# Newbie needing community suggestions...New direction



## Hippie (Jun 16, 2009)

Hello, I'm a huge animal lover and once i get my rent paid and such obligations out of the way, I'm thinking I'm going to set up a cichlid tank. First off, I'm going with either a 28 or 32 gallon tank and I Don't know what to put in it, i was thinking probably a couple peacocks and a school of little fish... other than that I don't have any idea what I want because i don't really know a whole lot about which fish can go in together and diets and aggression levels and such...

so if you can I would love some suggestions and tips from all of you who are experienced.

if you don't think peacocks are a good idea feel free to suggest others I don't know how many you pros would suggest in a 32 gallon (at the store we go by the old "one gallon per inch of fish" deal, haha) I want something colorful, i was also considering parrot cichlids or red tiger oscars.

Much appreciated
:thumb:

*note: with dark fish I'd like a light color school and light fish-dark color school.

Thank You Thank You Thank You!


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## LDNunez (Jun 14, 2009)

"Couple of Peacocks"
29 or 32 tanks aren't big enough for peacocks :-?

Oscars get huge bro :-?

try getting some smallers cihclids rusty cichlids are pretty coold and stay small :fish:


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## jack lover (Aug 12, 2008)

3 yellow labs would work


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## Hippie (Jun 16, 2009)

poo...

so if i wanted 2 parrots, peacocks or tiger oscars along with a small school (I'll scrap that idea if i have to i suppose) and maybe a chinese algae eater or pleco... what size tank will I want to get?

also, would 2 yellow labs and a school of something(suggestions?) be possible?


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## Hippie (Jun 16, 2009)

or what about angels? i'd be ok with an angel tank


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## kodyboy (Dec 9, 2007)

how about a colony of around 12 saulosi? Beautiful fish. Check out the 2006 tank of the month "saulosi social colony".....really nice.


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## Hippie (Jun 16, 2009)

oh, they are really nice, I'll definitely consider that.

I'd still like to know what size tank i would need for 2 parrots, peacocks or tiger oscars. I want happy healthy fish, I love taking care of my pets. I just don't have the money (well i do but then all my money will be gone...) to go out and buy a huge tank and stand, huge filter, huge heater etc etc.

Is that kind of understandable?


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## xalow (May 10, 2007)

For a single oscar people debate whether or not a 55 or 75 gallon tank is the minimum.

Peacocks do well in 55 gallons, but would not mix with oscars.

Try looking through the cookie cutter suggestions to get an idea of what would work in different sized tanks: http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/q ... e_list.php

A pair of angelfish would work in the tank sizes you mentioned above if the tanks are tall enough.

2 Yellow labs with a school would be a bad idea. Yellow labs do best in groups and would destroy most smaller schooling fish.

A pair of these would work with a school: http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/s ... php?id=141


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## Hippie (Jun 16, 2009)

throw as many suggestions as possible, i know the size is very limiting.

and someone suggested a colony of around 12 saulosi... it sounds really nice, but what are some other types i may be able to put in with those to add variety?

so i was tetering between that idea or a pair of angels setup described here: http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/c ... er_29g.php

any suggestions would be apreciated. I promise I'll be a good learner and when i DO decide i will care for the fish exceptionally well... I'm not some stupid kid who wants a pretty fish tank. I actually am really interested and think it would be a good place to start learning. I just don't have the extra money for like a 75 gallon tank, i have to pay rent.


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## Hippie (Jun 16, 2009)

are there any other fish i could put in with the saulosis to add color? like if i did... say, 12 fish of that size or similar, maybe 3 or 4 blue, 3 or 4 yellow, and then 4 or 5 of another kind of fish. I really like colors which is why I'm asking... and why it's hard to decide weather i want that kind of setup or the angel setup, because apart from getting koi angels (which i don't really like, or getting colorful tetras and/or cory's or other bottom feeders... which I'm seeing might be a better fit...

I just want something that's really nice to look at...


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## xalow (May 10, 2007)

With a tank of that size you wouldn't be able to have more than 2 species of African cichlids without much difficulty. Saulosi wouldn't treat corys or tetras very well, neither would most closely related species.

I like saulosi because the males are the blue/darkblue striped while females have a nice mango color so its like two colors of fish for the price of one species.

For that sized tank people sometimes also suggest Cynotalipia afra though the females are not very colorful.

Here is kind of a different suggestion, not very common but full of color: http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/p ... cholsi.php

Aside from color what sort of things do you think are nice to look at? There are a lot of Tanganyikan cichlids that would work in a tank that size but I believe they need suitably hard and alkaline water.


