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I own a 29 gallon tank, I was wondering if i could convert it to a cichlid tank. They are really cool. Would i need 2 make it a species only tank?? IS my tank big enougt, Four cichlids would be fine. Any suggestions on what kind of cichlids to put in there. Also, what kind of aquascaping would i need for cichlids, or is that not important??

answering your question...yes its big enough for cichlids....problems with this answer...depends on the cichlids you want hehhe. im sure you know an oscar will obviously out grow such a tank but 1inch multies would flourish.

Not to answer a question with a question but its needed lol. what are you interested in?
Size?
color?
personality?
interaction with you or other fish?
breeding?
odd things?
needs to be rare?
want more then one?
want more then a pair?

this is just to start heheh

Yeah, that'd be a good a fine size for cichlids. There are two main options when choosing cichlids; South American and African (there are also asian cichlids, they are rarer).

South American cichlids have a number of small cichlids including...

Apistogramma's
http://www.ciklidi.com/ciklidi/apistogramma/images/apistogramma_agassizii.jpg

Blue Ram's
http://www.alloddballaquatics.com/dwarfs/GermanBlueRam.jpg

These are the two main smaller varietes when it comes to South American's. Both would be happy in a 29gal.

As for africans there a couple more choices. These include Lake Malawi, Lake Tanganyika and Lake Victoria cichlids. The fish that I would recomend for your tank are called "Shelldwellers." They are small fish that come from Lake Tanganyika. They do not require much room, I believe that Theresa (another forum member) has them in a 10gal.

There are several varieties of shellies, inclduing;

Brevis
http://www.duboisi.com/gallery/1004/images/brevis-male-499_jpg.jpg

Occelatus
http://home.comcast.net/~jimkphoto/friends.jpg

These are the main ones that I know of. For a more comprehensive list go here;

http://www.shelldwellers.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=3a77596358f3f0f96ebf6b60089b0cb0&board=3.0

As for aquascaping for them. They should have a sand substrate with a lot of shells. You should aim for at least 50 shells. I believe that these are good shells
http://cichlidbreeding.com/proddetail.php?prod=2shell&cat=10

About the numbers part, I am not 100% sure but I would of thought that 6 would be a good number, just make sure that you have 15 shells per fish. Maybe someone else could clarify this for you.



Milkyboy

I was thinking about maybe only one Jack Dempey, or maybe one convict. I kind of want a cool fish thats smart and will be able to recognize me. I would be more than happy to have only one fish in my tank.

You can get a pair of Neolamprologus Brichardi & you'll finish up with lots of fry or else get 1 male & 3 females Elec. Yellow Labs. both with lots of rock work & hiding places.


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How about like 1 big smart fish. Like a jack dempsey, red terror, green terror, oscar, red devil, or a convict. Any big smart aggressive cichlid is good for me. I heard stories of people bonding with just one fish and i was wondering if that was possible. And what kind of fish (from the ones i listed) would i be able to.

http://fishprofiles.com/files/threads/27295.1.htm?3#

again, all the cichlids you are looking into are bigger cichlids, that will need a bigger tank,

convict would be good, but again most fish will become "humanized" and come to the feeder.

ok. Well will i be able to have 1 convict or do i need a pair of them?? I dont really want a pair because i dont want alot of convict cichlids in only a 29 gallon tank.

one will be fine by himself.

well how big do they get. I read that you keep convicts. How big do they get, i dont always trust the profile parts in books and online, id rather have someone tell me personally. And are convicts smart, do they do anything cool?? Do you have any convict stories??

i think what you are looking for is something like a red devil, or a fish that will try and attack you through the glass.

unfort. their are few that i can think of, that will fit in a 29 gallon. 75+ gallons is the mini for a fish like that.

convicts, i would say around maybe a full grown adult male 8 inches, they are like most cichlids and ifsh, they will come to you if they see you, to get foods. but i dont believe they are like RD and will chase you.

my convicts are very small and young.

thanx 4 the post. Well, are the convicts aggressive, will they eat other small fish. Thats what i heard, and i thought that would be kool. Im probably going to get a convict for my tank, but will that be the only fish, I heard that you could keep zebra danios with a convict. But i am more than happy to only have one convict.

They love!! live food. They will need some cover (tall plants) for them to come all the way to the top of the water. I raised some in my 29 and they did great. I got a pair and they bred within two weeks of arriving in my tank. and they tried to eat my finger through the glass and actually bit me when i got to close to the babies. But it is hard to get rid of babies cuase everyone has them already
Good luck
-NewBreeder16

Danios are perfect. If they are chased they easily outrun anything of a good size and go on with their happy lives.

_______________________________________________
You can call me Newb too, since I'm not nere new any more.

truly i wouldnt recommend zebras with convicts; however, giant danios are perfect with them. I have a pair of giants with my convict (and its million babies, the female died ) a 29 is good for a male convict by himself. a pair would over populate the tank kinda quick

ok, well which would be more likely to eat a feeder guppy. A convict or a salvini. I have heard of people keeping salvinis in a 29 gallon because they stay at about 8 inches.

probably a salvin, but only one in a tank unless for breeding as they are very aggressive.

I have a male/female pair of convicts in my 55 and now have about 60+ fry swimming.....I know it's crazy but my LFS will take them or post i have them for adoption. Just know if you have the right conidtions and a pair they breed like rabbits. The fry are 6 weeks old and the parents have started again