Africans or Americans?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
I relate my tanks as my big SA/CA cichlid tank, and next to it is my little gumball fish tank. I like the contrast.
 
both are great, but i would NEVER reccommend mixing
 
Seeing that you are in the American section of course most of the people find these fish better. Now for people who give the boring, small, look the same argument that is really misleading. Really, if you look at most CA/SA they are look a lot more a like than a lot of africans. The problem is that there are so many species of Africans that people see a group of mbuna and think all fish look like that. Or see how peacocks are similar but different in color and size. However that is just two types of fish... There are so many different types and sizes. From the largest cichlid to the smallest cichlids. No matter what size tank you have there is a African for you. However if you stick to simple petsmart or what your local shop might have you are limiting your self.

Now I am not here to bash centrals or south, but lets not get all bashing on Africans either. As some have said it is: To each their own. So if your interested in Africans check that section of the forum and see all the different types.
 
Its just a matter of preference. I love both Africans and American cichlids evenly. I've had alot of Africans coming from the regions of lake victoria, lake malawi, lake tanganyika, and western africa. I can tell you this, there are so many different and unique species from there that you can choose from. The neolamprologus brichardi for example is a very beautiful fish that can grow trailers on its tails but here comes the cool part. Adults, subadults, and even half-grown brichardi all take part in rearing of the fry. The brichardi don't only care for their own fry but also the fry of those who spawn around them as well and keep watch over other adults when actively spawning. In other words, they spawn in colonies and look after one another. You should see how cool it is to watch brichardi breed and how interesting it really is. The problem I see with people keeping africans is that they only limit themselves to only the mbuna and they immediately say that all africans are boring when they really havent experienced keeping other africans that the world has to offer. If I kept a pair of convicts or jack dempseys(or any other american cichlid petsmart has to offer) and immediately said american cichlids are boring, I know that it wouldnt be fair to call them boring if I hadn't kept other species out there that are available to this hobby. People are always too quick to judge in my opinion. On the other hand, I also love American cichlids for the same reasons I love africans. They are all unique in their own way. What the americans dont have the africans have, vice versa. Africans may lack in personality while the americans have alot of it. Americans may lack alot in color while the africans have alot. This is how I see it.
 
The question is do want a tank full of little fish or a pair of medium size fish. I'm not gonna try to sell you on either, just say that 55 gal doesn't give you a ton of options with new world cichlids but does with africans.
 
I have kept both. I liked the affricans, but there is just something about my 3 breeding pair of Jack Dempsey that made me not try affricans again after losing them all over a 2 month period due to 2 unrelated electrical issues. 1st issue was a burnt up pump in my filtration. I was in the process of moving, and didn't know about the failure for 9 days. 2nd occurance was a heater malfunction bringing the water temp up to 115 in a few hours just after I decided that the survivers were healthy again. Recently I have gotten a few more Americans
 
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