Compared to discus ...

[chipmunk636]

How are the african cichlids?

I have 2 55 gal tank one has 7 discus and the other is lightly planted , i had discus in the planted also but it didn't worked at all, so now it only houses about 15-20 rasboras, i was looking for discus on the canadian aquafarm sponsor here and came thru the cichlids section , i actually think that iam falling in love with them lol, they look cool and agressive, that would be an interesting alternative to the discus and piranhas i had before...


I didn't really pay attention to this type of fish before so i know absolutely nothing about them, i will read about them a bit but my main concern would be :

are those fish fragile like discus or more like usual random fish

what are the behaviour of the fish , will they kill everything else , what maintenance they need ?

breeding difficulty level?

overall difficulty level of fish ?

that would be for this 55 gal tank , i don't mind if i would have to remove the rasboras!

i was thinking about adding more plant and some drifwood maybe ...

any help or idea is welcome!

[a volar]

Re: Compared to discus ...

African cichlids in general are aggressive, some more than others but aggressive, there are some really beautiful, I keep ACEI and YELLOW LABS, there are the least aggressive.
No daily water changes definitely, tank with lots of rocks and caves.

Read about them, you will like them!

[chipmunk636]

Re: Compared to discus ...

Thanks !

Btw this tank is in my small bedroom so iam close to it , i walk just next to it when entering , i suppose cichlid are not super skittish ?

the pic look far but iam on the bed almost on the opposite wall .

[Jeff O]

Re: Compared to discus ...

I kept African cichlids for a very long time, I got super interested in the rare tanganyikan Cichlids lots of sand sifters and shell dwellers (I was most interested in these) although I keep discus strictly these days, I had a lot of fun with those guys, easy maintenance too.
-Jeff

[chipmunk636]

Re: Compared to discus ...

Can i keep only one species or i can mix color and strain ?I don't want to join a forum simply for this , too many forum already!

I suppose its not like discus and you can safely buy from good lfs or classified, i just took a quick look in my local classified and found tons of fish for cheap to start with to see if i really like that .

If they are really easy to breed that could be fun !

[joanstone]

Re: Compared to discus ...

I used to keep Tanganyikans as well. I agree with Jeff, I think they make for a great tank with a lot of variety and interesting fish. With the water I have coming out of my well, it's what I should go back to-I could ditch the RO.

[cjr8420]

Re: Compared to discus ...

A cics are awesome for a comparison if watching discus is like watching a ballet.watching mbuna cics is like watching a wwf royal rumble.if i ever start a fresh tank i think i will setup a peacock show tank. less aggresive and more interesting colors/patterns.ive had many community spawns with plenty of surviviors so trying to breed should not be to hard.

[Mgardner]

Re: Compared to discus ...

Some cichlids are hiders, so you'll want to do your research for more social fish. both of my brothers and i have had cichlid tanks and never had a problem with traffic areas.
Also, I've never successfully kept them in a planted tank- they tear it up. Build cool caves with rocks, get some driftwood and plastic plants... And try to get groups of fish from the same region. You can get different colors and breeds from the same area.
Water parameters are totally different from discus -temp, ph especially.
And just realize as cool as they look as juvies, they can change color to some extent (ie jack dempseys can lose the bright yellow and black contrast as they get older), depending on the breed.
Good luck!

[chipmunk636]

Re: Compared to discus ...

Thanks !!

As for parameter, i read that ph want to be higher like 7.8-8 and 40-50% wc weekly would be ok? , i suppose if i age my water 1 day before it will put the ph at 8 and the tank with low wc should be in this area also ?

I would really like to keep the plant though , anyway not the end of the world if they destroy , i can get rock from my lake to make all kind of layout so not a problem.

I found i guy locally that has like 5000 from different size for sale , do they grow fast? Should i go small and grow them or go big, and how much should i start with in the 55 ?

Guy sold them from 5 to 15$ depending on the size , all king of color., as for strain i still need to learn more.

keep the tips coming thanks !!

[Bill63SG]

Re: Compared to discus ...

They dont tear up plants,they eat them.Most a veggitarian,some cant handle protien at all,bloat and die.You need a high tank load because they are aggresive,spread the fighting out,and because of it,lots of filtration.kept them in a 150 for years until I gave discus a shot again.

[chipmunk636]

Re: Compared to discus ...

Ok how much should i go to start with 20-30 ?

and how about the grow speed and my q's about should i start with juvies or adult ?

thanks !

[a volar]

Re: Compared to discus ...

Here is what I'll do.

-get a bigger tank, if not for a 55G I'll get 10 fish at about 1 - 2 in long; introduce them at the same time.
-don't mess with PH
-no aging water, straight tap same or similar temperature.
-use rocks, caves
-20 or 30% water change every 1 or 2 weeks.
-Don't feed a lot of proteins.
-don't get the very aggressive ones, (like RED DEVILS) just do a quick check at fish profile before you buy them.

[chipmunk636]

Re: Compared to discus ...

I will keep the tank , just built a new stand for it couples month ago.

I will see with the seller what species he have .

Is that like usual and the more fish the less agression ?

[chipmunk636]

Re: Compared to discus ...

I emailed and called the guy in question , he said his fish come from lake malawi and he has lots of species, i asked for pic but he said he don't show pic pother than the pic in the add.

Other than that , it was the usual my fish are perfect and i am the better in the area ...

Its about 1 hour from home in car, he said red devil are american and he only had african and he said i can mix all the species he have in stock , ranging from 5 to 50$

other than that he said he keep is ph at 8

how that sound ?

What should i look when selecting cichlid?

here are his add:

http://www.lespac.com/animaux/betes/mascouche/d-poisson-cichlide-africain-malawi-colore-LPaZZ23464972WWcpZZ11WWgrZZ2

http://www.lespac.com/animaux/betes/mascouche/d-poisson-cichlide-africain-et-materiel-LPaZZ23428032WWcpZZ11WWgrZZ2

http://www.lespac.com/animaux/betes/mascouche/d-poisson-cichlide-africain-LPaZZ23339245WWcpZZ11WWgrZZ2

http://www.lespac.com/animaux/betes/mascouche/d-poisson-cichlide-africain-eau-douce-et-materiel-LPaZZ23678069WWcpZZ11WWgrZZ2

[chemjab]

Re: Compared to discus ...

Africans are a lot of fun to keep. Not as beautiful as Discus, but much more active. If you really want to know about them this website is the best place to search, in my opinion.

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/index.php

James

Of course this site that we are on is the best for Discus. That goes without saying.