African Or South American?

[stargirly1208]

Hey! my mom is deciding to let me have her 55 gallon tank and my fiance and I can't decide if we want to put in south american cichlids or african cichlids. Right now I have just a couple of bolivian rams which I can trade in for other fish. Let me know what you guys think!!

 

[aquablue]

I say go for african...yellow labs are beautiful, red top zebras, diamond jewels...all would make a great african tank.

 

[OscarWilde]

South American would be my pick. You would only get one Oscar in a 55 though but they are the best fish ever!

 

[shroob]

Totally depends on what you want. Each type of tank has its merrits.

If I had to choose I would go SA, have a couple of apistos, a nice group of cories and a big group of tetras. I think I don't like africans due to me not liking the look of rocks in aquariums, much prefer bogwood and plants personally.

 

[rossyt99]

I would sway towards South American, as many great choices widely available>Angels, Blue Acaras, Festivums...
Severums are also majestic, but may be too big in long-run. Oh, and an of course> Oscar?!?

(However, I've recently been looking into Yellow Labs. as they are very appealing...)

Happy choosing.

 

[shroob]

I would sway towards South American, as many great choices widely available>Angels, Blue Acaras, Firemouths....
Severums are also majestic, but may be too big in long-run. Oh, and an of course> Oscar?!?

(However, I've recently been looking into Yellow Labs. as they are very appealing...)

Happy choosing.

FM's are CA, picky of me but just didn't want OP going out and buying them thinking they were SA if they wanted a biotope tank.

 

[rossyt99]

Edit done..

 

[Tobigara]

I'd go with New World cichlids. i'm not an expert on africans but i've heard and read that they lack the personality of new worlds. i think there is something great about fish that behave like puppies

 

[joecoral]

I also say South American
Apistos, Rams, tetras, cory's
bogwood, plants

job done

 

[chishnfips]

I feel I need to stand up for the africans here lol, its all a bit one sided, I love african cichlids and the setups you can make are the closest thing to a marine tank for freshwater, certainly when it comes to the colours of the fish, why dont you look up both kinds of setups on line and see which one appeals to you the most.

They both have great personalities, and are fun to watch, good thing about africans is you need to overstock, (but this also means you have to have the filtration to back it up), so you can have a really vibrant, busy and colourful tank.

 

[billy0510]

I personally would go with a South American biotype. I presently have one with drift wood and plants my old setup was African cichlids with lots of rocks. I did love my Africans but it was time for a change and i do love the tetras shoaling together.

 

[Davo86]

I suppose what it really comes down to is would you prefer a lush planted aquarium with natural wood or a marine like feel with sand, crushed corals and plenty of rockworks and caves.

My personal preference would be a few dwarf SA cichids such as apistos and rams, along with a few dithers.

What are the dimensions of the tank?

 

[darrel69]

Both African and American cichlids are stunning, beautiful fish. Which ever you choose, you have the potential to make a very impressive set-up.

It totally depends on your own opinion on what you like, and what you want. Also, what you can get hold off lol... Have a look around, there's plenty of pictures. Have a look on Cichlid-Forum. Also, the pinned topic 'Members Tank Pics' on both African and American sections. See if any take your fancy....

I keep Afrcians, i love them and wouldn't change for any other fish. I noticed someone mentioned 'they lack personality' .... trust me, thats soooooooo not true lol. A fully stocked African set-up is never boring.

You cant get anymore colourful than Afrcain Lake Malawi Cichlids without going Marine. Especially the Peacocks which can be stunning in colour. For your tank size, Lake Malawi Cichlids would be ideal. A little on the small side for Tropheus or Frontosa though which are also beautiful Afrcian fish.

Godd luck with which ever you choose

 

[shroob]

Both African and American cichlids are stunning, beautiful fish. Which ever you choose, you have the potential to make a very impressive set-up.

It totally depends on your own opinion on what you like, and what you want. Also, what you can get hold off lol... Have a look around, there's plenty of pictures. Have a look on Cichlid-Forum. Also, the pinned topic 'Members Tank Pics' on both African and American sections. See if any take your fancy....

I keep Afrcians, i love them and wouldn't change for any other fish. I noticed someone mentioned 'they lack personality' .... trust me, thats soooooooo not true lol. A fully stocked African set-up is never boring.

You cant get anymore colourful than Afrcain Lake Malawi Cichlids without going Marine. Especially the Peacocks which can be stunning in colour. For your tank size, Lake Malawi Cichlids would be ideal. A little on the small side for Tropheus or Frontosa though which are also beautiful Afrcian fish.

Godd luck with which ever you choose

I'll have to disagree there, there are some real jewels of cichlids from SA, agreed africans in general will have more colour compared to SA in general but just to show that you don't have to go african for colour:

There just 3 fish, not to mention the tetras which would add colour if you chose SA, then the forrests of green with the plants.

Yes, I know I choose good examples of the fish but they do look stunning.

 

[joecoral]

ahh, bl**dy long fin rams! hate em
is there anything they wont breed a long fin variety of?!
should stick to standard finnage