# Which Chilid is for me?



## blcknwitecuban (Apr 17, 2006)

I was thinking about raising chilids but i was wondering a few things about South American ones and those from Africa... Which grow larger? Which are friendlier? Which have more personality? What are some good choices? And which kind should i buy and why?


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## Georgia Peach (Sep 23, 2005)

There are very few cichlids that you can keep in tanks smaller than a 55 gal - what size tank do you have??


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## blcknwitecuban (Apr 17, 2006)

i have a 20g


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## Jojo (Apr 11, 2006)

I would go african because south american get to big.


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## Osiris (Jan 18, 2005)

Umm, yellow labs i suppose be good for a 20g. but with a 20g i'd go route of things like the Rams, Blue/german Rams. Their awesome colors.


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## blcknwitecuban (Apr 17, 2006)

ok. but what about personality?


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## Fishboy93 (Jun 11, 2005)

With a 20 gallon you could do: 
Rams(bolivian,german blue)
Kribs
Apistogramma sp.
Golden Dwarf Cichlids(N. Anomala)


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Pick your cichlid based on the pH of your water. Fishboys suggestions all fine for neutral or acid, but if your pH is 8 or more look at small tanginilkans. All cichlids have great personality and great parental behavior


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## Cichlid Man (Jan 19, 2005)

You can't say weather south american or african cichlids are larger, you can get giants and dwarfs from both regions, and dwarfs is what I'd recommend. 
If your water pH is soft-neutral, then go with Fishboys selection. If your pH is more alkaline then go with the tanganyikan shellies. I wouldn't recomend malawis for a 20g, they're too large and aggressive.


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## ultasol (Mar 12, 2006)

First, what PH/gh/kh conditions do you have out of the tap? That will really help in deciding which cichlid selection to keep.

I'm fond of german blues and the pelvicachromis species.... but they do like softer water/lower gh/kh than comes out of my tap. This means I take extra measures to insure their happiness, which can be a pain in the butt (use partial RO water, filter with peat, injet co2, etc....)


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