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I have a 45 gallon tank, and I've decided to go for cichlids this time around. In the past I've had freshwater community tanks and a large saltwater tank, but I've never really done cichlids before now.

One of the reasons I picked cichlids is that the pH of my tap water is quite high (tests at the highest - 7.6 - on freshwater test kits), and the water is fairly hard. I'll be getting a more accurate reading tomorrow when I take the water to work and use the pH meter. (I work in a lab, lucky me!)

Any tips for someone experienced with keeping fish but not with cichlids? How does one sex them?

Thanks much for any advice and suggestions!

I'm a beginner my self with cichlids, but one thing I would recommend is going with just one type. I have an electric yellow colony, and it's very interesting their behavior. It's also cool to get a batch of babies every now any then.

like SJ said, the b est thing to do is pick a type of cichlid that you like. There are Malawi Mbuna, Malawi haps, Tanganyikans, Victorians, Central americans, South americans, Madagascan as well as others. Certain kinds can be kept together easily while others will fight to the death. If I were you I'd do some googling and find out which kinds interest you most and then it will be easier to help you. AS far as sexing, that varies by cichlid. Some are easy to sex while others cannot be sexed by external features.

woohoo new cichlid owner. welcome !
keeping salt water im sure the colors of some cichlids dazzle you to say the least but on top of that they have so much personality. you can get anything from a inch a half cichlid to fish measured in feet. there is truely a cichlid for every person and personality. in my case...more then one lol.

there are so many different species it would be impossable to list them all for you to look at. best thing i can tell ya is take your time and research as much as possable.
here are some suggested sites to give you a broad range.
Shelldwellers

Cichlid-Forum

Apistogramma

CichlidForum

Fishgeeks

Aquabid

This is just to give you an idea of some of the more common fish in the addicts tank rather then the stores tanks lol.This is just the tip of the iceberge as they say but have fun researching. its not homework its a hobby so enjoy the off characters you can find in cichlids and the weird things they do.
Hope this helps and again welcome to cichlids

Last edited by Sin in Style at 20-Jun-2005 07:33

Hi guys,

Thanks for your input. Actually I guess I was kind of lying, because I did keep Apistos before, as well as a stray Ram that someone threw my way.

I'd like to go with African cichlids, and although a tank with only one species sounds nice I'd kind of like to keep the aspect of more than one type of fish - which is something I like the most about community tanks. I was also thinking I should keep the size roughly around 4-6 inches, since the fish need room to move around comfortably, and the tank isn't *huge*. I also kind of like the idea of getting the fish young and letting them grow up in the tank.

I'm thinking maybe 6 or 8 fish, get them small (say 1-2 inches) and have them end up a final size of 4-6 inches. Sound ok?

45 is pretty small for a mixed group of mbuna (two species would probably be okay) but it's a great size for a Tanganyikan community. You could have a shelldweller species (perhaps L. ocellatus "gold," which has color and attitude), and a couple of rockdwellers (say, Julidochromis transcriptus and a pair of A. calvus or compressiceps), then, if you wanted, perhaps some Golden wonder killies for the top or some dwarf neon rainbowfish to school.

-Molly
Visit shelldwellers.com!

I have emulated a mbuna set up by just beginning;
5 hongis (mauve with yellow fins)
1 electric yellow (yellow)
1 pseudotropheus kingsizeii (bright blue)

with clown loaches and a bn pleco

I will add some crabros when I move house.

I am so happy with my setup. I took ages to make the change (empty tank for about 3 months) and really happy with the new setup.

all the best and welcome back...

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~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~

Hey wish-ga! What size tank is that setup in? And do you have any trouble between the mbunas and the bristlenose plec?

So what about 2-3 kenyis and 2-3 red zebras, and maybe a bristlenose?

I have a 4ft tank. A bit of flaring but not probs really. Very lovely.

Except when people charge the tank and wonder "where'd the fishies go?" Back of! & you will see 'em.

The bn and clown loaches don't get a second look from the mbunas.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~

i that.it happens at my place too.people charging up to one of my tanks and saying where are the fishes.plus i even have signs on my tank saying slowly does it