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## hollyfish2000 (Aug 23, 2007)

You don't offer the dimensions of your tank, but generally speaking a 30-gallon makes a great planted tank for dwarf South Americans (I know, not what you were thinking, necessarily). The planted aspect gives you a whole different area to learn about and I'm crazy mad about my apistos, especially my borelli pair. Just a thought . . .


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## Hippie (Jun 16, 2009)

would the Tanganyikan cichlids be very difficult to care for, I'm open to any suggestions.. i know aquariums take work.

well I love color, the Saulosi seem like the best idea so far, my fiance doesn't really like the angelfish idea because there's not much color, and he really likes the saulosi because he tought they were salt water when i first showed him because of the colors and the water looking really clear (he doesn't know a lot about fish though)

anything that is visually attractive, I work at a pet store ( not one of those big chains!) and i LOVE watching the fish we have, there's a 120 i believe and there's a pair of firemouths that spawned and now they're driving everyone out of that corner (it's covered by a big skeleton that's about 14 year old size  and rocks, so it's their little love cave... hopefully some survive but there's a shovelnose in there who's quite the little sneak.

anyway, basically color is what I'm looking for, and i'm not **** bent on having tetras or corys, that's just an idea for if i only had a pair of angels or something small... not for the saulosi. I just wanted to know if there was any other closely related species would do well with the saulosis you said no more than 2 species without difficulty, what 2 species could you reccomend or other species that may do ok with saulosi?

thanks for all your help by the way :thumb:


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## Hippie (Jun 16, 2009)

could you possibly give me some examples of colorful dwarf south americans? and types of plants

(and possibly some pictues of what these type tanks look like?)

thanks


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## xalow (May 10, 2007)

Hippie said:


> a big skeleton that's about 14 year old size


I am unbearably curious about that.

Back to your question.
A trio of Labidochromis caeruleus like *jack lover* suggested is all I would put with saulosi in that sized tank. Here is their profile: http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/s ... php?id=713

They get kind of large though, I have seen big ones and its hard to imagine them in a tank like that, yet its often suggested. Water changes would have to be done liberally with that many fish. LAbidochromis caeruleus are peaceful, but its hard to find a pure strain that hasn't been hybridized which can make them much meaner.

I don't know how difficult Tanganyikans are.[/quote]


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## Darkside (Feb 6, 2008)

Tangs aren't anymore difficult than fish from Malawi, they just prefer more space.


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## Hippie (Jun 16, 2009)

i found in the cookie cutter section that zebra obliquidens can also go with saulosis, it was in a large tank but it was in bigger numbers...

so... how does this sound:

6 saulosi and 2-4 zebra obliquidens?
OR
6 saulosi and 3 yellow labs

let me know what you think... more, less, totally out of the question, etc.


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## hollyfish2000 (Aug 23, 2007)

South American dwarfs would include apistos, blue rams, Bolivian rams and a few others. They are good in pairs (blue rams) or harems (apistos and Bolivians). They are small, but colorful and full of personality. They go well with tetras; my favorite is a school of rummynose tetras, but there are many other choices. (I recommend the smaller tetras so they don't loom over the dwarf cichlids.) I also have a school of cories with my dwarves and a BN pleco. South Americans can be sensitive to water quality, so you have to be meticulous in your maintenance. I believe the Bolivians are a bit more easy-going in that regard but I don't personally have them.

Very good plants include:

Amazon swords
vals
crypts
java fern
anubias

All of these are relatively easy to grow and do not require high light. You do need a suitable plant-growing light with enough watts and, if you're really into it, a pressurized C02 system, although that is not necessary. I know many on this forum have so-called "low light" set-ups and they could advise you. Mine is 3 WPG and thus considered a bit toward "higher light" and I do use C02. I ventured into plants because I dislike the look of plastic plants and because I enjoyed the challenge. It is also wonderful to create a beautiful "indoor garden."

I don't have any photos at this point. I'm terrible at underwater photography . ..


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## Hippie (Jun 16, 2009)

thanks so much! i think I like the idea of a planted tank!

also, i think the ones we have at work are gold rams... are they suitable?

and how many dwarfs could I put in a 29 or 32 gallon with a school of... i think black neon tetras are my favourite... ?


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## howajj (Apr 8, 2009)

have you ever thought about daffadil brichardis...they get about 3-4 inches long have wonderful long flowing tails, a hint of yellow color and live in the wild in cramped colonies numbering in the thousands. it would be a species tank but you could fit a bunch in there and they are very pretty. with a power head they would school and swim in place right in the middle of your tank


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