46 gallon new setup

[Sarkis]

I have a 46 gallon bow front tank. It has stocked Tiger barbs and other semi agressive fish for the last year or so. The tank is planted. I want to switch that tank to a Cichild. I am moving all my barbs to my other tank tommorrow which has been up and running for a few months now. So my 46 will be empty. It is still planted, has a Floval 304 and penguin filter on it, and gravel (stones ) as substrate. I want to know what i could put in there? and what changes to my existing tank i have to make.

 

[Ben]

well if you want cichlids,those plants arn't going to last very long.

what kinds of cichlids do you want?

aggresive ones who eats plants?

or dwarf ones that leave them alone?

 

[freddyk]

Kribs, Rams, Apistogramma, Keyholes are all worth considering - most other cichlids are either too aggressive, too big, or will dig up your plants.

 

[FoundMoney]

I'm in a similar situation. I'm going to be setting up a new tank, approximately 40 gallons (well, I don't know exactly because I haven't bought it yet, but too much bigger won't fit in the space I have), and I would like to have live plants and cichlids.

So the ones you mentioned, Kribs, Rams, Apistogramma, and Keyholes are all good. Are they all compatible? Kribs are African, no? What would be a good number and variety of fish for tank this size? Should I also get some catfish or other bottom dwellers?

 

[freddyk]

Kribs are African, no?

They are from the rivers of west Africa, not to be confused with the cichlids from the rift lakes of Africa. the West African species are very similar in behavior and requirements to the similar new world cichlids, and can usually be mixed successfully.

With a couple of pairs you can certainly add catfish, and you have a large choice of open water schooling fish you can add too, to fill in the rest of the tank.

 

[FoundMoney]

It seems like everyone talks about cichlids in terms of pairs. I guess it's better to buy them in pairs. So a pair of Kribs and a pair of Rams would be good for a 40 gallon? What about Keyholes? I like that they're a bit larger in size. Would a pair of Kribs and a pair of Keyholes be too much? Would three pairs, Kribs, Rams and Keyholes be too much?

You mention schooling fish, any suggestions to go along with a couple of pairs of dwarf cichlids? One school or two? How about a school of Corys and something else that swims near the top? Pardon my noobness! Thanks for any and all help.

 

[Vip]

It seems like everyone talks about cichlids in terms of pairs. I guess it's better to buy them in pairs.

Nope, they are less agress by them selfs.
You want an agressive tank then go buy these.

1 Male Convict
1 Firemouth
2 Blue Acaras
2 Jewel


Try not to buy male and females because then the fighting will get out of hand and you may have deaths.

 

[FoundMoney]

Thanks Vip. Actually, I'm looking for less aggressive fish. My post was in response to freddyk's response to me. I guess I should have quoted him. I would enjoy a tank with the fish you mentioned but I'm interested in trying to grow some plants so I think that would be a bit of a challenge.

 

[Vip]

If you want plants your better off going african, 3 good points are you can have more fish and keep the plants and also have alot more color.

 

[FoundMoney]

Someone else here told me that basically all cichlids, including Africans, will dig up plants, with the possible exception of the dwarf cichlids. I originally wanted to have Africans.

 

[freddyk]

Most new worlds and west africans do best in pairs because they are monogomous breeders.

This doesn't mean you can just go out and buy two fish. They are often selective with tankmates, so giving them a choice is a good idea.

The best way to do this is to purchase more then two (one male and two females, or 4 random fish of you can't sex them) and once a pair forms, return the remainders.

You can also keep them alone, but you'll be missing out on the unique relationship of monogomous cichlids that make them so charming.

Keep in mind not all are pairing fish - but all the ones we're talking about are.

You can do 3 pairs, but I really recommend two, this way you have space for more non-cichlid tankmates, like catfish, and the fish can create territories of a more natural size. You can do kribs and keyholes.

Any tougher tetra will work well to fill in the upper levels of the tank, you have quite a wide selection, just avoid tiny or delicate species like neons. Danio's work well too.

I hate to hear generalizations on 'Africans' because 'Africans' covers an incredibly wide variety of fish. Some africans will tear plants apart, others will live with them without a problem. Generally in the case of the fish we are discussing, they may dig up plants where they nest, but will otherwise leave them alone. Keyholes shouldn't disturb them at all.