Re: Fish Choices

[Sue]

May I suggest buying each other a book for Christmas.

The setup you describe would not be appropriate for rift lake cichlids &
what suits these cichlids would not suit loaches.
It could look stunning with loaches, barbs and maybe gouramis. Look up
odessa barbs, black ruby barbs, pearl gouramis.
Some of the more peaceful South American or African river cichlids might
also work.
Malawis etc. require hard water -most definately not brackish. & if you want
to keep them you really need to dedicate the tank to them.
Sue


"Krazy K" > wrote in message
...
> I am looking to get a 55 gal tank. Wife is in love with colorful
> cichlids so it looks like we will be getting the african varieties of
> some types. I myself like loaches (botias). Any suggestions on what
> cichlids would be favorable in this type of invironment? I plant to
> create heavy cover with plant, rosk, and simulated <resin> wood type
> structurse. I have read that the mouth breeders tend to be less
> territorial. Also have questions on the issue of salt in the tank.
> Seems the African Cichlids prefer a more saline water but how much is
> needed <if any>. Thanks for you time and patience.

[NetMax]

"Krazy K" > wrote in message
...
> I am looking to get a 55 gal tank. Wife is in love with colorful
> cichlids so it looks like we will be getting the african varieties of
> some types.

In a 55g, you could typically put something like 2 or 3 species of mbuna
(rock dwelling cichlids) and 1 or 2 species of open water fish (cichlids
or dither fish) and a couple of cats (ie: pims, plecs) or 3 or 4 loaches.

I myself like loaches (botias). Any suggestions on what
> cichlids would be favorable in this type of invironment? I plant to
> create heavy cover with plant, rosk, and simulated <resin> wood type
> structurse. I have read that the mouth breeders tend to be less
> territorial.

Mouth breeders are intensely territorial, for the rights to graze the
algae growing on rocks, for a hiding spot that is their own, and for
spawning. In general, substrate spawners are less territorial - until
they are spawning. Most cichlids (and most gouramis) are very
territorial, respective of their size, origin and sexual maturity.

Most cichlids are problematic with plant cover.

Also have questions on the issue of salt in the tank.
> Seems the African Cichlids prefer a more saline water but how much is
> needed <if any>.

Lake Africans come from an alkaline high pH environment (high calcium and
other minerals). It would not be described as saline, so salt is not a
neccesity, and large amounts of salt would inhibit your plants and stress
your loaches.

> Thanks for you time and patience.

Not all loaches can be easily mixed together, so ymmv. My red-tail
botias are not very loach friendly, but the larger the tank, the less
trouble you should have. Given that you want plants & loaches, your
better cichlid choices might Keyholes, Kribensis and a variety of the
Apistogramma. If you are still determined to go with Lake Africans,
there are some which are somewhat less territorial, small and carnivorous
(leaving your plants alone). You are started on a path of research.
These sites might be of use:

http://www.cichlidrecipe.com
http://www.loaches.com
http://faq.thekrib.com/

At the end of the day, a Loach tank and an African cichlid tank would
best be achieved by two aquariums, but with enough research into their
requirements, and compromising the water parameters into a more neutral
mix, it could be done. Less obvious than water parameters are that many
mbuna are vegetarians, who would suffer if fed the much richer
high-protein diet loaches prefer. This narrows your cichlid choices to
omnivores (ie: Labs, Utaka), insectivores (ie: Leleupis,
Brichardi/Julies(?)) and carnivores (nothing suitable comes to mind for
your size tank).

ps: If your wife and you are both keen on buying an aquarium, then I
suggest you go for something a bit bigger (70-90g). In the final
analysis, and with the fish choices you are leaning towards, a larger
tank will make your life easier. Loaches are best kept in groups and
some grow quite large. A 55g is the smallest tank that I would put mbuna
in, and that's not including much of any other kind of fish in there with
them.

NetMax