Show Me Your Tank...

[tenohfive]

LeightonBuzzard said:

Anybody have an pictures of a cichlid tank? I'm thinking of uprading to a 180-250l tank max. I think I will prefer to stick with tropical but this time with cichlids. Can anybody tell me pro's cons with them and any past experiances?
Tom

South/Central American, Malawi, Tangiyikan...which type?

I'm a huge fan of a good Central American set up - I've trimmed down on my tanks recently, but my front room tank is a show tank with a Rotkeil Severum, Rainbow Cichlid and Nicaraguan Cichlid. Will be adding a fourth soon but not sure what - maybe a Jack Dempsey or EBJD. Pro's? There are some stunning options and they're bursting with character - they aren't schooling fish and are very much individuals. I'll often be watching TV and be distracted by their antics - even having had some of them for a year or more.
Cons? Managing the aggression initially and getting the right mix of both species and individual personalities in order to stop them killing one another can be a bit of a fine art, and may require rehoming one or other fish. And with that sized tank you'll be lucky to get away with 3 relatively peaceful cichlids - you'll have to be pretty careful. A Thorichthys ellioti, Rainbow cichlid and a Cryptoheros sajica would probably work - I've kept the all three at one point or another, and whilst they're still cichlids (i.e they will fight) they were fairly peaceful. Although the Rainbow went on to take on a female Nicaraguan (and win! Still brings a tear of pride to my eye.)

Tangiyikans are a decent option though - there are plenty of combinations that should work, although I've found getting stock can be quite tricky.

Malawi's just don't do it for me and with that size of tank I'm not sure how many you'll get away with. They're colourful but the method of handling aggression is completely different to New World (Central/South American) cichlids - you cram as many as you can in order that no one fish get's bullied to death.

Final option (and definately worth considering) is a dwarf cichlid setup - a few apistogramma trio's and some Bolivan Ram's would work easily, and you'll get away with a few community fish in that setup.

Edited by tenohfive on Tuesday 19th July 22:28

[koolchris99]

I had a 8" jack Dempsey, had to regime him because he was aggressive to others and on his own unless you gave him attention he would spit substrate at the glass until you gave in.

cheeky fker

[LeightonBuzzard]

tenohfive said:

South/Central American, Malawi, Tangiyikan...which type?

...

Edited by tenohfive on Tuesday 19th July 22:28

Thanks for all that! I was thinking of a few bolivian rams to start the tank off, new water etc. Can I use some of my old water from my current tank to kick start the bacteria in the new one? I do really like Malawi (colours) but think I will go Tangiyikan. You mentioned about them being teritorial which is the only thing I suppose which puts me off them, I dont even like a couple of my tiger barbs having a scwabble, I do like something with character. Somebody told me the more rocks etc I have the more likely they are to fight,and they like very hard water (perfect for my area). Also to use sand as this helps this?
Tom

[Toyowner]

I really wanted to set up a busy cichlid tank this time round, but tbh, I could not find anyone who could give me the same information twice regarding stocking/variaties etc. As I dont have the facilities to rehome any that got bullied, I gave up on the idea and went for a Barb tank instead.

Shame though,a good cichlid tank look amazing.

[tenohfive]

LeightonBuzzard said:

Thanks for all that! I was thinking of a few bolivian rams to start the tank off, new water etc. Can I use some of my old water from my current tank to kick start the bacteria in the new one? I do really like Malawi (colours) but think I will go Tangiyikan. You mentioned about them being teritorial which is the only thing I suppose which puts me off them, I dont even like a couple of my tiger barbs having a scwabble, I do like something with character. Somebody told me the more rocks etc I have the more likely they are to fight,and they like very hard water (perfect for my area). Also to use sand as this helps this?
Tom

First of all, before you even think about stocking you need to read up on cycling as (no offence intended) it's the most basic part of fishkeeping and the most important - from you comment about new and old water I'm guessing you don't know what it is. Have a read of the link below:
http://www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/175355-...

Aggression is probably the biggest differences between cichlids and other fish - with the exception of some dwarf cichlids (Bolivian Ram's/GBR's, apisto's etc) they all have it. There are ways of managing it and sometimes it's just to be hands off - when I upgraded my CA tank I added a female Nicaraguan (famous for being angry, miserable cows) to a Sajica and Rainbow. I had to watch them closely for awhile, but resisted the urge to get involved. After a few days of getting a hard time from the Nicaraguan the Rainbow stood up to her...then started chasing her round the tank. Eventually they found some sort of equilibrium, but there are times (quite often) when you have to step in and rehome one or other cichlid. Aside from careful stocking choices, there are things you can do to manage aggression - such as making distinct territories for the fish to claim and breaking up lines of sight between these. And a rescape when adding new fish can also help as the existing fish lose their territories, they all start again from scratch and hopefully each pick their own territories. In short it's challenging but immensely satisfying.

I've kept Tang's before and found them slightly easier to keep, although I only kept some fairly easy species. Sand would be a good idea - but I think it looks great in any tank and I wouldn't use gravel again without a specific reason (i.e fast stream biotope or similar.)

Here's a link to some Tang options:
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/cookie_cutte...

[tenohfive]

Pic's aren't working, but in terms of a New World set up I truly believe that it's worth the effort - I had all this hassle a few months ago when I upgraded from a 180L setup to a 370L setup - aggression management, rescaping (all made much more difficult by the shape of the tank - it's very tall, and I've not got long arms) but seeing the tank now (and showing it off to visiting friends/family, whose little un's seem to love the big cichlids) I can hand on heart say it was worth every second. My fish keeping has taken a back seat to the rest of life recently but now it's actually sorted it takes no more effort than feeding and water changes - the balance should come within the first few weeks, and once it's there you're sorted.

