New 20G

[DMBeer41]

Hello,

I just got a new 20 gallon tank (30"x 12" x12") and I wanted it as a dedicated tank. Was thinking of scaping it with gravel, rock caves and a couple fake plants (not ready for live plants yet). I love the personality of cichlids and enjoy the vibrant colors of the african cichlids, but do not know that much about the individual species. Obviously in the tank size, i can't have many of the larger ones, but I'm all ears about the stocking options for this tank. Looking for brighter colors and fun personalities. Also willing to put a few shell species in the tank if compatible. So, what are my options? Any recommendations are welcome.

Thanks!
James

 

[kiriyama]

Hi , roughly the same tank size as mine, shellies would be cool, also one of the Julidochromis species, have a look at signature/profile for tank info, good luck

 

[demasonisrule]

Well, I'd say no mbuna, which are unfortunately my favorite. I'd say get shell dwellers, they're really fun and aren't that hard to keep a julie would be cool too.

 

[sumtin_crazy]

Hello,

I just got a new 20 gallon tank (30"x 12" x12") and I wanted it as a dedicated tank. Was thinking of scaping it with gravel, rock caves and a couple fake plants (not ready for live plants yet). I love the personality of cichlids and enjoy the vibrant colors of the african cichlids, but do not know that much about the individual species. Obviously in the tank size, i can't have many of the larger ones, but I'm all ears about the stocking options for this tank. Looking for brighter colors and fun personalities. Also willing to put a few shell species in the tank if compatible. So, what are my options? Any recommendations are welcome.

Thanks!
James

hey there well i see you have a 20 gal tank well personally its kind of small for cichlids for 1 they are very teritorial so they need space,2 they do like to swimm,and they need rocks alot of them which takes away from the amount of water in the tank!! its not bad to have 20 gal but maybe tough to keep cichlids as it is better to have many cichlids to reduce fighting that causes stress and then sickness I suggest you dont put any plants they WILL dig them up and i would use crushed coral for substrate becuase it looks good but most of all it helps maintain PH so you wont have to use chemicals to buff the water!! And for that size tank you should watch how you stock and make sure they are compatable... I mix my african cichlids with the different lakes and rock and none rock dwellers with no problem but i have 135 gallon tank with lots of space and theres little to no aggression And make sure you have very good filtration becuse cichlids give alot of waste and they require very clean water so hope that helps some and good luck with the tank !!!!

 

[ashemely]

I would have to second Kiriyama on staying with the Lake Tanganyika species, and if it were me stocking your tank I would go with a pair of Julis and a species of shell dwellers.

Personally, I find that Julis are a pretty species to look at, they might not be so bright and colorful as some of the other african cichlids but the patterns that they have are quite attractive. With the Julis, though, you will need to have some rocks built up like a wall, I'm not quite sure a rock cave will cut it for them. To give you an idea take a look in the Journals and Photographs section and then on to Members African Cichlid Tanks.

My idea of a colorful shell dweller would be the Lamprologus Ocellatus (gold). However, shellies are best kept with a sandy bottom, and obviously you would have to buy some shells for them. Most people buy escargot shells off of ebay. If you want to peruse the list of species and some articles check out

http/www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/

Good luck.

 

[DMBeer41]

I would have to second Kiriyama on staying with the Lake Tanganyika species, and if it were me stocking your tank I would go with a pair of Julis and a species of shell dwellers.

Personally, I find that Julis are a pretty species to look at, they might not be so bright and colorful as some of the other african cichlids but the patterns that they have are quite attractive. With the Julis, though, you will need to have some rocks built up like a wall, I'm not quite sure a rock cave will cut it for them. To give you an idea take a look in the Journals and Photographs section and then on to Members African Cichlid Tanks.

My idea of a colorful shell dweller would be the Lamprologus Ocellatus (gold). However, shellies are best kept with a sandy bottom, and obviously you would have to buy some shells for them. Most people buy escargot shells off of ebay. If you want to peruse the list of species and some articles check out

http/www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/

Instead of using sand as a bottom, could I use fine rock or even crushed corals like the other member mentioned? Or is that not good for shell species?

Also, This tank is long. Would it be better to put the cichlids into the other 20G I have (24" long x 12" wide x 16" tall)? I've custom built a rock background for this one with caves built into the wall already.
Good luck.

 

[kiriyama]

Stick with the long tank as floor space is more important than height with shell dwellers and tangs, I'll swap in a minute, you can used crushed coral but its rougher and not as nice to look at, what I learned from a few other members was putting coral gravel in media bags, this can be hid behind rocks or even in the filter which will buffer the pH, also with sand IME have used crushed coral sand , it was rough and I didn't like the way it looked, it may hurt or damage shellies gills or outh when digging, have also used expensive cichlid sand and again didn't like the way it looked, ATM using ((Roman Gravel "pewter sand " 4kg it's nicer looking, its smaller or finer and the Multis love digging and shifting it to move there shells around, hope this helps, if you're thinking about rock work if you want to add Julis then Tufa is light and I have hollowed it out very easy with a screwdriver, looks nice when mixed with ocean rock or holy rock, if you decide to go with Occies they use less shells than Multis and cover less territory as well, give me a shout if you need some shells, I have an unwanted gift of Escargot , Turbin and Tonna