[tactrunkmonkey]

Hello, I've had a recent interest in restarting my fishkeeping hobby. I have had some prior experience with freshwater fish, had a tank for about two years after becoming too busy to care properly for my fish. Now I have more time, and money, and I would like to start up a Cichlid tank, but I need some help, as I have only had a freshwater tank before. What I am mainly pondering is, what is the main difference between freshwater fish and Cichlids, and how do their needs and wants differ? How are the tank setups different from one another? Are Cichlids harder to maintain then freshwater fish, or are they about the same difficulty? Is a 25 Gallon Tall Tank a sufficient size to keep Cichlids, or do I need a bigger tank?

 

[Chris2500DK]

Cichlids are fresh water fish.

That being said, there are so many different kinds of cichlids with different requirements and needs, you can't just say "cichlids need this and that" as a generalisation.

You should read some of the excellent species articles here on this site. Your 25 gallon tank would be suitable for the smaller Lake Tanganyika cichlids or some of the small South American cichlids like the Apistogramma species. Start reading about those and then branch out.

 

[tactrunkmonkey]

I understand that Cichlids are freshwater fish, but don't they need a higher pH, or something along that nature? If so, how would I raise the pH level of my water?

 

[CICHLUDED]

Hi tactrunkmonkey,

Water parameters all depend on what cichlids you choose to keep..

Have you tested the chemistry of your tap water, and if so what are the reading…
GH:
KH:
PH:

With your size tank, you are limited in what you can successfully keep in it…

What are the dimensions of your 25g?

.

 

[tactrunkmonkey]

I only have the test kit for pH, and my LFS doesn't test for gH or kH, but my pH is 6.8, and my tank dimensions are:

24"L x 12"W x 19"H

Is this a good list to look at, or should I be looking at the 29 Gallon list?

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/cookie_cutter_20g.php

 

[CICHLUDED]

When dealing with cichlids, tank capacity is not as important as the foot print of the tank.

The foot print of your tank is actually closer to a 10g (20â€

 

[alicem]

How about some South American dwarf cichlids like Apistogramma.
There are tons of varieties so you should be able to find some locally.
Apistos look really nice in planted tanks and live in a lower pH so there's no
fussing around with chemicals etc.

hth
Alicem

 

[tactrunkmonkey]

I would prefer to not have to deal with pH issues, so are there any cichlids that live in a pH around 7.0? That way I won't have to worry about chemicals, or that I have to keep consistant track of pH...

 

[alicem]

How about some South American dwarf cichlids like Apistogramma.
Apistos look really nice and prefer to live in a lower pH like the 7.0 pH you have, so
there's no fussing around with chemicals etc.
Plus they are small and would fit nicely in your aquarium.
Most African cichlids would prefer a higher pH like 8.0.
hth