Cichlid newbie

[93GTCANADA]

Hi everyone,

I have been out of the fish hobby for a while now. Was really into the sw hobby. But it cost way to much. Maybe one day I will get back into it.

I have a 25 gal eclipse sitting at home doing nothing and would like to get some fish back into the household. I really like the look of cichlids but know nothing about them. Would a 25 be big enough for a few. What temps do they like ? Any special care ? Any help is appreciated.

[Rhacodactylus Ciliatus]

A 25 can hold 3-5 cichlids depending on their size, more so your looking at African Cichlids as generally they tend to be a bit smaller than their South American counter-parts. I currently have a 25 with 2 yellow labs and 3 demasoni's in it. A simple and easy to maintain combination. Also, some of the 'shell dweller' cichlids stay smaller. I keep my guys temp at around 80 degrees. Also, Ottawa's tap water is perfect for African cichlids in regards to pH, you shouldn't have to add anything other than some conditioner to the water. Hope this helps.

[Demasonian]

Hey 93GT - Welcome back to the hobby! 25 gallons is a little on the small side for the vast majority of Africans, save for shell dwellers as mentioned above, and perhaps you could get away with a few of the smaller Tanganyikan species, but only one or two of them. Others may disagree but, with only a few exceptions, I wouldn't recommend mbuna be kept in anything smaller than 4 ft in length. What are the dimensions of your tank? Knowing the size will help determine exactly what type of fish you can successfully keep in there

There are quite a few New World cichlids that stay small (apistos and rams), but I haven't kept them myself so can't offer much guidance there...

[pushbuttonstart]

Don't know if I should put this out their as some may disagree, but I was breeding Aulonacara (Stuartgranti sp. Maleri Sunshine to be exact) in a heavily filtered 20 gallon breeder with a bunch of clay pots (hiding places for the girls), and it seemed to work fine...

I was also breeding red top dwarf Cynotilapia (Hai Reef) in a standard 20 with heavy filtration and a bunch of clay pots piled on top of each other...

In both cases it was breeding of 1 male to 3 females. It would not work if you have two males as they would just shred each other in a few hours. 1 male and 1 female probably wouldn't work either as the male would shred the female. At the right ratio though, just from personal experience it is not impossible.

[mkowals2]

Here's a good excerpt from an article in TFH I read yesterday:

"It's colourful, hardy, peaceful, does well at normal aquarium temperatures, and thrives best at moderately hard, slightly basic water. The scientific name of this gem is Mikrogeophagus altispinosus, but the hobby usually calls it the Bolivian ram.
At about three inches in length, it's a trifle bigger than the ram cichlid, but a pair of Bolivian rams would still fit neatly into a 20-gallon system. Like most cichlids, juveniles are gregarious while adults are more territorial; in this case, males and females form quite stable pairs. Bolivian rams also differ from many other cichlids in rarely causing problems in planted aquaria. Incidentally, the name Mikrogeophagus was made from Greek roots to indicate 'small eartheater,' and these fish definitely do best in a tank with soft, sandy substrate they can root around in. Choose sand explicitly stated to be safe for burrowing fish, though, such as smooth silica sand; sharp sand looks pretty, but they'll scratch these delicate fish and allow dangerous infection to set it."     
Quote from: "Easy Alternatives to Often-Difficult Community Fish" by Neale Monks, Tropical Fish Hobbyist

I haven't had any experience with cichlids other than the one angel I have, but I'm just putting this out there as a source of info to help you make your own decisions. I don't want to make it seem like I'm advocating for the keeping of this fish, as I've never kept them, or any other types of cichlids, for that matter. However, it isn't the first time I've heard/read that the Bolivian ram is a good alternative cichlid for aquariums on the smaller side. Nice on the eyes as well, imo...

Good luck!

-Mike

[Blackstitch]

I had five rusty cichlids and a pl*co in a 25 gallon for about nine months. They seemed to do fine in there, but then I upgraded them to a 65 gallon, and they are in there with 3 peacocks and 4 yellow labs and the same pl*co that was with them in the 25. Now in the 25, I have my tropical fish. Hope this helps, and by the way I'm on well water and that's what I use for all of my tanks.

[Ghys]

Have you considered Tanganyika's cichlid like Julidochromis Ornatus? They're small African cichlid so they like PH 8+. Mine do fine in a 25 gallons with Aragonite substrate. They spawn often in the cave . All the different spawnings live together. It's fun to watch how the parents take care and how the different sized fry interact . For picture, care and breeding info: http://www.gcca.net/fom/Julidochromis_ornatus.htm
You could try a 25 gallon with caves on one side for julie's and shell on the other side for shell dwellers cichlid.

[taim_30]

With africans, tank size does play an important role however I can't say enough about filtering.  You should get a filter that has a flow rate of double to triple your tank.

As for species, here's a list of good beginner ones you can find either on here from various sources or at the LFS.  I recommend you keep a 3 female to 1 male ratio and I would go with no more than 10 in your tank.   They can grow from 3 to 6 inches so you need to keep that in mind.  All of the species below will thrive on a herbivore diet so they are compatible with each other.

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=1733 for afra
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=713 for yellow lab
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=713 for estherae
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=1460 for acei
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=876 for elongatus (can be a little more aggressive)
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=2288 for kingsizei
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=919 for socolofi

I hope this helps:)

[taim_30]

I forgot to mention that 25 gallon is small for africans and you will need to eventually upgrade.  I don't remember which member mentioned this earlier in the thread but anything shorter than 4 feet needs to be upgraded eventually.  Africans love to swim from end to end and they do this endlessly:)