I have kept Africans (Malawi, mostly) for over 2 years now, and I'm wanting a change. I love the cichlids, but just kinda want to keep other species. Any sugdgestions? I have no trouble with the maintenence or upkeep, and I'd prefer to stay freshwater.
Oscar(s)? S. American Cichlids? Boring Community fish?
2007-04-25 11:01:44 · 11 answers · asked by drumbum811 2 in Pets ➔ Fish
I guess it comes to personal preference. I've found Oscars and Discus among the most boring, especially when just one Oscar is kept, which is really all you can fit. Single fish get old quick.
You can make a really nice community/cichlid mix with your tank. If you set it up as a riverine biotope and go with a couple of pairs of apistogramma or rams, then you get the character of the cichlids, and still have plenty of room to liven things up and create a nice variety with various schooling mid and top dwellers, which can also include angel cichlids.
Another option might be to work out a pair of mid sized cichlids like Texas cichlids, Jack Dempseys, Blue Acara, etc - it can be very interesting to watch them interact. What I don't recommend is a mixed american cichlid tank -they don't mix as well as Malawi's and you won't see them at their best or behaving as naturally as they would in a species tank - at best they'll tolerate each other, at worst you'll have endless fighting and possible fatalities in the tank.
And of course, there's no overlooking lake Tanganyika - these fish are extremely unique and most have tons of character. I would certainly research further into these guys first though, to make sure you end up with a compatible community and environment.
After keeping Malawi's, I wonder if you can ever be happy again keeping a simple community tank, but hey - you never know.
2007-04-25 16:58:39 · answer #1 · answered by Ghapy 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well, there are many choices you have from here. Looking for a real challenge? Try discus fish. They are quite hard to keep and need the most tidiest of water. You can try central American cichlids. Give the infamous convict cichlid a try. They are a joy to watch and keep and breed very easily. What about South Americans? Oscars? It is probably the most unique cichlid to exist (in my opinion.) One thing about the Oscar is that once it is full grown, it will need the entire 55 gallon tank for itself. Like MM said, you can try dwarf cichlids. They're loads of fun and don't grow too large and can co-exist with many other species because of their calm nature. Other than what has been mentioned, you can try Asian or Madagascan cichlids. The only problem you would have is trying to find them as they are less common in pet stores than other cichlids.
2007-04-25 13:29:35 · answer #2 · answered by Sam 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Why not try your hand a dwarf south american cichilds? Kind of the opposite end of the cichlid spectrum from most africans. They are small, peaceful and prefer soft , acidic water. Very colorful as a group and a 55 could easily support a group of 3-4 individuals from 4-5 different species, all of which would have the potential of breeding in the tank. Apistogramma is the most popular genus of these fish.
MM
2007-04-25 12:09:20 · answer #3 · answered by magicman116 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I have a Jack Dempsey cichlid who has been very interesting. A girl at the pet store who didn't know what he was sold him to me, and so when I got home and looked him up I was in for quite the surprise. He's grown very fast since then and his colors are coming in, and he has a lot of personality for a fish.
I've tried with the community fish and I just get tired of them after awhile. The good thing with cichlids is that there are so many different types of them. With a 55 gallon tank, you have a ton of options if you stick to cichlids.
2007-04-25 12:42:26 · answer #4 · answered by QueenC 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
well i got a 55 gallon with 1 tiger oscar, 2 jack Dempseys, and 4 convict cichlids. ( i know this is way over crowded) or u could get some red bellied piranhas....a store near me sells .5"-1" pirahas for $4.99ea
2007-04-25 12:38:07 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you want to get other types of cichlids, you can either head the direction of very aggressive types or much more of a community type of fish. If you heading towards aggressive types, you can get some flowerhorns, some have nice colorations as well as pearling (shiny scales). If you want to go towards community type of cichlids, you can try discus or apistogrammas (dwarf cichlids) including german blue rams.
2007-04-25 12:26:24 · answer #6 · answered by flipnotik 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
i have never used an undergravel filter, but i have not heard good things about them. the main drawback is that if the filter ever clogs or malfunctions, you have to break down your entire tank to remove it. I have a 110gal, 130gal, and a 10gal tank and have always used hang on pumps with great success.
2016-04-01 07:14:10 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
oscar's are may choice but you could only handle one in that size tank they get big i'd stick with smaller ones.. check out web site ... im sure you can find many answers there. 135 gal two 55gal and a 20gal they keep me going
2007-04-25 11:13:13 · answer #8 · answered by infoman89032 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I had the same problem. So I have a "pretty" tropical tank. which also means plants, driftwood, decorations.
I am now breeding, Angelfish, Corys, and guppys. ( the guppys are to feed to my Red Devil and Jaguar.)
2007-04-25 12:05:13 · answer #9 · answered by The Fish Chick 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Try buying 3 red devils 3 flower horns and 3 oscars. But make sure when you buy them they are still very young so as to make sure they are not aggressive yet. Its fun to watch them grow up
2007-04-25 13:14:43 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