Common new world cichlid misconceptions, and mistakes

[duanes]

The Combining cichlids in an aquarium (especially a small one (anything under 6 ft in length)) from opposite water parameters, just because they are cichlids is asking for problems

ie
Mixing soft water, low pH species (7 pH and below) from Amazonia, with hard water, high pH species from Central America (8 pHand above),

or mineral rich high pH species from the rift lakes, with soft water species from west Africa.
and/or
Mixing slow water loving species, like severums and and angels with rheophiles like Geophagus and Retroculus.

or even more anal
mixing too many species together in the same minimal size tank together that would never meet in nature.

Here in Panama, finding more than 2 or 3 cichlid species in the same river is quite rare,
unlike multiple communities in massive rivers like the Amazon, and its tributaries.

or

west of the Andes mountains (simlar to Central America), where you may only find 1 or 2 cichlid species,

(Above, a river in Colombia)
cichlids such as Andinoacara (GTs, saums) or
Mesoheros (festae, and or ornatum/geyphyum)
where one seldom finds more than a few individuals per large section of river
or even country, that would never meet the myriad of Amazonians such as Oscars, festivum, Pike cichlids, or Uaru .

(above the rio Bayano in Panama)

 

[duanes]

Compare the differences between waters of S America above
With waters in Central America below

Thse charts are from the book American Cichlids ii, by Staeck and Linke.
The water parameters differences are almost as drastic as the difference between ocean, and freshwater lake water.

 

[jjohnwm]

On a somewhat more general note: it's a bit worrisome to read the posts of newer aquarists, perhaps even those who are setting up their first and only tank...and they are carefully assembling a list of inhabitants they plan on getting. Upon reading the list, it's often impossible not to think "Well, that one is not going to work with those two...and when those and these others pair up and start breeding, the whole thing is going to go sideways real quick...and of course this one here is gonna kill everybody in that tank within a few months...which is probably not a bad idea because this tank is just way too small for all those fish..."

I'm not trying to be negative; plenty of folks read comments like mine and immediately accuse me of trying to discourage newbies from starting in the hobby. I'm not, really I'm not...but too many people today have been raised with the idea that if you work up a sufficient amount of "really, really wanna do this..." you can make anything work.

Well...the world doesn't function that way. I'm simply trying to encourage realism. Some things work right off the bat...some things won't work at all, no matter what you try...and there is a huge grey area of ideas that can probably be made to work by people who have sufficient experience to foresee and recognize potential problems and head them off before they become disasters. Half of the time, I feel like paraphrasing the old how-much-does-a-yacht-cost adage. If you have to ask if an idea will work...there's an excellent chance that it won't work for you...and the fact that you have seen others do it successfully means exactly nothing.

So, I'd say a common misconception about cichlids in general is that a beginner can set up just one single cichlid tank and be happy. Way too often, the most important thing to have when you want a cichlid tank...is another tank or two nearby for when your cichlids start to behave like cichlids.

 

[Roger Mcfish]

On a somewhat more general note: it's a bit worrisome to read the posts of newer aquarists, perhaps even those who are setting up their first and only tank...and they are carefully assembling a list of inhabitants they plan on getting. Upon reading the list, it's often impossible not to think "Well, that one is not going to work with those two...and when those and these others pair up and start breeding, the whole thing is going to go sideways real quick...and of course this one here is gonna kill everybody in that tank within a few months...which is probably not a bad idea because this tank is just way too small for all those fish..."

I'm not trying to be negative; plenty of folks read comments like mine and immediately accuse me of trying to discourage newbies from starting in the hobby. I'm not, really I'm not...but too many people today have been raised with the idea that if you work up a sufficient amount of "really, really wanna do this..." you can make anything work.

Well...the world doesn't function that way. I'm simply trying to encourage realism. Some things work right off the bat...some things won't work at all, no matter what you try...and there is a huge grey area of ideas that can probably be made to work by people who have sufficient experience to foresee and recognize potential problems and head them off before they become disasters. Half of the time, I feel like paraphrasing the old how-much-does-a-yacht-cost adage. If you have to ask if an idea will work...there's an excellent chance that it won't work for you...and the fact that you have seen others do it successfully means exactly nothing.

So, I'd say a common misconception about cichlids in general is that a beginner can set up just one single cichlid tank and be happy. Way too often, the most important thing to have when you want a cichlid tank...is another tank or two nearby for when your cichlids start to behave like cichlids.

You can thank YouTube and misinformed Facebook cult groups.