I would go with an all male peacock and hap tank. They are very pretty which your daughters would like i am sure. You could get quite a few species and if none of them look too much alike they will always be colored. It may get kind of pricey buying colored up peacocks but you may be able to get some partially colored up. That will be a very fun project indeed :thumb:
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why the fixation with african cichlids? malawi are so boring once you get past their color. i have over 20 aquarium in my house, and the one that catches interest, from all those under the age of 10, is a lightly planted tank shared by a small group of aequidens atabapo, some bright orange swordtails, and a few fancy plecos.
aequidens hide-but cannot resist their own curiosity to peek out at viewers, they secure a 'house' (a broken ceramic pot nestled among plants work well) to have babies, the eggs, wrigglers, and free swimmers are all available for viewing as they mature, and the pair work together as 'mom and dad' to protect their spawn as they venture into the 'big world'. this type of parental show goes on for over a month. now, doesn't that sound like fun for someone under the age of 6? IMHO.
aequidens hide-but cannot resist their own curiosity to peek out at viewers, they secure a 'house' (a broken ceramic pot nestled among plants work well) to have babies, the eggs, wrigglers, and free swimmers are all available for viewing as they mature, and the pair work together as 'mom and dad' to protect their spawn as they venture into the 'big world'. this type of parental show goes on for over a month. now, doesn't that sound like fun for someone under the age of 6? IMHO.
pretty much 'anything green' feeds on nitrates. remember that when algae shows up. for a first tank, or one that involves the assistance of young helpers, i would suggest some easy, low light plants like anubia and java fern. they can be attached to sunken wood and/or rockwork with a light wrapping of string. by the time the string breaks down, your plants will have attached themselves with root development. the nice thing about these types of plants, is that they do not get buried in substrate. keeping the substrate shallow, helps to reduce accumulation of debris within it. planting requires deep substrate and adds to the labor required (as Laurel cautioned previously). some light fertilizing is required to help any plant grow well. i feed my planted tanks just a few teaspoons each week.
the cardinal tetra is a bit hardier than the neon, IME. either way, picking tank mates will require some attentive homework, because they are both tempting food for many other fish. a school of 20-30 would be quite impressive, though.
(p.s.--with regard to ph: although some will not breed, if the water is too far off their origin, most all fish will acclimate nicely to a consistent 7.5 ph.) HTH.
for a first tank, or one that involves the assistance of young helpers, i would suggest some easy, low light plants like anubia and java fern. they can be attached to sunken wood and/or rockwork with a light wrapping of string. by the time the string breaks down, your plants will have attached themselves with root development. the nice thing about these types of plants, is that they do not get buried in substrate. keeping the substrate shallow, helps to reduce accumulation of debris within it. planting requires deep substrate and adds to the labor required (as Laurel cautioned previously). some light fertilizing is required to help any plant grow well. i feed my planted tanks just a few teaspoons each week.the cardinal tetra is a bit hardier than the neon, IME. either way, picking tank mates will require some attentive homework, because they are both tempting food for many other fish. a school of 20-30 would be quite impressive, though.
(p.s.--with regard to ph: although some will not breed, if the water is too far off their origin, most all fish will acclimate nicely to a consistent 7.5 ph.) HTH.
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