Cichlid Newbie - opinion of what species to start with

I am a total nOOb but I can tell you what I am doing and maybe it will
point you in a direction...

I have a 55 gal with Malawi Cichlids, in that tank was a male rusty who was
being beat up all the time

he is an Iodotropheus sprengerae

I put him in my 20 gallon (happens he matches my bedroom walls btw which is
a bonus), and I put in some lava rock (Lace rock in the 55gal) and I just
put in two female rustys... I will put in 4 more female rustys in my 20
gallon.

This is a link that you may enjoy (the rustys stay small but they aren't as
colorful as the others, I like the personality I see so far)

http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/Fishindx/sprenger.htm

Hope that helps a little.

"jazzthecat ^,,^" wrote in
:

I've moved home and decommissioned my community aquarium. As i'm
starting fresh, I've decided to get Cichlids. The water is quite
fairly hard 14 and the PH level is 7.5, so it seems ideal for most
Cichlid, from what I've read thus far.

Some cichlids prefer hard, alkaline water, others prefer neutral water,
others prefer soft, acid water. There is no one type of water "ideal for
most cichlids".

My aquarium is 20gal / 36Lx12Wx15H

If I can find any retailers who will take them, I may breed them.

Assuming you are looking to stock the tank with a single breeding pair,
convicts, firemouths, rainbow cichlids (Herotilapia multispinosa), N.
brichardi are substrate breeding cichlids that should do well in your
water conditions, are usually easy to breed, and do not get too big.
Yellow labs might be a good choice for mouthbrooders -- but you would
want to get one male and several females, not just a pair of these.
There are many other choices depending upon your personal preferences.
By the way, the dimensions you list for your tank describe a 30 gallon
tank.

Hope this helps.

Meph

What species would anyone recommend?
All Links and Opinions Welcome

Mephistopheles wrote in
ink.net:

uths, rainbow cichlids (Herotilapia multispinosa), N.
brichardi are substrate breeding cichlids that should do well in your
water conditions, are usually easy to breed, and do not get too big.
Yellow labs might be a good choice for mouthbrooders -- but you would
want to get one male and several females, not just a pair of these.
There are many other cho

Thank you both for your quick responses.

Firemouth, Convicts and Rainbows were the ones I had looked considered.
They grow fairly large though 20cm for Convicts (I read.) Would they not
grow too big for a 20gal aquarium? Would an upgrade (in a few years or
whenever) have to be a consideration?

Another question, how many eggs are they likely to lay and how many
spawn?

--
Regards

JTC ^,,^

"jazzthecat ^,,^" wrote in message
. ..
Mephistopheles wrote in
ink.net:

uths, rainbow cichlids (Herotilapia multispinosa), N.
brichardi are substrate breeding cichlids that should do well in your
water conditions, are usually easy to breed, and do not get too big.
Yellow labs might be a good choice for mouthbrooders -- but you would
want to get one male and several females, not just a pair of these.
There are many other cho

Thank you both for your quick responses.

Firemouth, Convicts and Rainbows were the ones I had looked considered.
They grow fairly large though 20cm for Convicts (I read.) Would they not
grow too big for a 20gal aquarium? Would an upgrade (in a few years or
whenever) have to be a consideration?

Another question, how many eggs are they likely to lay and how many
spawn?

--
Regards

JTC ^,,^

You can add to the list dwarf Julidochromis species, possibly a trio of
Altolamprologus, any of the Tanganyikan shelldwellers, a pair of Gobies,
possibly a pair of Pelvicachromis kribensis (although pH is a bit high). Kribs
have been known to breed in water with a pH of 7.5, but you end up with more
males than females. But on the bright side, the fry are typically bigger and
more numerous.
30"L X 12"W X 13"H is a 20 gallon long. If your measurements are as you
say, your tank is closer to 30 gallons as Meph said. This does increase your
options. Perhaps a trio of some of the smaller, more peaceful fish from Lake
Malawi. Small Aulonocara species or Copadichromis species. Research is key.
Amateur
www.amateurcichlids.com

In article , jazzthecat ^,,^ wrote:
Maybe I will contact a local breeder / fanciest rather than a shody old
shop. My local area is Banbury/Oxford/Milton Keynes in the UK. Anybody
got any leads for me. Much appreciated. TIA

I've been touring round various fish shops recently trying to decide
what I want to do, and have been impressed by the various Maidenhead
Aquatics shops I have been to. Website at www.fishkeeper.co.uk.
They don't go quite as far north as you, so it is a bit of a trip.
Each shop seems to specialise in different things, so it is worth
visiting a few, or maybe phoning them up to find out what they stock.
For ex. the Iver shop had a large selection of corals, while the
Guildford shop had lots of puffers and quite a few Cichlids.

-Paul Murray

"jazzthecat ^,,^" wrote in
:

Mephistopheles wrote in
ink.net:

uths, rainbow cichlids (Herotilapia multispinosa), N.
brichardi are substrate breeding cichlids that should do well in your
water conditions, are usually easy to breed, and do not get too big.
Yellow labs might be a good choice for mouthbrooders -- but you would
want to get one male and several females, not just a pair of these.
There are many other cho

Thank you both for your quick responses.

Firemouth, Convicts and Rainbows were the ones I had looked
considered. They grow fairly large though 20cm for Convicts (I read.)
Would they not grow too big for a 20gal aquarium? Would an upgrade (in
a few years or whenever) have to be a consideration?

My books, e.g. the Baensch atlas, lists the maximum size of firemouths
and convicts at 15 centimeters (six inches), and rainbows slightly
smaller. I have never seen a 20 centimeter convict. My general rule is
that the tank should be at least twice as wide, front to back, as the
fish is long. Your 30 gallon aquarium meets this guideline, even at the
maximum size for these fish. Generally, you will be lucky to grow fish
to the maximum size. And once they reach that size, death from old age
may not be far in the future. So I personally would not worry about it.
However, if you want to give your fish even more room you can try some
of the smaller species, such as kribensis or shell dwellers.


Another question, how many eggs are they likely to lay and how many
spawn?

Depends on the size of the fish as well as the species. I have seen one
inch convicts breed; of course, at that size there are few eggs
(approximately 30 as I recall). Rainbows have a reputation for being
especially prolific -- large ones laying 600 to 1000 eggs. Firemouths,
100 to 500 eggs. Good books should have more information.

Meph