Cichlid Newbie Help

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Greg31

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Sep 15, 2009
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Maryland
Being an enthusiast for about a week now :headbang2. I have gone from wanting a Red Devil, to a Green Terror. Now I am just trying to find the best cichlid for me. The two cichlids i am most interested in are jags and gt. From everyones personal experience which fish, is prettier on the eyes, more lively and active, and easiest to care for?

Any other reasons or advice is also greatly appreciated.
 
Red Devil would probably be the easiest..............GT's disease prone............Jag's can be real finicky eaters......RD's also are your classic glass bangers loaded w/ personality and tend not to be shy................IMO
 
For looks there isn't much that will beet a 12" GT but as stated they do tend to get intestinal parasites and all that but still a stunning fish and ill never own another tank without a GT in it.

The Jag is also a stunning looking fish in its own right just not as colorful as most other American cichlids but an awesome fish (with lots of personality) to have in a tank especially when mature.
They do ok in tanks with low quality water.

Red Devils are not called devils because they have horns and run around with pitchforks, they are very territorial and most if not all will not accept any other tank mates but they do have tons of personality.Almost like a big Oscar on horse steroids.
 
what size tank would they be going in. there's a big size difference in GTs and jags. i've never had either but i've always been a fan of GTs, not so much for jags but to each their own :D
 
Right now all i have is a 30 long, 12 height and 12 width, not sure the gallons, im guessing somewhere around 20g. I will be upgrading once they get bigger though.
 
Get a bigger tank first. Starting out with a small tank and these very fast growing fish just doesn't really work for most keepers. The risk for stunting is there and if you are going to have to buy a bigger tank in a couple months anyway, buy one now before it becomes an issue. You can find pretty good deals on craigslist for 75 gallon tanks which is what i would reccomend for a rd and for starters for a jag.
 
A GT grows slower than the other two, atleast in the early months.

You could prolly house 1 of the fish with no tank mates up untill 6-8" then it will definatly need a bigger tank.
 
a 6-8" is not gonna work in a 20g. you're better off with a dwarf cichlid. dont get anything that gets over 3-4" until you have a bigger tank
 
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