Understanding the draw

[Buphy]

So I'll start out by saying I'm not trying to offend anyone. I'm trying to understand the appeal of African lake cichlids. Personally I'm into SA/CA cichlids.

I feel (from what I see at my LFSs) that while they are brightly colored, it's all the same bright color. Blue. Sometimes with alittle yellow to red (and in between) here and there. Maybe I'm just missing something from my LFS, they don't have all the SA/CA I like either.

Or maybe it's the stocking. When I post on the SA/CA cichlid forum maybe people say more than 3-5 fish is over stocked for a small tank like a 55; yet when I see African tanks they have dozens of fish cohabitating "peacefully". Maybe it's the number you can actually fit in the tank.

Anyways, I just wanted to hear from the people who are into them what draws you to them over other fish? Again, I don't mean this in any rude way, I'm just curious.

 

[james99]

Color and tank action. Its the closest you can get to a reef tank with all of the work.

 

[duanes]

In the rift lakes many cichlids live in crowded communites similar to those on salt water reefs, so this translates well to an aquarium.
Some have evolved and developed feeding strategies that allow them to live in close quarters with each other, yet not compete for the same food source (some feed on short growth algae, some filamentous) and many are mouth brooders, breed at different times, and don't need to compete for spawning sites, because eggs and fry are carried.
The crowded conditions also disperse aggression so no one cichlid gets the brunt of it.
Central Americans are generally substrate spawners that require a large footprint territory. And although have also developed feeding strategies to lessen competition, this tends to favor only one of each genus in a large territory.
It may be that resources are more scarce, compared to the nutrient rich rift lakes, so you usually don't find one species of Parachromis in the same area as another Parachromis, or 1 Vieja with another.
Evolution of American species usually selects one, over the other. The stronget drives the other out, or wipes it out all together
Many of the new world species also grow larger than the typical rift lake species aquarists prefer, and thus require larger tanks.
There are large territorial Africans that don't play nice with others, but you don't normally find them available.
The rift lake cichlid below changes color to play dead, and eats any cichlid that comes close enough to pic at dead flesh.

This one sits and waits to eat young of the colorful cichlids you mention above.

 

[DJRansome]

I don't like big blocky fish. Small, fish shaped fish with excellent color, activity and cool shapes.

 

[Buphy]

Lol, fish shaped fish? Their are many SA/CA cichlids that don't have large nucal humps if that's what you're refering to. Rereading it seems it's the size?

 

[joe jaskot]

With fish from Lake Malawi it is the color and activity. With fish from Lake Tanganyika it is the behavior. With fish from the Lake Victoria basin, it is the color and behavior.

 

[Buphy]

Sounds like lake Victoria is the way to go =P

 

[tfktse]

Definitely the color and the amount of fish you can keep for me. Feeding time has always been entertaining for me, pretty much a crazy feeding frenzy, esp if you go down the Lake Malawi "Mbuna" route. There was also the satisfaction of growing out juveniles and seeing the dominant male color up first, then the subdoms following that (with "peacocks/haps").