I thought cichlids mess up sand. Well like oscersmilkman407;488572; said:Black sand bottom lots of plants/rocks/ caves and crab some drift wood...
New to cichlids
- Thread starter freshyfishy
- Start date
Just about any cichlid will dig sand or gravel youll get used to it,makes live plants impossible.the important thing is to set any rock or heavy decorations so they dont hit the glass if they fall.
A whole lot of google and forum searching is a good place to start on which cichlids you like. They do need to be kept region specific though. At least no Africans with Americans. I have kept CA with SA and not had problems but I think some people feel even these need to be seperated. The main reasoning is their size and diet. Red Terror 1.5 ft and mainly carnivorous, electric blue .5 ft and completely omnivorous. Red terror kills within a year or maybe a year and a half. (people please don't take this as exact measurements and blah blah blah and start ripping me) Just a generic probable scenario of what would happen when mixing large Americans with Africans.
Ask questions pertaing to region first and find out which you like. Then ask what type of cichlids would be good from that region.
Generarlization warning again
If you want fish that grow large and eat other smaller fish go with Americans.
If you want smaller more colorful fish that you can put more of in a tank that should not be fed much live food then go with Africans.
Ask questions pertaing to region first and find out which you like. Then ask what type of cichlids would be good from that region.
Generarlization warning again
If you want fish that grow large and eat other smaller fish go with Americans.
If you want smaller more colorful fish that you can put more of in a tank that should not be fed much live food then go with Africans.
Type of sand really does vary with type, locale. SA/CA you would want playsand/poolfilter sand. Rift lake you would want aragonite, or crushed coral sand. It really does depend on what you want to do. No exact answer without first knowing what you want. But as far as live plants, you can have them if potted, or have the right cichlids. Discus do great with plants, Red Devils do not. Shell dwellers would be fine with plats, tropheus would not. Also when choosing the type of pleco, stick with the same area.
We keep both african (lake malawi) and central american cichlids but in different tanks. I like them both but if you want a lot of fish or variety I'd stick with the african cichlids. They do seem to be a little less agressive and are really cool to watch plus you have the added bonus of them being mouthbrooders which to me is truly fascinating to watch
