Current and cichlids

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I used to worry about too much current in my 125. Someone here put that in perspective for me. A fish needs to be able to live in a river. There are torrential rains and floods in the rain forests. Huge tracts of forest flood and drain throughout the year. These fish have to be able to negotiate very heavy currents even at a young age. Your pump in your aquarium is nothing to them.
 
No one should give you a single answer for all cichlids (or all SA, CA cichlids) Better to know something about the type you're keeping or want to keep. Some cichlids require fast, highly oxygenated water and some would be highly stressed by a whirlpool in the tank. For example:
Definitive guide to discus:
No species lives in fast flowing water. All three are restricted to quiet waters, bays and mostly lakes, of which there are more than 100,000 in Amazonia!

If a river is mentioned in any species distribution it means they are found only in its bays, or distant lakes — the still waters. Discus are never found anywhere near cascades or a waterfall as they stay far from such geographic features and never above rapids or a waterfall.
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One of the most basic facts about cichlids is they're a highly diverse group of fish adpated to a wide range of environments, from pH 5 or less to pH into the 10s, some are tolerant of temperatures down into the 40s in winter, some live in water that reaches well over 100, they're found in large, powerful rivers, steep, rushing streams, quiet pools, sink holes and caves, flooded forest, deep lakes, etc. Obviously, what would be a comfortable or preferred current for one type is not neccessarily suitable for another.

Also, simply the fact that a fish comes from this or that river doesn't automatically tell you it's preferences or requirements for current, since some will live in the quiet spots of a river, behind rocks, branches, around bends, behind bank projections, etc. Some cichlids might tolerate a higher current but be more jittery and skittish than in a quieter tank or their spawns fail when not provided with a quiet area in the tank. For some species you may want a highly filtered tank but need to take steps to keep the overall current comparitively quiet.
 
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...Also, note in the reference quoted above that the Amazon region includes many lakes and bays, it's not all flowing rivers.
 
Yea, but he asked his question in the "Central and South American Cichlids" forum where we discuss Amph's, Parachromis, JD's and GT's, etc. Those fish can take some current. Discus, though they are cichlids, are discussed in the "angelfish and discus" part of the forums.
 
ragin_cajun said:
Yea, but he asked his question in the "Central and South American Cichlids" forum where we discuss Amph's, Parachromis, JD's and GT's, etc. Those fish can take some current. Discus, though they are cichlids, are discussed in the "angelfish and discus" part of the forums.
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Yes, obviously-- I know that. Discus were just one example with a handy reference... As mentioned in the same article, other cichlids are also common to discus habitat, including mesonauta, heros, geos, crenichla, biotodoma and others, some of which will definitely prefer a quieter tank, others won't care much within reaon-- you don't discuss these fish in this forum?

The fact remains that not all new world cichlids live in rivers or in high current habitat as implied earlier. As noted in the link in my post the Amazon region has some 100,000 lakes. Also, how much current do you think there is in some CA cenotes?

Bottom line is new world species will vary in how much current they prefer. Too much current can make some fish more jumpy, especially if there isn't a quiet part of the tank to get away from it. Some people don't realize that some 'my fish only hides all the time' posts are because the fish doesn't like too much current in the tank and is trying to get away from it.
 
I'm gonna shut down a pump in my tank. I have a zonatus and a midas that are always in the same area of the tank. It's a front corner where the current would be lowest in the whole tank. See if low current for day or two changes how they act.
 
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As said it does depend on the species, but then I have found that all my bruisers are happier when I have a wave maker in there tank giving a reasonable amount of water movement with out having much power drain.
 
ragin_cajun said:
I'm gonna shut down a pump in my tank. I have a zonatus and a midas that are always in the same area of the tank. It's a front corner where the current would be lowest in the whole tank. See if low current for day or two changes how they act.
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Can't say with those species, I've yet to keep them, also don't know the specifics of your tank (size, filters, etc.) Some fish don't much care one way or another ime.

A fish I know very well that can be affected by too much current is Cyphotilapia-- some have found a quieter tank makes them hide less. Also, some disc shaped fiah (sevs, angels, etc), while they don't seem to mind a strong filter in a large enough tank, and will even get directly in the current at times, do spend much of their time in quieter parts of the tank, at least that's my experience.
 
Have a pearsei and heterospilus in a 150 and they hang out most of the time in the area under the spray bar of the 2262 where there is the least current. Nothing i can really do though.

Only fish that seems to really enjoy the current is an ornate bichir
 
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