
sense that we've all agreed not to kill each other but
to discuss things"
-Richard Preston, 1992.