Any Suggestions?

[Sid]

Hi,

I would like to get a few Cichlids for my 30 gallon tank. I'm moving
the neons to a different tank and depending on the types of Cichlids, I
may move my gouramies too.

I have a few questions (this will be the first time that I'll have Cichlids!):

1) I would like a bunch of colorful Cichlids, Any suggestions?

2) If I'm not interested in breeding my Cichlids should I get all
males, all females, or doesn't it matter?

Here's a few types that I've found around town or in my Cichlid book
that I liked, Does anyone know whether these will get along or if they
are good/neat fish is general?

Rainbow, Anomalochromas thomasi, Hemichromis guttatus, Thysia ansorgii,
Pelvicachromis pulcher, Julidochromis marlieri, Lamprologus brichardi,
Tanganicodus irsacae, Iodotropheus sprengerae, Labidochromis zebroides,
Pseudotropheus socolofi

Any info is welcome and appreciated!!

Thanks!

 

[Sid]

The tank is a 36 inch long and can be re-decorated to accomadate any
types of Cichlids that I decide to get (currently it has a bunch of fake plants,
one real plant and a few decorative caves).

Thanks again for any suggestions!

 

[bettalove]

Since nobody else has answered yet, I'll give it a try. I can only speak from what I have observed from my own cichlids and am definitely not an expert.

I'll start with the Hemichromis guttatus aka Jewel Cichlid. I have three of these that I'm housing in a 125 show tank. The bright red coloring is astounding and I would highly recommend them. They love to dig and *may* uproot any plants you have. I use plastic plants and it didn't take them long to dig them out of the sand. The reason they dig is because they lay their eggs in the sand rather than carry them in t their mouths. There are several different species of Jewels. I thought I was getting three of the red forest, but I ended up with two red forest and one green forest. They get along well though. Here's a website with the different species and some pics. Jewel

Iodotropheus sprengerae aka Rusty Cichlid. This is probably the least aggressive and nonterritorial cichlid around. I have many of these, but only one is an adult and has gotten along with all of my other Lake Malawi cichlids when he was in the tank with them. If you don't want to move your gouramis, I am successfully keeping my adult rusty with a blue gourami right now. He'll be moved when the rest of my rusties are adults as I plan to breed them.

Pseudotropheus socolofi - I have three of these and love the powdery blue of the largest one. The two smaller ones are a much darker blue, almost cobalt and I'm beginning to believe that they're not socolofi even though they were marked as such at the lfs, but maybe they will lose their dark coloring when they reach full maturity. In either event, they're beautiful additions to the tank and have shown no signs of aggression.

I have been able to successfully keep the three listed above together in a tank. As for the rest of the fish you listed, I haven't ever owned them and even though I have some book knowledge about the Kribs (Pelvicachromis pulcher), I don't feel I'd give good enough advice without having had some hands-on experience with them.

As for keeping all of one sex together, I think you could get away with keeping all males in the three I listed above. They are some of the more peaceful cichlids. The males will have the most coloring, but it's not always easy to tell the difference between males and females in juveniles without venting. There are many that say that there are other ways, but none of them are foolproof. Just because a cichlid may have an eggspot, that doesn't necessarily mean that it's a male and I've never seen a Jewel with an eggspot. Sometimes you can tell by the anal fins, the male's will normally be more pointed and the female's more rounded, but again, when looking at juveniles, they could all look the same until they're adults. I'm just mentioning this because I have bought on more than one occasion a group of cichlids with the intention of getting a two females for one male ratio and ended up with the opposite, so it's very easy to end up with both male and female even when you didn't intend to have it that way.

 

[Sid]

Thanks for the reply!

Those are very nice looking fish, I definately like the
Jewel and the P. socolofi. Do you think that I could
have more than 1 each if I got these 3?

Also, right now I have gravel substrate, would I need
to change to sand? Or will they still dig in the gravel?

 

[thecichlidaddict]

First off, I don't recommend the Jewel in with the rest of the africans. Your tank is only 30 gallons, and Jewels are quite aggressive. Many species that may not appear aggressive in larger tanks will really come out in a small tank.

I'd suggest deciding on either lake Malawi or lake Tanganyika, rather then mixing. Yes mixing can be done, but you can't cator to both types, and again, limited space will be a problem.

As far as Lake Malawi is concerned Iodotropheus is perfect for your tank, as are most Labidochromis varieties, Caeruleus usually being the most peaceful. I don't recommend Socolofi, but if you just get just one it may work out. They are not very aggressive in large tanks, but will become quite aggressive in a small one. Pseudotropheus Acei is a nice violet one that is not aggressive at all. I wouldn't worry about breeding, there is no need to save the fry if they do. If there are any certain colors you are looking for we can probably find suitable fish.

The Tanganyikans I'm sure you found are not as colorful. They are full of color though. The Tanganyikans also can't be stocked as heavily as mbuna can, so the tank would end up being quite a bit more sparse, and in general they are most rewarding kept in breeding pairs. These pairs need to be chosen carefully though, as some will take the whole tank as territory - Brichardi would empty the tank for you, for example.

You can use either sand or gravel. They will still dig if the gravel is fine enough, and if they can't dig it won't kill them.

 

[Sid]

Thanks for all your information, it was very helpful!

The Petco near me has Labidochromis caeruleus, Iodotropheus
sprengerae and Pseudotropheus acei. Would I be able to stock
all 3 in my tank or just 1 or 2? Could I stock more than 1 of each?
I've heard that some cichlids do better when the are in a mated
pair, should I try and get pairs?

Also, Will they get along with my gouramis and otos?

Thanks again for your help

 

[thecichlidaddict]

You can get more then one of any of them, but Mbuna (the group of fish these all come from) are not monogomous like many cichlids. The Pseudotropheus Acei are especially best kept in larger numbers - they are as close to a schoaling species as mbuna get. From that selection I would go with 3 Lab. Caer. and 3 Acei, and then maybe a single Iodo. Spreng.

I don't recommend mixing the Africans with your other fish, especially the Ottos. A species tank is always best for mbuna, though a tough pleco or synodontis catfish will work out if you are looking for something else.