new tank selection

[Fishy89]

hello all im looking to purchase a new aquarium in the near future. im looking for something bigger than my 10 gallon. I was thinking about starting a horde of chichilids. id like the chichilids to be on the larger side. and tank styles/sizes thah any of you pro's reccomend? also what are some nice looking large species of chichilids that i can put into it.

much thanks

 

[tdins_2]

well im no pro but i also wanted cichlids so i booght a 70g tank thats a pretty good size it can house almost anything i wanted and a sand substrate is good with lots of rocks and driftwood thats what i have.

 

[Fishy89]

a few questions. 1 how big are you chichilids
2 how much did you tank cost? i dont want anything pricey, that might be too big for me

 

[guppymonkey]

I think it depends on the size of the cichlids involved. If you are getting oscars ONE could be kept in a 55 gallon tank and two would be at least 125 gallons. Some of the smaller ones wouldn't need such huge spaces though. I wouldn't use anything smaller than a 55 gallon tank for most cichlids though. I think you can buy a 55 gallon starter kit for about $150. At least in my area you can. I would recommend a stand for it too since it weighs about a quarter of a ton.

 

[Fishy89]

lol thanks

 

[tdins_2]

my tank is just finishing it cycling now but i picked it up with stand for 60buck i just asked around town and sure enought there it was i got a filter for free and a heater for free alspo from my sisters bf and my friendand i found my own decorations but i yhad to buy the sand and in total without fish i have invested 65 dollars into it

 

[Fishy89]

how big is your newly-cycled tank?

 

[Exiled]

I'm not a pro either but I have spent the last two months of my life doing nothing but reading about African cichlids (obsession rocks!), so if you're into keeping African cichlids, I'd reccomend a 55-75 gallon, and going with the hardier Lake Malawi fish like those from the Pseudotropheus, Maylandia and Labidochromis genus. Go for the BIGGEST tank you can afford/accomodate, buy your fish as juviniles, cycle the tank fishlessly then stock all at once, and give em alot of territory

 

[tdins_2]

my tank is a 70g its 4ft long 20in wide and tall im stocking it with a mix of malawi and tanganyiks fish.....some yellow labs some compressiceps and blue saphires and mbamba yellow tops.

 

[Fishy89]

which is the one that you say i should get first? do u have a pic of him in your signature or elsewhere?

 

[tdins_2]

hmm. would go for as large as u can get ... put ads in the paper some old people that r moving might give one away for freee.

 

[Exiled]

which is the one that you say i should get first? do u have a pic of him in your signature or elsewhere?

You mean Pseudotropheus? Oh man there's hundreds of beautiful Pseudotropheus fishies.... in my sig...um let's see...all of them are from the pseudotropheus genus except for the second one from the right (with the horizontal stripes). Check out this website for good pics and profiles of fish. But when you do your research, sort of "compare notes" from as many sources as you can cuzz lots of sources are too vague or even give misinfo.
Malawi Cichlids
oh and check out my tank in their "Hobbyist's Gallery" section <wink, wink>

 

[Fishy89]

thats an awesome idea!

 

[tdins_2]

my idea? my friends aut is a realtor and she is always looking for us .....she found him a 40g with 2 powerheads and gravel for freee with standd

 

[Fishy89]

thats awesome