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African Cichlids Anyone?

LAZY EYED SNIPER

LAZY EYED SNIPER

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Big shot in the dark here, but I'm set'n up a new 20gal tank and am wondering if anyone here knows anything about African cichlids. I've spent the last few hours on fish forums and various specialty websites, and it seems that folks there only speak latin. I can't get through one or two sentences without having to look something up. I've got the hardware down and the tank is already set up. Gonna wait about a week for the algae to set up and then I'll be pickin up some fish.

Gonna go with a combination of cichlid trios including:

3 Yellow Labs



3 Convicts



3 Electric Blue Johanni



From what I've read, the more the merrier when it comes to these aggressive fish. Two fish will spend all day tearing at each other whereas a group of twelve will keep a more aggressive individual from singling out another fish. Cichlids are usually found 8-12 fish per square foot in the wild, so intentional crowding can be a benefit.

The real question is what other types of fish can I put in the tank with them? I know African cichlids can be aggressive toward and kill other fish, so I don't want an expensive blood bath on my hands. I'm looking to add a couple clown loaches for pooper scooper duty, a few zebra danios, and any other small schooling fish that might be compatable. There is a lot of conflicting info on the subject, so just wondering if anyone here has any experience.

In any case I'll be sure to post up some pics once I get it all put togethet. It's gonna be one good lookin set-up...
 
I had cichlids for a while and they are really are fun to own. I never had problems mixing them with top tank fish. If I added fish they stay towards the bottom they generally got beat up bad. The cichlids will also rearrange the layout of your tank as they please. Let us know how it goes.
 
Thanks for the link Dan,

That's one that I read through in its entirety and unless you already know the latin classifications for fish it's hard to figure out what the hell they're talkin about. I'm gonna go into a local specialty fish spot today and have one of their gurus break it down for me. I think I've about got it narrowed down to what I'll end up with, but I just wanna get confirmation before I commit...
 
Only thing I know of em is that the Africans tend to be more aggressive than the others... but only repeating what I've heard.
 
Handsome looking Fish there SNIPER !!


Many cichlid species are known for their extreme aggression. The strongest male will become dominant and will constantly chase and fight his competition. Additionally, he will relentlessly chase the females in an attempt to mate. This aggression, however, is one of the more attractive aspects of cichlid keeping as it really brings out the cichlids’ personalities. The negative aspect of the aggression is that it can lead to an entire tank being decimated in a relatively short amount of time. While you will never be able to completely make these aggressive cichlids peaceful, there are steps you can take to reduce the aggression such that it does not result in fatalities.

Male to Female Ratio

One of the easiest ways to control african cichlids aggression is to have the correct male to female ratio. Many of the more aggressive species have males that mate with multiple females. It is important in these cases to have at least a 3:1 ratio between females and males. This will keep the number of male competitors at a minimum and will force the males to chase multiple females instead of focusing on the same one every time. If you try to keep these fish in a 1:1 ratio, the poor female will be chased until she becomes exhausted and dies.

With some species, sexing the fish (telling the males and females apart) is very easy while with others, it is impossible unless you perform a procedure called venting. With these hard-to-tell species, you will need to keep an eye on them as they develop. When the fish start to reach sexual maturity, you will usually be able to tell whether they are a male or female from their behavior. If you end up with too many males or not enough females, return some to the store and buy some new ones.

Similar Temperament

While many cichlids are aggressive, there are various degrees of aggressiveness. Some are only aggressive towards their own species while others will attack anything in the tank. Also some are fairly mild-mannered relative to other cichlid species (although it is still generally a good idea to not mix them with community fish). If you put a very aggressive species with a less aggressive species, the less aggressive fish will not be able to defend themselves. The best way to limit deaths in your aquarium is to pick species that have similar temperaments. There will still be fighting, but both species will be equals during the battles.

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Good Cichlid Community website here:

http://africancichlids.org/

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Thanks Shooter,

I know the three species of cichlid I chose are compatable and I read up on the male/female ratio as well. Then the 'fish guy' I spoke with today said his cichlid tanks work well with all male fish. No females leaves then males to fight only over food or territory. Keeping them well fed eliminates one problem and for the other he suggested moving the tank rocks and ornamentation around every couple days. This keeps the individual fish from being able to establish a static territory and reduces fighting to a minimum. It makes a lot of sense. He also said that he has always had a hard time keeping any other types of fish in with his cichlids as they would be torn to pieces pretty quickly. But, his feeling is that fish are like any other animals and that you really never know until you put them in together. Two people could set up the same tank, with the same kinds of fish, and have dramatically different results. So, it'll be touch and go with the non-cichlids until I find any that fit in. Good news is that I can transfer any fish that start getting attacked to my wife's tank before any damage is done.

I should get the fish this weekend, so I'll keep you posted...
 
Keep us updated! Those yellow labs are one of my favorite cichlids.
 
Well, so far I ended up with two yellow labs and two neon blue Johanni. I opted against the convicts since they're endemic to South America. I'm going too keep all African (specifically Lake Malawi) species in this tank.

The first couple days they all staked out a claim to a particular spot and didn't hardly move. Unfortunately, the spots they chose are ALL behind cover. I read up a bit and took the suggestion of adding a school of six small tiger barbs to the tank. Cichlids will hide in unfamiliar territory not knowing if there is a larger predator around and the idea is that adding the school of smaller, more active fish will boost their confidence and draw them out. So far it's working...slowly. I'm slowly increasing the water temp at the same time which should help stimulate more activity. One of the more aggressive Johanni has become the tank alpha and has actually claimed the school of tiger barbs as his own. He's herding them into his territory and protecting them from the other fish. They're all juveniles at this point so it'll be interesting to see how this all plays out as they mature.

Got a tip from the manager of a local Petco that all their aquariums will be going on sale next month for a dollar a gallon! That's really tough to beat. They're apparently getting out of the fish business. I'll be upgrading my fish to a 75-125 gallon home, depending on what the have in stock. I

Once I get the new tank, I'll be adding several new species to the mix. These fish are amazingly bright and colorful, it should turn out pretty nice. I'll keep the updates coming...
 
LAZY EYED SNIPER said:
These fish are amazingly bright and colorful, it should turn out pretty nice. I'll keep the updates coming...
Click to expand...

I read... "blah blah blah, And I dont have pics..." :lol: Just messin with ya! but seriously, we need pics. :D
 
I'm workin on it, but the damn fish won't come outta hiding. At the very least I'll be sure to post up a pic of the set-up...
 
Lookin forward to the pics...fish can hypnotize one for hours...a real zen thing.
 
Snapped a quick pic when one of the Johanni came outta hiding (bottom right)...




Another one is poking his head through a hole in the coral there in the middle. The yellow labs still won't come out, but they'll come around. They're still juveniles and should get a a lot more active as they mature. You can see the tiger barbs that the Johanni corralled over in his corner too. I'll get some better pics up when I can...
 
I'd recommend throwing a bright background wrap on there. Some people think they look cheesy, but they do give a sense of depth that has seemed to help my fish in the past feel more comfortable.
11-26-07_2035.jpg
 
Thanks for the suggestion Sneaky.

I'll be moving them to a much larger tank here in a few weeks and do plan on covering the back of the new one with an aquascape.
 
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