Best Cichlid?

[Kitty_Nin]

Hi there! I currently have a 20 gal. tank with 1 giant danio, 2 comet goldfish, and 1 golden algae eater. I may soon be adding 3 bumblebee gobies, but haven't decided for sure on that yet. I'd like to get some sort of Cichlid--their personalities crack me up--and I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations, or maybe will just tell me that it's a bad idea with my current setup. I'd need one that stays small-ish, plays well with others, and is easy to care for. Also that is not impossible to find in eastern U.S. Any comments are greatly appreciated!!

 

[dcarmor927]

not really too sure...never kept any cichlids, but i think that some kirbensis would be ok, i just ordered four for my 55 gal but my LFS smudged the order so im still waiting ...other than that maybe some Ram cichlids, but i think those need pristine water conditions...good luck

 

[Kitty_Nin]

Ok, thanks. I'll do research on the kirbensis. I looked into rams and I really liked them, but I read that they are very finicky about water conditions, so I don't think those would be so good until I have more experience.... I'd hate to kill them!!!

 

[dcarmor927]

lol yea i was set on the rams but decided to settle on kribs, hope you find something you like!

also i just realized that you have the gold fish in with the danio and algae eater...you should remove the gold fish if you plan on keeping some cichlid because the gold fish are cold water fish, maybe you could trade them in for the kribs? if not, you should remove the danio and algae eater as well as the heater (if one is set up)...

 

[Kitty_Nin]

Ok thanks, I'll do that. As soon as I get a small spare tank, that is. Thay seem fine, so a few days until I get it set up shouldn't hurt.

 

[Bert]

Get a couple Keyhole cichlids if you can, VERY friendly and cute little guys

 

[snowflake311]

Get a couple Keyhole cichlids if you can, VERY friendly and cute little guys

I have 2 keyhole cichlids I love them. They would be better in a 30+ tank they get to be 3-4 inches.
Rams are good like the Bolivian or golden ram are fun and little. I would try and get a pair of Bolivian rams. Try not to get 2 males they can be really mean to each other.

 

[shroob]

I'd try and sort your current tank out before getting more stock, coment goldfish grow big and need a tank with room as they are good swimmers (as well as being cold water, they can survive in tropical but cold is best for them). Giant danio's get fairly big needing a larger tank than 20 gallons and they also need to be in groups. The golden algea eater (chinese algea eater colour form?) have a reputation for being cute when young but aggressive when older and shouldn't really be in a community tank.

I would hold off on the bumble bee's until you have decided what sort of tank you want (could be eaten by larger fish), small cichlids suitable for a 20G could be rams, apisto's, kribs or shelldwellers for example. Sorry if this sounds harsh but I'm just saying what I think needs to be done.

 

[minxfishy]

^^Seconded.

 

[petertr]

If I was to keep cichlids, I'd wouldn't have non-cichlids in the same tank.

Then you can set it up specifically for them.


They are great fun though, you're right with that one!

 

[Kitty_Nin]

Thanks for the advice everyone!

 

[Jim Curtis]

If I was to keep cichlids, I'd wouldn't have non-cichlids in the same tank.

Then you can set it up specifically for them.


They are great fun though, you're right with that one!

This is a funny post. You do keep Cichilds and you do keep non-cichlids in the same tank.

 

[petertr]

If I was to keep cichlids, I'd wouldn't have non-cichlids in the same tank.

Then you can set it up specifically for them.


They are great fun though, you're right with that one!

This is a funny post. You do keep Cichilds and you do keep non-cichlids in the same tank.

For me, a plec is just a way of controlling algae - I'm not interested in them from a hobbyists point of view.
I've removed certain plec that were too large or unsuitable from the tank and left behind 2 small BNs.

Apart from that, its just Discus.



I used to keep Malawi cichlids, and again, the only thing that wasn't a cichlid was a couple of plecs.


Clearly, what I meant was having larger non-cichlid fish in with cichlids. i.e. guppies, neons, sharks etc etc

 

[AdAndrews]

get dwarf cichlids: like german or blue rams, or get an oscar and watch it eat your fish if your sick like me

 

[alkalinetrioguy7]

Ive heard about the dwarf cichlids, they seem like they would be great for a small tank, ive heard of people even keeping them in 10 gallons. But i dont know how aggressive they can be.