# Are Cichlid's really more difficult to maintain than more co



## PepsiMax (Apr 4, 2014)

Are Cichlid's really more difficult to maintain than more common community fish ?

I'm just in the thinking planning stage, but came across one "cookie cutter" set-up that has piqued my interest as being a starting point.

BUT - I've never had cichlids, always steered away from them as I knew nothing about them.

The cookie-cutter set-up is 
4x Angelfish (but I think I'd only like 2)
4x Bolivian Ram
8x Lemon Tetra 
2x Otocinclus
6x Corydora

I'm looking for stocking ideas, and would like to use a pair of angels as my "centerpiece" so to speak.

Tank is 75g.

It is going to be a while before I add ANY fish, so I'm not making any snap decisions at all.

Any input is appreciated.

Thank you.


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## MizOre (Sep 20, 2013)

Depends on the cichlids and whether they're leading fry or not. Most of the difficulties in a community tank come from the cichlids deciding to breed. The other is pecking order aggression. Third is eating smaller fish. The list above would be all fish from similar water. The advantage of more than a couple of any cichlid is that they have more mate choice and all one male's attention isn't on just one female. The advantage of that set-up is that the two cichlid species occupy different levels of the tank.


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## PepsiMax (Apr 4, 2014)

I'm starting with Angels. Hoping to NOT have much in the line of fry, unless there is something I can add to the tank that will eat most/all of them !

I simply do not have the spare tanks to grow-out fry.


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## MizOre (Sep 20, 2013)

Leave the fry in the tank. Either they'll get eaten when the parents spawn again, or the Lemon Tetras will snag some. Having fry to tend also delays the next breeding cycle. Once they're bigger, about the size of a dime in body for the angels, you can see if your local aquarium store will buy them.


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## pablo111 (Dec 10, 2013)

When I had breeding angels in a community they used to always spawn on broad leaved plants in the aquarium. I'd just put the leaf with the eggs on it in a plastic bag (while getting my hand bitten by the parents), shake the eggs into the bag, and then feed them to the tetras in the tank. This way I prevented aggression from getting too bad in the tank. I would remove the eggs as soon as I saw them.

Your aquarium is big enough that with a pair of angels spawning, the other fish could be far enough away from them so as to alleviate any major attacks by the angels. Bolivian Rams will probably spawn too and they don't defend a huge area when they spawn so that should be ok. Same thing, just vaccuum the eggs up and feed them to the tetras.

I would suggest larger schools of tetras and corys than what is in the cookie cutter. Also, I like the look of bleeding heart tetras more than I do lemon tetras but it's up to you.
I'd go with 12-15 tetras and 8-10 corys personally.


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## PepsiMax (Apr 4, 2014)

Do corydoras eat algae ?

If not, what would be a decent algae eater to add to the tank ?


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## pablo111 (Dec 10, 2013)

Siamese algae eaters, bushynose pleco. No cory that I know of eats algae.


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## Mr Chromedome (Feb 12, 2013)

The Otocinclus in the cookie cutter list are great algae eaters. However, I would never stock just two of them. They prefer to be in groups, and since they stay relatively small you could do 6-8 easily.


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## PepsiMax (Apr 4, 2014)

Okay - corydora are scavengers then.

I'm still learning.

I adore busynose pleco's too, and cory's are fun to watch.


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## pablo111 (Dec 10, 2013)

Bushynose plecos are great IMO. They are almost always less shy than other small plecos. They're not as fearless as common, sailfin, and gibbiceps plecos but they're close. I love corys too. I may add them to my next project.
While corys are "scavengers" that doesn't mean you don't have to feed them. They consume a fairly significant amount of food and need their own targeted feedings.


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## PepsiMax (Apr 4, 2014)

Of course, pablo.

The pleco I used to have got fed specifically as well (he was a big common - a good 10" long before tail) !


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