Cichlid Noob!

[Plecc]

Hi all,

I have been keeping fish for the last four years, mostly planted community aquariums.
Over the last few months I have been getting a real itch to expand into Cichlid keeping, but unfortunately I know nothing about the subject
I was fortunate enough to be given a tall 120L 3ft tank and all the bits and bobs, so i think now is the time to give it a go.

All I know at the moment is the tank will be heavily filtered, about 10x turnover per hour and most likely also running a fluidised bed and an algae scrubber.
For lighting I would like to go LED and for my substrate I would like a large grain sand possibly black. (something that doesn't compact?)
For the rocks I would like to try and make them myself using one of those live rock recipe's.

But as far as socking goes i don't even know where to start, the more research I do the more confused I get lol.
To begin with should I be looking at African / Old World Cichlids or New World Cichlids?
I would like a colourfull varied community with hopefully a breeding pair or two, any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

 

[foley69]

in a 120 you will be looking at maybe a pair of dwarf cichlids like rams if you intend on other fish in there if not then maybe a pair of firemouth's these are gorgious when a pair form imo.

or if you wanted to go for a more biotope set up you could look at tanganyikan shell dwellers these guys are small and colourful but still have the character of a larger cichlid. but that will mean ocean rock or something to keep the ph around 7.8-8.4 as they like a nice hardwater set up

 

[Malawi MaD]

Hi Plecc

That's the big decision, for your size tank id recommend a tanganyikan (african) tank as most SA and CA would need a larger tank as well as malawi cichlids (african) these ideally need a 4ft 50G+ set-up. Some apisto species and rams would go well in a tank your size too, they are very pretty fish. You Can also get some smaller species from lake malawi but why limit yourself when you could have a larger variety of tang cichlids or other new cichlids to choose from. Tangs make great aquarium fish they have awesome Behaviour, great Variety, relatively easy to breed in the right conditions and they are Biotope tank potential.
Water parameters required for tang's.
pH 8.2 and above
Temperature 25°C/77°F
GH 12-20
KH 10-15
Ammonia 0.0ppm
Nitrite 0.0ppm
Nitrate less than 20ppm.

Have a read up on them see if any species catch your eye plus see if you think they could be the cichlids you want

 

[Termato]

Hi all,

I have been keeping fish for the last four years, mostly planted community aquariums.
Over the last few months I have been getting a real itch to expand into Cichlid keeping, but unfortunately I know nothing about the subject
I was fortunate enough to be given a tall 120L 3ft tank and all the bits and bobs, so i think now is the time to give it a go.

All I know at the moment is the tank will be heavily filtered, about 10x turnover per hour and most likely also running a fluidised bed and an algae scrubber.
For lighting I would like to go LED and for my substrate I would like a large grain sand possibly black. (something that doesn't compact?)
For the rocks I would like to try and make them myself using one of those live rock recipe's.

But as far as socking goes i don't even know where to start, the more research I do the more confused I get lol.
To begin with should I be looking at African / Old World Cichlids or New World Cichlids?
I would like a colourfull varied community with hopefully a breeding pair or two, any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

I would suggest New World Cichlids for breeding pair in a tank that size:
Mikrogeophagus altispinosus (Bolivian Ram)
Mikrogeophagus ramirezi (Blue Ram) - If your water permits
Apistogramma cacatuoides (Red Cockatoo Dwarf Cichlid)

Old World Cichlids:
Pelvicachromis pulcher - Kribensis


They are easier Cichlids to start with IMO. I have one Kribensis and one Bolivian Ram in a 29 Gallon tank right now. They stay away from one another because I have a lot of plants and spacial barriers. I wouldn't recommend keeping those two breeds together though.

--

Edit:

I find the Kribensis to be more aggressive than the Bolivian Ram. The Kribensis has a more flexible diet and gets bigger.

The Bolivian Ram seems to be more friendly and less territorial.

I will say I love both fish and they are both beautiful.

 

[Plecc]

Thanks for the great feedback!

I just checked out the pH of my tap water, which was 8.5 with 5mg/L of Nitrate.
where i live has very hard water, I will pick up a basic hardness test kit tomorrow to see just how hard it is.

After some serious thought I have decided that to get the cichlid community i would really like i will need a much larger tank, so for this tank I'm really liking the biotope idea possibly even single species with maby some sort of oddball to help mix the sand up a bit.

I really really like the firemouth cichlid they are stunning!
Although they do sound a little shy and i don't think my pH is ideal for them.
Is there a similar cichlid that will be happy in a higher pH and an bit more outgoing?