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I am so confused At one point I wanted an African cichlid tank and now that I think about it I really like fire mouth and serverms. I don't know what to do!!!!I need some opinions from members that have these tanks which is better American or African cichlids?????

sorry to be the one to tell you this but only one person can answer that...you. its all preference and sometimes you cant live with out one or another so in that case...we get both lol. all be it you prolly cant have both right now but you do one now and the other when you can.

ahh the beginnings of multiple tank syndrom how cute...they just grow so fast lol.

OK sin in style I really would like to have two tanks but I do not have the room or the funds to do the two tank thing right now. How many tanks do you have?

sorry, you seemed agrivated was just trying to lighten ya up a bit.

i have 5 functioning tanks as of today. who knows tomorrow.

there are lots of different sizes, temperments and locations for cichlids. they are everywhere. which is better is really in the eye of the beholder.

personally ive found a likeing for dwarf cichlids. these guys have great parental instincts but wont kill an entire tank. they show a ton of personality with out needing a ton of water.They only reach anywhere from 3-5 inches and territories vary on average one square foot.

on the same token there are shellies. shell dwelling fish they require even less territory, awesome parental instincts and are even smaller. they live in shells and sand and are best in a colony setting. completly different water chemistry and location then dwarfs. totally different personalities.

now on the other end of the spectrum you got the biggens. the oscars the jack dempseys the texans. these are wet pets. they will let you pet their sides, eat out of your hand, and even jump out of the water for food. They require very large tanks and a ton of filtration so haveing more then one requires lots of money. So you lose the interaction with outher fish but gain with the interaction with you as a owner.

you got lake cichlids they are in both of these spectrums but they require very hard water with high PH. some are large some are small but most are conciderd agressive. you have the Mbuna which are the most agressive but personally i think are the most beautiful. They still hold the interaction with the owner but more of a mobbing frenzy for any scrap you might have in your hand.

anyway in short the best way to find the cichlid for you is to get an idea of your water and what you want in a fish.
what water chemistry do you have?
do you want big fish or little fish?
community or species tank?
plants or rocks in the tank?
breeding?
there are so many questions because there are so many cichlids. there is a cichlid for every possible scenerio and this is prolly why most people end up with atleast one.

It really is a matter of personal preference. I'd recommend going to as many lfs as you can with paper and pen. Take your time, look at all the fish, write down the names of those you like, those that interest you. Look at books, fish magazines, websites.

If you want to see set up tanks, browse thru the [link=Your Tanks Section]http://www.cichlid-forum.com/tanks/" style="COLOR: #FF66FF[/link] at Cichlid-Forum.com. They are organized by CA, SA, various Malawi, Tangs, etc. Very nice to see what people have done and get some ideas for yourself.

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There is water at the bottom of the ocean

Sin in Style I am so sorry the OK at the beginning of my sentence was like me taking a breath for a minute because I am so confuse. I do not want to hurt your feelings, and again thank you so much for your help in this situation. I really think I am going with the American cichlids. I like the firemouths and severum, what do you think?

Last edited by kidsmom at 09-Apr-2005 09:01

Both are nice fish I personally recommend buying young fish so they get used to each other at an early age.

Keep in mind they are typical fish and have individual personalities. I had a firemouth who we ended up calling Mr Grumpy. He was gorgeous, but could never stop chasing smaller fish and picking fights with larger fish. He bothered one big cichlid in particular who would swim away but finally started fighting back. Unfortunately the firemouth ended up dying because of his injuries.

So anyhow...what size tank are you planning? And do you have any thoughts about other fish for it?

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There is water at the bottom of the ocean

I know I should not have done this but I had three Africans and 1 red tail shark in a 46 gallon tank. On Thursday I put in a firemouth, well today I removed the firemouth from the tank. He was beaten up so badly his fins and tail are gone and he is berely moving. I put medifix in the tank, hopefully he will make it I feel so bad for him. I took the African cichlid back to the store. Question how long does it take for the fins and tail to grow back. Is it ok for me to add other fish in the tank like another firemouth or a serevrum?

my dempsey got anip taken out of his tail (and that's just a nip) about 4 weeks ago and while it definately healing it still isn;t 100%. I suggest a nice salt bath, some meds and a pristine tank to make it happen as soon as possible!

I had a firemouth that got too aggressive with my severum and the firemouth lost the fight

They may or may not get along. I'd say either all fm's or all sevs. Even then you never know with cichlids

This is what I want cichlids that are about 5-6 inches, some color, personality, not too agressive, so got any ideas?

Sevs get bigger than 5-6 inches. The males anyhow. My festivum is female about 5". I'm sure she's grown (about 2 years old). Angels get pretty big but need a tall tank. The firemouths are about 6" but quite aggressive in my experience. These & rams (small) are the only cichlids I have owned so I'll defer to someone else on other types in your range...

I have bad news my firemouth died today. Now I have just one red tail shark in the tank.

5-6" is a tough size for cichlids, it seems most are larger or smaller.

Cichlids are going to establish territories and a 46g doesn't allow much room for that with larger fish.

You do have a few options though. One is to do a community or biotope tank, maybe an angel or two, schoolers, and bottom feeders.

Or a mix of smaller cichlids: German rams, keyholes, rainbows, Laetacara dorsigera, L. curviceps, Bolivian rams.

Cichlid-forum.com has some [link=cookie cutter]http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-q=cookie+cutter&sp-a=sp1002682c&sp-p=all&sp-f=ISO-8859-1" style="COLOR: #FF66FF[/link] ideas you might want to look at too.

Sorry to hear about the loss of your firemouth

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There is water at the bottom of the ocean

Sorry to hear about the firemouth!

Speaking of red tail sharks ~ I had to take a very aggressive one back to the LFS. I've had several cichlids but this guy was tougher than any of them...almost brutal. Everyone told me they are great community fish but not this one!

I'd stay with all Africans or all South Americans. Angels would be good in a 46 gallon. I have six angels (2 mated pairs). I got them all about quarter size and they are now beautiful large fish. They get along well unless a pair is breeding and then there is some territorial disputes. Never has there been a death or even torn fins though. The Severums on the other hand are much more agressive. They beat up my festivum prior to breeding. Bad! She was nearly tailess when I discovered and moved her. She has healed very well though. I have never had experience with Africans although a friend had a tank full and one of them killed everything else in the tank, even a pleco! It's a cruel world, survival of the fittest. I do enjoy a wee bit of aggression but it is heartbreaking when you are learning the ropes. Let us know how it goes...

Does anyone have any ideas on stocking my 46g, right now I have 1 red tail shark and I would like to do SA cichlids