My Proposed Nw Cichlid Tank

[sthomas048]

Hello all,

Im looking for some good advice on stocking a 125l/30g tank. I love Cichlids and so i would like to dedicate my tank solely to them. Although i have kept Rams before i consider myself a newbie with no long-term fishkeeping experience. I have narrowed my wishlist down to four different Cichlids -

1/ Firemouths
2/ Keyholes
3/ Severums
4/ Sajica/Tbar

Im unsure as to what i can do with my 30g. Is it just a case of sticking a pair of Firemouths or Severums in and thats it ? Id love to have a breeding pair so i guess other tankmates would be out of the question ? My PH is neutral and my water is medium soft. I know these questions have been asked before but i would greatly appreciate some kind advice from all you experienced Cichlid owners out there.

Thanks.

 

[juanveldez]

if its a case of wanting to get a breeding pair, your probably better off going with the keyholes. the Sevs are just going to get way too big, FMs in my experience seem to do better in groups, I have 6 F1 FMs in a 55 gallon tank right now and there is still a good deal of turf wars every now and then.

 

[sthomas048]

Could/should i put some other fish in with the Keyholes ? Like a group of one type of Barbs or Tetras ? Im a fan of Kuhli Loaches, but they are bottom dwellers and i think would interfere with breeding of pair of Cichlids. I have noticed a few people seem to keep Corydoras catfish with Keyholes though.

 

[benniebru]

you could do the tbars and the firemouth but i think that would be it for a 30 gallon

maybe u want to consider afirican cichlids there are quite a few that only get around 5 inches and they are cool fish, unlike most american cichlids that turn into lunkers ex. severum

 

[sthomas048]

Would African Cichlids be suited to my water conditions ? PH neutral/soft ? I think there are some wonderful Cichlids from that part of the world.

you could do the tbars and the firemouth but i think that would be it for a 30 gallon

maybe u want to consider afirican cichlids there are quite a few that only get around 5 inches and they are cool fish, unlike most american cichlids that turn into lunkers ex. severum

 

[benniebru]

i know african tanks need to have a ph around 8.0 not sure bout the the hardness of the water

 

[shroob]

Severums will get too big for a 30G. Any of the other fish you listed would make a good breeding pair in that tank.

 

[sthomas048]

Yes infact im favouring a pair of Tbar Cichlids at the moment. Doing my research on them now. Thanks guys.

 

[firetank]

plenty of softwater africans that would go great in a 30g, depends whats available though..

check out this site....

West African fish

Ive personally bred kribs and thomasi in 20\30g or you could try go for some of the mouthbrooders..... lots of choice really...

craig

 

[sthomas048]

Ok so ive decided i will probably go with a pair of either Keyholes or Tbar Cichlids.

But now ive hit a conundrum (i think thats the word !). I cant decide between just keeping a pair in the tank (via the buying 6 of them and letting thm pair up) and creating a perfect breeding environment. Or having a mixed tank community with other central/south american fish in there too, it seems that which ever fish i add they will probably disrupt the breeding process of the Cichlids ?

What should i do ? Help !