29 gallon Cichlid tank

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Discuss all topics related to freshwater and planted tanks.


janus
 
Posts: 23
Joined: Thu Jan 24, 2008 2:47 pm

29 gallon Cichlid tank

by janus

Hi,
I need your help again. My friend wants to set up a 29 gallon African Cichlid tank. Which species would you recommend? Full scientific name would be appreciated. Thanks in advance. j


miami754
 
Posts: 373
Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2008 9:18 am

by miami754

Well, you are going to be somewhat limited with Africans in that small of tank. A 55 is generall considered the minimum due to the crazy aggression of these guys. I have seen it done though as long as you are very careful about your male:female ratio. If you put two males of one species in that small of a tank, you are doomed to have one of them die. Also not enough females and the few you have will get chased to death. You are generally going to want a 3:1 female to male ratio if you end up keeping something like mbunas from Lake Malawi. I can't really recommend keeping these though as they may very well result in disaster in that small of a tank. If you really want these then tell us that and we can talk. My sister-in-law actually has a 29 gallon with some mbunas, but you have to do some very specific things.

One possible alternative is to go with the more peaceful tanganyikan shell-dwellers. You can google shell-dwelling cichlids and see a whole bunch of cichlids. They need less space and are much less aggressive. They each pick out a shell at the bottom and live in it. Therefore, you will have to provide them with alot of shells. Many people love these as they have tons of personality.

Apistogrammas are used in smaller tanks alot, but they are cichlids from South America. It is an option though. You can google Dwarf cichlids to get an idea of these guys and other dwarf cichlid from Africa and South America.

Also, you could try peacocks. They are less aggressive than say the mbunas. Google peacock cichlids and look at all of the different species. There are a billion of them and most of them have really, really bright colors. Peacock tanks can look very cool. You need to research which ones you like first from pictures and then ask back here. We can tell you if they will get to big or are too territorial as there is some variance in this group.

Hopefully this helped.


Poetic_Irony2267
 
Posts: 297
Joined: Fri Aug 10, 2007 8:42 pm

by Poetic_Irony2267

i agree with miami, do not keep mbunas, in a tank that small, if your friend really wants cichlids tell him to save the extra cash and go for a 55 gal. it's well worth the extra expense in the long run. less fish stress, less fish death, the "german rams" gold and blue phases will do alright in a tank that small and you can keep several of them but the water quality has to be near perfect. they are a picky variety. i saw a really neat planted setup with the appistgrammas cacatuoides a little while back, your friend will end up spending a bit more cash on these as they are more rare, but the color is out of this world on these little guys. rams can be kept together however you want atleast 2 f to 1 m ratio in the tank as this will keep disputes amongst these little guys to a minimum, they generally do not get any bigger than two inches in length. if your friend wants african south american cichlids of larger groups.... it means a larger tank, and i mean the largest you can afford. they will not tolerate to cramped of a space and they will be unhappy and will die. i think miami will agree with me on this one, cichlids need space, and plenty of it, they also need hiding spots and plenty of them which means that you need to set up a cave or cove system in the tank, remember the more rock or wood you put in the tank the more you diminish the gallon capacity as these take up water space, and your water volume decreases.

hope this helps,
Brandon


janus
 
Posts: 23
Joined: Thu Jan 24, 2008 2:47 pm

by janus

Two words: shell-dwellers. Thank you guys for talking me out of this madness. I always knew it wasn't right, but I wanted to hear it from experts. We start the set up this weekend we will go with eight Neolamprologus multifasciatus. I've done some research on these little ones and most people say they are hardy enough for beginners.

Brandon Apistogramma Cacatuoides is one of my favorite fish but my friend doesn’t want much plants and driftwood. He likes stones and white sand. We can't go with bigger tank either 'cause he has only limited space.

Will post pictures soon.

Thanks again. j


Poetic_Irony2267
 
Posts: 297
Joined: Fri Aug 10, 2007 8:42 pm

by Poetic_Irony2267

best of luck, i hope it all turns out well, the neolamprologus are great fish and the multifasciatus are perfect for a beginner, although he may want to in the future look into the neolamprologus brichardi, they are absolutely beautifuly colored fish with super long lyrtail fins and are a super brilliant centerpiece fish, hardy enough as long as the aggression is kept to a minimum in the tank as they are a more peaceful fish, some of the breeds of the brichardi come in diff color phases my favorite i would have to say is the marigold. but that's just personal preference.
again best of luck, i hope all turns out well!!
Brandon


janus
 
Posts: 23
Joined: Thu Jan 24, 2008 2:47 pm

by janus

Thanks Brandon. We will think about Bichardi once the tank is running smoothly. We will put lot of shells in one corner for the Multifasciatus and we'll place a big stone somewhere near the middle to divide the thank and give territory for another species. Maybe a pair of Bichardi or Julidochromis Marlieri. We are not sure yet. I’ll let you know!

Thanks again Brandon and Robert you have been great!!! j


sheila4513
 
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Jan 28, 2008 9:37 pm

by sheila4513

i have adult mbunas and i had brichardi in with them but when the brichardi started breeding they got so agressive they beat up my mbunas even my zebras.they are fiercely protective of their young. they don't just have them and desert them ,they all stay a famly and keep breeding til the take up the territory of the whole tank.. anyway that was my experience with them so i took them to the lfs.


sashasuman
 
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Dec 17, 2014 9:14 am

Re: 29 gallon Cichlid tank

by sashasuman

sometimes the seam quality is just not up to snuff http://www.testking.net/testking-HP2-B109.htm is the tank loaded evenly? {do you have a lot of weight on one area.

29 gallon Cichlid tank

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