What is the best type of Cichlid for a ten gallon tank(no angelfish)?

Answer 1

My first choice would be any of the smaller apistogrammas. They are colorful and small enough you could keep 2-3 of them and they would, with good care, breed in a 10 gallon.

Smaller shell dwelling african cichlids would do well too.

MM

Answer 2

Which ever you decide on, you have to remember that Cichlids are aggressive. The lowest aggression will be 1 male, and 2 females of the same variety.

Next to that, 2 or 3 males, and no females. You can mix males of different varieties if they share the same agressive rating.

10 gallons is a very small tank for Cichlids, but with proper care you should be alright.

I won't bother listing out species, because when you get the store to buy them... you'll see that the selection will be limited. So I suggest going to the stores in your area, and asking the sales person for the adult length. If they're under 3.5 inches, then you're good to go on 2 or 3 of them.

You can also increase the water changes to accomodate an additonal size, that will trick the fish into thinking they have a lager tank. However, you still won't be able to increase the number of fish, because they may very well kill each other in crowded conditions. But increased water changes would allow for 2 4-5 inch fish.

Answer 3

you're able to desire to attempt a pair of dwarf cichlids. there are some types accessible that must be positive in a 10 gallon tank. i might say german blue rams. incredibly colourful, and stay small. besides the undeniable fact that, i does not positioned the rest interior the tank. they don't look to be aggressive, besides the undeniable fact that, they are in a position to be gentle to water situations. so which you decide directly to avert overstocking jointly with small tank.

Answer 4

^bs
i had 9 lake Malawi cichlids in a 10 gallon tank (the largest was just under 3inch) and apart from one severly aggressive male (back to shop with him) they all got on perfect like a little community and were healthy and active.

Answer 5

This site has info specific to setting up a 10 gallon tank for cichlids. They recommend the shell-dwelling species & this site has a list of species suitable for a 10 gallon tank (good info on the other links too (intro, materials & care): http://www.cichlidrecipe.com/shellweb/shell_species.htm
here are the species recommended for a 10 gal tank:
Neolamprologus brevis, common name: brevis shelldweller
Neolamprologus multifasciatus common name: zabra shellie
Neolamprologus similus
Lamprologus caudopunctatus (Shell-Spawner)
Lamprologus meleagris
Lamprologus occelatus
Lamprologus ornatipinnis
Lamprologus signatus
Lamprologus speciosus
* This site has common names (I started listed, but I'm taking up so much room already), pics, and specifics on all the above fish: http://www.finsout.com/fish/index.html
* This site has pics/info about above mentioned, as well as info on which fish can be put in a tank together: http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/

Here are some other good websites for more cichlid info from knowledgeable people :-)
http://cichlidae.com/
http://forums.aquariumhobbyist.com/forum.php?catid=16
This one looks like it has the most info: http://africancichlids.org/articles/welcome-to-your-african-cichlid-community

EDIT: someone mentions limited availability at stores, you can buy live fish on-line. My nephew purchases live tropical fish from petsolutions.com all the time w/ no probs & he has 2 huge & 1 med tank, plus 2 large ponds. Here's the link to their African Cichlid page: http://www.petsolutions.com/Cichlids+African-C-80-C-.aspx

EDIT: someone suggests discus, not a good idea for a 10gal tank-they grow to 6-8" . Because of their size & swimming habits, a minimum of 18" is needed for tank depth, w/ deeper being better ... each adult discus will need 10 gallons of water ... the minimum size for a discus display tank should be roughly 40 gallons. http://www.tropicalfishcentre.co.uk/chrisdiscus.htm

Answer 6

I would go with either a pair of golden rams or german blue rams

http://members.aol.com/WnyZman/pict20.jpg

http://z.about.com/d/freshaquarium/1/0/W/O/ram03.jpg

they are small about 2 inches and need great water quality, but if you are willing to do the work, they would work

Answer 7

Most cichlids would be too small, but you have a few options.
Apistogramma: http://www.c-u-w.net/jpg/ad_konigs/apistogramma_agassizii_(ad_konigs).jpg
You could get a pair or a trio

You could also with small african shell dwellers from lake tanganyika,
such as brevis: http://www.isabi.de/lamprologus_brevis.jpg
Ocellatus: http://www.neptuneaquatics.com/images/Lamprologus%20Ocellatus%20Gold-2.jpg

Or a pair of bolivian rams: http://www.tropicalfishcentre.co.uk/BolivianRams_pair.jpg

Answer 8

Chiclid's get quite large and I personally don't think that they could be very happy in a small tank. They also prefer a rocky environment, which might also make the 10gallon tank very crowded.
Do some research,
I've found this site VERY helpful when deciding on fishies for the tank, as well as living environment
http://www.aquahobby.com.
I swear by them.

Answer 9

None. The tank is too small.

Answer 10

peacock