# Want some Dwarf Chilchids, but what kind is good?



## ZebraDanio12 (Jun 17, 2011)

Im very sick of all my guppies. The babies are getting to hard to handle. So im giving them to my lfs..I want to go chichlid. The tank is 20 gallons. So i guess they would have to be dwarf? What kinds can i keep? I'd probably get a pair, male and female. Also name the common ones. Not ordering offline  Have to find in a petstore.

I do like the looks of these:
Cich – Agassizii Double Red 
Cich – Cacatuoides Orange Flash

My lfs, just got them. Not sure if they will be there when i want to buy though. Maybe 


Also, are there any tank mates i can have with them? A couple tetras maybe? of some sort? 

Suggest away people.

I want more different fish this time.


I have 200 dollars i got for Christmas so i can do some serious damage to my tank! 

Thanks in advance.


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## mpfsr (Jun 22, 2011)

You can keep those in a 20g tank but if they spawn..the female will most likely kill the male as he will be a threat to the babies and she will not accept him being in the tank.


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## ZebraDanio12 (Jun 17, 2011)

Seriously? Wow. Howbout german bluerams? Are cichlids this way... because ni havent seen that actually


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## mpfsr (Jun 22, 2011)

You could do GBR's for sure there are other choices too. Like some Pelvicachromis taeniatus would be ok Wouri's and Moliwe are fine. just stay away from the Pelvicachromis pulcher (Krib's) they will do they same thing in that small a tank. I'm sure there are some others you could do. A 20 long would be much better.


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## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

If you have been keeping guppys, it would not be advisable to do GBRs because they are sensitive fish. Try bolivian rams. Or you could do some apistos. There are a lot out there. Key hole cichlids are cool. And my favorite cichlids, apistogramma steel blue. 
link:
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=apis...tart=0&ndsp=22&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:0&tx=83&ty=51


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## lmb (Nov 1, 2011)

I would recommend Bolivians as well..


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## blugourami1 (Oct 16, 2011)

convict cichlids?


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## ZebraDanio12 (Jun 17, 2011)

Alright. Ill look into those. How many should i keep and the female to male?


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## lmb (Nov 1, 2011)

Look into what?


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## ZebraDanio12 (Jun 17, 2011)

Bolivian rams. I also really like the looks of the moliwe(may havenspelled that nwrong)


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## Fishpunk (Apr 18, 2011)

German blue rams need pristine and perfect water conditions, including hardness and pH or they will die. Period.

Really, for a 20 gallon tank I would suggest not even trying to get more than one fish of the same species until you have a little cichlid experience under your belt. I have a 29 gallon tank with two radically different-looking apistogramma cacatuoides and a bolivian ram. They get along splendidly. 

I originally had more than one of each type of apisto, the dominant fish killed the others of their own kind. 

You may also need a small school of tetras as dithers if the cichlids are shy.


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## lmb (Nov 1, 2011)

I'm neutral about what fishpunk said about the GBRs. The hardness and pH is not a problem at all. I have successfully acclimated a pair of GBRs into a tank out of their hardness and pH range. Really you can do that with most fish because of their adaptation if you acclimate them right (Drip preferably). And they do need clean water, but not really "pristine". Yes, they are very sensitive to any trace of ammonia or nitrite, but that doesn't mean you have to add on to your maintenance schedule (Just do your regular weekly water change). And another thing is that they need a well established tank, but that's all.

As far as the Bolivians, they aren't as needy and are more hardier than the GBRs. I have also found that the Gold GBR is more hardier than the regular GBR as well.


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## Ponera (Oct 31, 2011)

If it were me, I'd put in a geophagus, 2 red rams and 2 blue rams.


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## ZebraDanio12 (Jun 17, 2011)

My tank. Is well established. I do 1-2 water changes anweek. Ph is 7.2 i belive. Ill test it again when i get home. im very good in keepingnit clean. Does that sound like good conditions? Of course ill clean it up alittle before gettingnthem. Btw my. Water is well water nso nothingnin it. Or anything... I wont get the blue rams if they arenhard... monday when i go to thenlfs ill ndecide. . Im buying on the next weekend.


