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New TO Cichlids

2K views 5 replies 5 participants last post by  Gage 
#1 ·
Gues what I went to the store to get the stuff and looked at the Cichlids and fell for them so this tank will be al cichlid now. I dont think I can put anything with them anyway.

Thanks
Jack
 
#2 ·
What kinds of cichlids? Cichlids are a huge group and not all are compatible. Be careful which ones you're attempting to mix.
African cichlids generally mix with most other african cichlids, but not South and Central American cichlids, and vice versa.
Also, important to be aware, many cichlids will get too large to stay in a 55 gallon tank for long, so choosing specific fish that will stay small will help if you don't wish to upgrade to a larger tank in about a year.
Most cichlids are very territorial and aggressive, and if feeling crowded, will tend to kill each other in the fight for territory.
Also, most cichlids are quite easy to spawn, and if there are male/female together in a tank, this is to be expected. Cichlids tend to be great parents, but this also means that when spawning the pair will expect to take over almost an entire 55 gallon tank as territory in which to raise their fry. Other fish then become the enemy... you can see where that goes.

This is just a heads up to help you out. I'd hate to see you end up with a mess and lose fish simply because you weren't prepared for what they are and what they turn into. If we know what types of cichlids you're looking at we can post information about them to help you out.
 
#3 ·
#4 ·
bettababy said:
African cichlids generally mix with most other african cichlids,
With all due respect Dawn, I disagree with this statement. Malawi cichlids should not be mixed with Tanganyikan cichlids. Tanganyikan cichlids in general are far less aggressive, and have a far inferior growth rate. That coupled with the overactive nature of the Malawian cichlid will lead to the repression of the tanganyikans in the tank.
 
#5 ·
If you are selective, it can be done. I have seen it done time and again. A good example would be our local zoo, and another would be the store where I worked. Our show tanks were limited in number, so the large ones were used to display anything awesome that came in and we wanted to keep. We had Malawi and Tangy mixed just fine for 10+ yrs together, we were just careful which ones we mixed.
 
#6 ·
if you wanna be that specific, you can get into the west africans, Madagascans, and Victorians, in General Victorians are pretty psycho though lol, Madagascans (like P. bleekeri) get big enough to eat a lot of malawians and Tanganyikans. and west africans (like Buttikoferi) are psychotically aggressive even more so then the Victorians and Malawians.

saying all Malawians are aggressive is a lie as well, a lot of the Auloncara spp arent all that aggressive, its when you get into the Mbuna spp is when you have a problem.
 
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