I've never kept any African cichlids before but I'm considering it. I'm not looking to start a huge aquarium, just a small community; and I'd like to know what kinds, if any, I can keep well in a 20 long.
thanks
Owen.
thanks
Owen.
what can I keep?
- Thread starter lovespunaround
- Start date
have you considered peaceful cichlids? EG pelvichromis pulcher (purple krib) or microgeophagus ramerazi (blue rams) these are small cichlids with plenty of personality and relatively peaceful to keep. the best bit is that they rank high where colour is concerned. the problem with a small tank like yours is that many african cichs will get to about 4inchs which at a push would mean you could only really keep about 6 in that tank and you may see concentrated aggression
Depending on what you're looking for you can put more than 6 fish, however with african cichlids you should over filter their tank if you plan on cramming the tank. Malawi mbuna are from a pretty crouded environment. But like danny boy said, kribs and rams are awesome fish! super colorful and they've got pretty neat personalities. gold rams are available too. Some other fish that you might want to look at are tanganyikan cichlids such a julidochromis species and altolamprologus and lamprologus species. There are lots of cool smaller cichlids that don't grow as quickly and have really neat behavior. There are even shell dweller species that only get about an inch and a half long and breed regularly in the home aquarium are easily found too. good luck with whatever you choose.
I'm a big fan of Tanganyikan cichlids although I don't really know much about Africans in general. I've read that Julies are pretty aggressive though and I'd like peaceful fish. Shell dwellers are cool...does anybody have a favorite genus I should check out?
Owen.
Owen.
julies really aren't that aggressive. They're pretty mello for the most part. I had a 4 inch marlieri and it left my 1 inch cyprichromis alone. Shelldwellers are pretty peaceful as long as you just keep them in pairs. They tend to get grumpy if you've got too many males in too small a space. Another fish to look at might be a leilupi. they're an outstanding looking fish, but a little bit more rambunctious. As far as shelldwellers go, I've kept caudopunctatus and they've got some really nice red fins. Brevis also look pretty funny i think. Both are in the lamprologus genus.
I had 20 long with Cylindricus, Black Calvus, Caudilalpuntatus, lelupi and a shell dweller (brevis I think). Had some Botia Lochatta for scavengers.
The cylindricus & lelupi sometimes had some issues with each other but nothing major. It was a neat tank.
Another idea that might be cool is yellow labs (labidiochromis caurealus) They are smallish & colorful too.
The cylindricus & lelupi sometimes had some issues with each other but nothing major. It was a neat tank.
Another idea that might be cool is yellow labs (labidiochromis caurealus) They are smallish & colorful too.
