Cichlids in fish tank?

Question

My 12 year old son wants cichlids for his fish tank, not even sure yet what kind. He has a Mystery Snail in it, if he does get cichlids, will they bother it? If so, what specific type might not bother the snail?

Answer 1

While most cichlids are quite territorial, they are also for the most part unable to damage a mystery snail. As others have said, without knowing more about your sons tank and it's equipment, it's not really possible to make specific fish recommendations.

MM

Answer 2

We need to know the size of the tank in order to answer the question. I would not keep Cichlids in anything less than a 10 gallon tank. In a 10 gallon, 3 Rams and some small Tetras might be nice. They are peaceful fish that will not bother the snail. Avoid any African Cichlids, they are very aggressive and will limit the options for other types of fish. Email me with the tank size and any other questions. [e-mail]
This site knows all about Rams, you and your son should read it before buying any fish, make sure to look at the pictures too.

Nosoop4u

Answer 3

I suggest getting some smaller more hardy Cichlids. Depending on the size of tank you wouldn't want any larger than a Butterfly Ram or an Apisto in a 10 gal tank. A 20 gal tank could hold a pair of Convicts. Larger tanks 30 to 50 gal could hold a pair of Blue Acaras, Keyhole Cichlids, Firemouths or small groups of 3 or 4 Daemansoni Cichlids, Aurora Cichlids or Electric Yellow Cichlids. If your tank is 55 gal or larger then there are many more choices. Other then the Convicts I have tried to suggest some of the more mild mannered ones.

Answer 4

I have found with my Cichlids that the more you have in a tank and the older they are, the less aggressive they are. If you only have two or three in a tank, they are more likely to establish territory and chase other fish. If there are enough fish in the tank no one fish finds its comfort zone so it is less likely to chase others. I have a 40 gallon breeder tank and that worked best when there were 7-10 adult fish in it, or more when they were small. Another option is to give them lots of hiding places. I like to use clay pots in a variety of sizes randomly stacked and some partially broken ones that give them a variety of places to hide. If you let a little algae grow on the pots it looks a bit like a coral reef. I have had Convicts, Jack Dempseys, Firemouths, and some cool Convict/Texas cross breeds that were really cool, all in one tank. If you decide to get any other kind of fish like a Plecostomus, make sure it is much bigger than the cichlids and keep an eye on it, or ideally let the pleco settle in first before you add the cichlids. If after a couple weeks they get used to each other without incident, you won't have any problems later. My advice, which worked best for me, is get the cichlids when they are very small and let them grow up together. If you try to introduce fully adult cichlids to each other, or add new fish in with already settled fish, you stand a good chance of having problems.

I also kept mixed Africans in another 35 gallon tank and didn't have any problems with them, even with some tiger barbs and other hardy fish in with them. For me they were less aggressive than the convicts, but I have heard of friends having problems.

Cichlids are extremely interesting to watch and can be most rewarding, but I agree with some of the others. Cichlids may not be the best for a young child to start out with. It may traumatize him if things go wrong and the fish start killing each other. What about more tame fish like guppies, mollys, swordtails, platys, neons, zebras, etc. until he gets the hang of it?

Answer 5

depends on the amount of gallons you have.

Their are some good smaller cichlids that are really colorful like rams, and apositos.

For larger tanks, their are better cichlids, like key holes and jarguars.

It is all based on the ammount of gallons. As some will start small and end up huge, others are better for smallertanks.

Answer 6

first of all, you're able to take the wood out of the tank. africans prefer difficult water and severe ph tiers-and wood will drop your ph point. if i've got been you, i could get greater rock-limestone, river rock (what i exploit in my 6 feet african tank), or greater slate. i shop sand in my tank as a substrate, and then shop pantyhose of overwhelmed coral interior the sump to maintain the ph point up. you're able to easily use overwhelmed coral interior the tank itself. 2nd, you shouldnt rather be blending GT's or the different fish from a different lake-they like different water parameters and have different diets. i could upload approximately 20 or greater mbuna.. get some yellow labs, purple zebras, OB's, pseudo. acei's- and you prefer them around the comparable length as what you have in there. you by no skill reported WHAT species of fish you have. in the event that they're lake malawi haplochromis (they're great-and can attain over a foot long) then get greater of the comparable. with africans (mbuna that's) you're able to overstock to opened up the aggression themes-that way one fish isnt focused and killed. so-all that being stated, get the wood out, upload rockwork and new fish. merely be advantageous to organize your rocks spectacular once you're including the hot fish-that way all human beings has to %. new territories and the fish that are in there dont bully the hot ones as lots.

Answer 7

Cichlids are very agressive. They are extremely territorial when they breed. I would not recommend a cichlid tank for a beginner.

Answer 8

Most cichlids will attack the snail.

Answer 9

Cichlids are very aggressive and are meat eaters. They may attack it. They are also very territorial.