sa/ca cichlid pros and cons
- Thread starter shane2sweet1
- Start date
shane2sweet1;4868031; said:
Your talking apples and oranges between just SA's vs CA's, not including or comparing to Africans. In general, SA's do better in schools/groups and are more peaceful, CA's get larger and a much less tolerant of other tankmates (varies by species)
Example, a festae is an SA, but are very aggressive while s. jurupari are SA but very peaceful. I suggest you look into certain species you like and their care requirements and go from there. The topic is too vague to be answered accuratly in a post or two. Tanks size makes all the difference. What size tank are you working with?
pound for pound africans are generally way more aggressive... but most CA/SAs are much larger so can throw that weight around abit. I've found Ca/SA's to be more brain orientated.. where most Africans just shred everything in their way.
JK47 also brings up very valid points.. there are some species that other care/concerns need to be factored in.
JK47 also brings up very valid points.. there are some species that other care/concerns need to be factored in.
Got a 90 gallon, my africans really seem to get along for the most part. They have their established pecking order and get in territorial spats daily but I don't think any other fish is out too kill any other fish. I really didn't know much about them other than I didn't want breeding but I didn't know what kinds to really get other than get some that look cool. So I made the rookie mistake of mixing haps and mbuna but I got what I got and I really don't wanna get rid of some. I did get rid of one though, I had a male melanochromis auratus and he was getting really aggressive so he had to go before he killed one of the others. That's really been my only problem so far with aggression.
Maybe I've been misinformed on CA/SA cichlids. I read on some like Jacks and Jaguars and they seem to be very aggresive.
Maybe I've been misinformed on CA/SA cichlids. I read on some like Jacks and Jaguars and they seem to be very aggresive.
I've done my studying on africans after I already got them and know I've made a lot of mistakes with my species selection which bums me out some. I should of done my homework on them before I got them, but what's done is done and I guess I'm satisfied with my tank for the most part except i'd like to go bigger but trying to talk my wife into that is a different story.
But all I know about Ca/Sa cichlids is what I've read on this forum.
But all I know about Ca/Sa cichlids is what I've read on this forum.
SimonL;4867009; said:
I agree...
South American cichlids can be just as rewarding as african in color and behavior. While they are more personable they are not as active and 'fast' as africans. S/A require more gallons per fish then most africans do and will often get a whole lot larger requiring larger tanks.(75 gallon +) Cichlids such as the midas or red devil can be extremely aggressive to the point that only one may be kept per tank. That however depends on the species, which are abundant and dynamic in south america. I personally prefer the more peaceful geophagus and severum. If you are keeping S/A cichlids i recommend keeping them either as a pair in a tank or as a few individual specimens.
African cichlids have a very active and will often dart around the tank faster chasing each other around. The good news is their aggression can be contained by either spreading out the male to female ratio or by putting many fish in one tank and spread out the aggression/pecking order. They often stay smaller than S/A cichlids which is good for keeping smaller tanks with a smaller bioload. (90-55 gallon) I beleive they are also easier to breed because many are mouth brooders. When the parents have the fry in their mouth you can net them and remove the fry from the mouth for tank transplant. If you are keeping africans I recommend keeping a bunch of a single species or a few of two species.
I kept both so. this is just my own experience. Goodluck with your decision
Larry
Most of you guys aren't realizing that SA and CA cichlids are very different fish, and there are lots of other things to consider (aside from the obvious that they come from different parts of the NA/SA continents...), I'll try to explain:
When someone uses the term "SA cichlids" they are, for the most part, referring to relatively peaceful fish that do well in community setups and at a low ph/kh. These include severums, satanoperca, geophagus, many other less known species, and all the other smaller SA cichlids in various other genuses (including tiny cichlids like apistogramma). They are rarely aggressive enough to cause deaths, most do quite well with other, smaller fish (although my apistos hate Corydoras! There are always exceptions and research should be carried out on particular species).
When someone says CA cichlids, they are generally referring to fish that fit in the group of what people call aggressive cichlids... Convicts, red devils, green terrors, jags, midas, just to name a few of the more well-known ones. They tend to be much more aggressive, and will often kill other fish if proper research into housing/husbandry isn't carried out They also generally prefer a notably higher ph/kh/gh. They tend to be very interactive and have lots of personality (same can be said for some SA cichlids too).
To make matters confusing, we have exceptions. Oscars are actually south american cichlids, but grow very large and can sometimes be aggressive. We also have some oddball exceptions like festae, or the red terror, which are SA but are similar in behavior and size to CA cichlids.
To make them even more confusing, we have crenicichla, aka pike cichlids and cichla aka peacock bass. Both of these are predators, and have unique requirements. Heck we even have angelfish and discus! Most people don't even realize they are even cichlids, but all are technically cichlids found mostly in south America, but are so different people refer to them specifically instead of what they refer to when they use the term "SA cichlids."
So you see it's really impossible to answer the broad question of CA/SA cichlids vs African cichlids. You should state exactly what you are looking for in a fish, and what size tank you have, and can get better suggestions from there.
When someone uses the term "SA cichlids" they are, for the most part, referring to relatively peaceful fish that do well in community setups and at a low ph/kh. These include severums, satanoperca, geophagus, many other less known species, and all the other smaller SA cichlids in various other genuses (including tiny cichlids like apistogramma). They are rarely aggressive enough to cause deaths, most do quite well with other, smaller fish (although my apistos hate Corydoras! There are always exceptions and research should be carried out on particular species).
When someone says CA cichlids, they are generally referring to fish that fit in the group of what people call aggressive cichlids... Convicts, red devils, green terrors, jags, midas, just to name a few of the more well-known ones. They tend to be much more aggressive, and will often kill other fish if proper research into housing/husbandry isn't carried out They also generally prefer a notably higher ph/kh/gh. They tend to be very interactive and have lots of personality (same can be said for some SA cichlids too).
To make matters confusing, we have exceptions. Oscars are actually south american cichlids, but grow very large and can sometimes be aggressive. We also have some oddball exceptions like festae, or the red terror, which are SA but are similar in behavior and size to CA cichlids.
To make them even more confusing, we have crenicichla, aka pike cichlids and cichla aka peacock bass. Both of these are predators, and have unique requirements. Heck we even have angelfish and discus! Most people don't even realize they are even cichlids, but all are technically cichlids found mostly in south America, but are so different people refer to them specifically instead of what they refer to when they use the term "SA cichlids."
So you see it's really impossible to answer the broad question of CA/SA cichlids vs African cichlids. You should state exactly what you are looking for in a fish, and what size tank you have, and can get better suggestions from there.
Damn. So now that I've got my 125g re-sealed and ready to go, I HAD decided on putting my 16 africans back into there and adding more, while taking the 75g that they are in now and putting either CAs or SAs in it. Now I'm starting to wonder since CAs and SAs grow faster and larger than Africans, I'm wondering if I should leave the Africans in the 75g and use the 125g for either the CAs or SAs?!? (Still haven't decided which to go with yet.)
And then, now I'm starting to feel like I'd want some of BOTH. Sounds like I'm gonna need another tank....
Only way I was able to pull off adding the 75g along side the 125g with the wife was because the 125g sprang a leak so I had to go grab something real quick! I'm NOT going to use that excuse again....
And then, now I'm starting to feel like I'd want some of BOTH. Sounds like I'm gonna need another tank....
Only way I was able to pull off adding the 75g along side the 125g with the wife was because the 125g sprang a leak so I had to go grab something real quick! I'm NOT going to use that excuse again....
