Cichlid Help Please ;-)))

[Purplebeardielover]

Hi, I am in the process of setting up my ew tank it is a juwel rio 400, i was just wondering if anyone can help me out with a good choice of fish, i am definatwly wanting to keep cichlids but want to get the mix and quantity right,any suggestions gratefully recieved.I like the pretty colourful bright ones (very girly i know lol)
Also can i keep parrot cichlids with juwel/peacocks for example or maybe even oscars?
Have have looked and researched but the names get rather confusing lol
Help as always will be gratefully recieved.
I will as far as is possible be getting small/young ones but sort of quantity should i have for the tank?
It is approx 60" x 20" x 24".
Sorry for all the questions.Many Thanks

[ninnipoo]

I've kept a few species of cichlid and found the american cichlids to be more enjoyable. Personal opinion. Malawi's are beautifull but found as my tank established there was a picking off the weakest problem and lost a lot. Some of the american cichlids can be very beautiful. Also have you considered an oscar or is it a community tank you are looking into?

[russm]

If you want colours then you are best to go for African cichlids. In my experiance the best way to keep them is to add loads of tuffa rock with plenty hides and add in lots and lots of fish, to the point of overcrowding. I found that they will claim a cave as their own and wont really leave it for fear of loosing it and this seems to stop the aggression problems. One of my mates was of the same oppinion as me and he was a very successful african breeder for many many years so it seems to work.
As for going for the south american stuff, you will tend to find that the majoritory of them will get quite large. Although your tank is big it still wont be able to hold a lot of the large american cichlids.
I guess it really boils down to what you want to look at, a few large visually impressive fish or a colourful packed aquarium that is a hive of activity.

[mike515]

don't get blood parrots. They are a man made hybrid and come with all sorts of problems. Just look at their mouths. They can't close them properly. Also they won't do well in a cichlid community, they would get a pasting if you put anything bigger with them.


You can mix loads of nice americans in there. Severums, oscars, JDs being common choices. I'd go with a pair of relatively low aggression (some of the better behaved acaras would be great, or Nic's). Then 3 or 4 medium sized specimen fish.

The trick with americans is to restrict their territory sizes but let them think they own the tank. Basically you have to mix complementing fish. So you need some larger and some smaller, but at the same time, different shape and colour fish. Cichlids of different shapes and colour often don't see each other as much of a threat (obviously some exceptions). Get fish that have different habits as well. Some cave dwellers mixed with open water fish work, but also fish that occupy different levels.

It's a fine art mixing americans but it does work and it's tons better than any malawi tank. A bit of a heavy hand is needed though. If you fiddle about too carefully with it, it won't work.

[ninnipoo]

Originally Posted by mike515

don't get blood parrots. They are a man made hybrid and come with all sorts of problems. Just look at their mouths. They can't close them properly. Also they won't do well in a cichlid community, they would get a pasting if you put anything bigger with them.


You can mix loads of nice americans in there. Severums, oscars, JDs being common choices. I'd go with a pair of relatively low aggression (some of the better behaved acaras would be great, or Nic's). Then 3 or 4 medium sized specimen fish.

The trick with americans is to restrict their territory sizes but let them think they own the tank. Basically you have to mix complementing fish. So you need some larger and some smaller, but at the same time, different shape and colour fish. Cichlids of different shapes and colour often don't see each other as much of a threat (obviously some exceptions). Get fish that have different habits as well. Some cave dwellers mixed with open water fish work, but also fish that occupy different levels.

It's a fine art mixing americans but it does work and it's tons better than any malawi tank. A bit of a heavy hand is needed though. If you fiddle about too carefully with it, it won't work.

I agree 100%

[_simon_]

Mixing americans can be a pain though. I had to rehome a stunning texas cichlid and one of my green severums. If they're small then rehoming isn't too hard but once they get a decent size no-one wants them. I got peanuts for my texas and had to give the severum away for free.

It's very much trial and error finding fish that will mix together. It's not just a case of certain species not mixing, it's down to the individual fish.

I think the rio 400 is 450 litres isn't it? That's about the same size as my tank so to give you an idea I have:

American: Tiger Oscar, Green Severum, 4x Silver Dollars
African: Ornate Bichir, Synodontis