[LeightonBuzzard]

tenohfive said:

First of all, before you even think about stocking you need to read up on cycling as (no offence intended) it's the most basic part of fishkeeping and the most important - from you comment about new and old water I'm guessing you don't know what it is. Have a read of the link below:
http://www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/175355-...

Aggression is probably the biggest differences between cichlids and other fish - with the exception of some dwarf cichlids (Bolivian Ram's/GBR's, apisto's etc) they all have it. There are ways of managing it and sometimes it's just to be hands off - when I upgraded my CA tank I added a female Nicaraguan (famous for being angry, miserable cows) to a Sajica and Rainbow. I had to watch them closely for awhile, but resisted the urge to get involved. After a few days of getting a hard time from the Nicaraguan the Rainbow stood up to her...then started chasing her round the tank. Eventually they found some sort of equilibrium, but there are times (quite often) when you have to step in and rehome one or other cichlid. Aside from careful stocking choices, there are things you can do to manage aggression - such as making distinct territories for the fish to claim and breaking up lines of sight between these. And a rescape when adding new fish can also help as the existing fish lose their territories, they all start again from scratch and hopefully each pick their own territories. In short it's challenging but immensely satisfying.

I've kept Tang's before and found them slightly easier to keep, although I only kept some fairly easy species. Sand would be a good idea - but I think it looks great in any tank and I wouldn't use gravel again without a specific reason (i.e fast stream biotope or similar.)

Here's a link to some Tang options:
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/cookie_cutte...

No I'm no pro! Just had a small tank for just over a year now and I'm facinated by them! There's a great wealth of infomation on those links. Thank you. Are cichlids likely to get white spot etc from fighting and aggression?

[Toyowner]

White spot can occur if the fish are stressed, yes.

[Comacchio]

Is it ok to position a tank/unit next to/inbetween a radiator and a tv&ps3(glorified electric heater!)?

[Alexdaredevilz]

Comacchio said:

Is it ok to position a tank/unit next to/inbetween a radiator and a tv&ps3(glorified electric heater!)?

Just turn the radiator off, tanks give out enough heat,

Providing the tanks large enough to absorb the heat from the tv it should be ok, but why would you want a bright tank next to a tv??

[tenohfive]

Toyowner said:

White spot can occur if the fish are stressed, yes.

It can be brought back by stress, yes, but quarantining and being careful about where you get your stock from should reduce the risks.

On the heating front the radiator is the only mild concern - the TV/PS3 won't do much at all to a 180-240L tank. I think you'll be alright but make sure you keep an eye on the temp during winter.

[tenohfive]

A bit of a long shot, but I'm sure there must be a few other new world cichlid keepers on here - I'm after some thoughts on an addition to my 370L show/living room tank.

Current stock is:
Rotkeil Sev (wild, a real beauty)
Herotilapia multispinosa
Nicaraguan cichlid (female)
5 pim pictus

I used to have a Sajica in there but he died for unknown reasons (possibly age, as none of the others were affected and there were no visible symptoms and perfect water) a couple of months ago. I'm looking to replace him. So far the short list consists of the following (in vague order of preference) :

Australoheros sp. Red ceibal (single or a pair)
Biotodoma cupido (cupid cichlid)
Geophagus sp. Pindare or Tapajos (singly or a pair, as I don't think I'll get away with more.)
EBJD
Hypselecara temporalis (chocolate cichlid)

I'm looking for something either colourful or otherwise striking. I've considered and dismissed another Sajica (or similar), Ellioti and Blue Acara etc because I've kept them before and would like to try something different. The Red ceibal is the one that appeals the most because I've never heard of them but they look stunning - unfortunately there's next to no info on them though.

Any thoughts?

[tenohfive]

Just got back, ended up taking a chance on a pair of Geophagus megasema. And I've decided that one day I will definately be getting some red ceibal's.

[JFReturns]

tenohfive said:

Just got back, ended up taking a chance on a pair of Geophagus megasema. And I've decided that one day I will definately be getting some red ceibal's.

They look nice, kind of like big chunky Rams. Good choice

[Toyo Jm]

koolchris99 said:

I had a 8" jack Dempsey, had to regime him because he was aggressive to others and on his own unless you gave him attention he would spit substrate at the glass until you gave in.

cheeky fker

My Oscar does this - I don't know why?

[tenohfive]

JFReturns said:

They look nice, kind of like big chunky Rams. Good choice

Cheers. I've never been keen on the Geo body shape (the face/nose end) in the past but for some reason they really seemed to appeal today. I'll see if they're willing to come out for some photo's in a couple of days once they've settled in and I've had the chance to clean the glass and possibly do a quick rescape (depending on how they get on with the existing occupants.)

[koolchris99]

Toyo Jm said:

My Oscar does this - I don't know why?

my Oscar does it too. it's because they are like puppy's and like to be played with

[XJSJohn]

just received this Bad Boy!!



If i remember right its a 650 liter tank that is going to have tropicals in it. (as it is very tropical here anyway!!!) I.5 meter long.

Have to get the plumbing in but a mate is coming around at the weekend to lend a hand (and help drink my beer)

Its a cascade filter system

[otolith]

Your dog is going to be very disappointed when he finds out that isn't a Norman Foster designed dog kennel for him!

[XJSJohn]

otolith said:

Your dog is going to be very disappointed when he finds out that isn't a Norman Foster designed dog kennel for him!