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## iheartfish:) (Jan 19, 2011)

7.2 is a little on the low side for cichlids, but it would be acceptable. Convict cichlids I've heard are incredibly easy to keep, but they will spawn and will quickly become aggressive and kill off anything else in the tank because of territory issues... (that might not be the case, though). A pretty much fool-proof cichlid for a 20 gallon is any shell dweller, and they are amazing to watch. Some common ones are: N. Multifasciatus, L. Oscellatus, N. Brevis, N. Julidochromis. Another one is N. Similis, but are a bit more territorial. They could probably do well in a twenty, though. The julies too, but a twenty gallon should be plenty. 

Shell dwellers are the miracle cichlid!


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

lmb said:


> I have also found that the Gold GBR is more hardier than the regular GBR as well.


The gold ones are called German Gold Rams


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## grogan (Jan 23, 2011)

7.2 is good. German blue, Gold, Electrics, and bolivians all like a lower ph aka planted tanks. I have 2 red apistos in my tanks as well and they seem fine with my low ph.


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## ZebraDanio12 (Jun 17, 2011)

I do like the Shells. But do i need shells for them? I dont like the look of shells in a tank mixed with plants....


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## ZebraDanio12 (Jun 17, 2011)

Also i was looking at dwarf p. saulosi. Id only get 1 male and a couple females. They only get 3 inches max and aren't too aggressive and are very beautiful fish. Anybody have experience in them?


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## P.senegalus (Aug 18, 2011)

ZebraDanio12 said:


> Also i was looking at dwarf p. saulosi. Id only get 1 male and a couple females. They only get 3 inches max and aren't too aggressive and are very beautiful fish. Anybody have experience in them?


I like how P. saulosi looks too, but I don't have any experience with them yet.


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## iheartfish:) (Jan 19, 2011)

Yeah, shells are kind of a must have, but you can make a "PVC shell" (they probably would look even worse, though....) by screwing an end cap onto a PVC elbow. I think that on the contrary, shells would look great in a planted tank, but you aren't me  And anyway, they would probably uproot your plants while digging...


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

I hadn't heard of "dwarf "saulosi. My pseudotropheus saulosi are 4-5", not counting the tail. Like most true psuedotropeus, they stay smaller than the Maylandia/Metriaclima, but they are aggressive and you will eventually want a 4' long tank for a harem (1 male + as many females as you can find). Mine are in a 70. They need hard alkaline water and should have plenty of hiding places. IME they are bigger and less shy than P. demasoni And less aggressive and smaller than the more common M. lombardoi (Kenyi). A good "starter" mbuna, but still a mbuna with space needs. I wouldn't put them in 'dwarf cichlids'.

The natural habitat is rocks, but they don't mind java fern, but they will clip it if gets in their way. Because you can tie it something, it's less likely to end up floating than plants buried in the substrate which will be dug up.


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## ZebraDanio12 (Jun 17, 2011)

Well I went to m lfs today and decided on rams. Dunno out of all the many kinds they have which i will pick. But the lady said yes, they are sensitive, but my water (after describing it to her) is perect for them. Of course ill bring in a sample before just to make sure. So im getting a pair of them and a school or pearl danios which i was VERY surprised they had so many of. Im getting the pearls this Saturday and taking the guppies back. The rams ill pick after the pearls are settled in...

i also got lots of plants for the tank today too.


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## Fishpunk (Apr 18, 2011)

iheartfish:) said:


> Yeah, shells are kind of a must have, but you can make a "PVC shell" (they probably would look even worse, though....) by screwing an end cap onto a PVC elbow. I think that on the contrary, shells would look great in a planted tank, but you aren't me  And anyway, they would probably uproot your plants while digging...


This is exactly how I make breeding caves for my desert gobies, except I use a straight segment instead of an elbow.


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## ZebraDanio12 (Jun 17, 2011)

Fishpunk said:


> This is exactly how I make breeding caves for my desert gobies, except I use a straight segment instead of an elbow.


Kind of a cool way to do it  Going for the plantd look though. In the future id like to do something different like that.


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## Fishpunk (Apr 18, 2011)

The first time my gobies spawned, they used a cave formed by some rocks, ignoring the pvc altogether. Fortunately, I happened to silicone the rocks together so I was able to move the entire cave. That's the main reason for the PVC, easy to move the eggs to the hatching tank. (Males protect the eggs but eat the fry when they hatch.)


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## iheartfish:) (Jan 19, 2011)

Haha, MEN.


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