# New 32/36 gallon new cichlid tank



## sharad (Jul 3, 2011)

Hi all,
i am new to fishkeeping hobby and want to start with cichlid, Can anyone suggest what will be good for me.
Consider me having zero knowledge...(want to gain before i setup and be responsible fish keeper)
Tank - 32-36 gallon tanl bow type with b wheel filter and under gravel filter.
Open to all sugesstion.
Let me what decoration or habitat that needs to be done.
Prefer plastic/silk plants


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## sharad (Jul 3, 2011)




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## sharad (Jul 3, 2011)

i think nobody is with any suggestions or not interested.


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## dillon0990 (Jun 11, 2011)

Hey Trust me there are people on here who are interested. I have learned that this forum gets really busy in the night time.

I am a kinda new person to fish keeping as well. *** learned a lot from people on here.

For your tank you would probably have to look toward more dwarf mbuna. My cichlids are coming in the mail sometime next week. Im getting rusties, yellow labs and Fuelleborn. To be honest im not too sue the max size of fish you should have in a tank of that size but rusty cichlids would definitly work and maybe saulosi. Both of those species are really neat looking cichlids and dont grow as big. rusties max out around 4 inches and i think saulosi is like 5 in.

You will want to use sand as your substrate. Cichlids love digging in sand. You will also need to do rock structures so that the fish have places to hide. From what i understand plants are not in lake malawi where mbuna cichlids are from. That doesnt mean you cant use plants thought its just about your taste. Drift wood can also look really neat.

Get rid of the under gravel filter. They are out dated and really are of no help. With how the cichlids love digging in the sand they will just keep uncovering it. These can also hold waste under them and can make a pain for cleaning.

Good luck. How do you plan on cycling your tank?


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## mccluggen (Jul 5, 2008)

There are also a lot of options available with some Tanganyikans. A tank that size would be perfect for a colony of daffodils (Neolamprologus pulcher) or some shelldwellers and a pair or trio of julies or calvus.

Also I'd second the advice to be patient, this site gets a lot more traffic weekday nights as opposed to weekend mornings here in the states :thumb:


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## sharad (Jul 3, 2011)

one more doubt, as per the above mentioned, if i keep a pair of any cichlid, will they not breed.
I am new to fish tank and do not want there babies in tank.... any all malle type cant be done.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

sharad said:


> i think nobody is with any suggestions or not interested.


Holiday weekend here. 

Start with the cookie cutter suggestions. I'd also suggest tanganyikans. Just add rocks/shells, depending on species selected. They make for a very nice first tank.

You'll probably be best off removing the UGF and replacing with a bit of sand as suggested previously.

Post back once you've checked out the fish suggestions if you have specific questions.


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## sharad (Jul 3, 2011)

Good size to start, just make sure you do a lot of research into water chemistry, cycling etc.

1) tropical is pretty easy just a tad more specifiic in terms of chemistry depending on the fish

You could do asian fish:
- a few dwarf gouramis
- a school of harliquin rasbora
- a group of cherry barbs
- a school of kuhlii loaches (sand bottom for digging)
- java fern and java moss for plants attached to rocks
- slightley acid water

OR:

small South American community:
- a school or two of tetras (whatever type you like)
- a group of corydoras (they really like a sand bottom for digging)
- a few dwarf cichlids, (lots of options, a tri of apistogramma, a pair of blue rams, or dwarf flag cichlids, or easy than blue rams would be bolivian butterfly cichlids)
- a bristlenose catfish
- lots of drift wood, amazon swords, mosses and plants
- slightley acid water, blue rams like quite acid water though

OR:

west african community
- a pair of kribensis cichlids or lionhead cichlids (can be quite agressive when breeding so I wouldn't put any other bottom dwellers in there)
- A school of congo tetra (an african tetra, bigger and really pretty. 
- Once again lots of drift wood, anubias (african plant going with theme) and maybe be some smooth river rocks for a river theme
- slightley acid water

OR:
Livebearer community:
- platties
- guppies
- mollies (ideally need a bit of salt)
- plants and what not, they're not to fussed. 
- pH slightly above 7

OR:
A single pair of cichlids:
- firemouths
- jewel
-convicts
-sand for them to dig, maybe some anubias for a tough plant, some branchs, river rocks
- just the pair because they get bigger
- pretty tolerent of pH especially convicts
- when breeding can be hard to get rid of fry

OR:
African cichlids
- A small group of something compatible, research would need to be done into this a lot
- High pH, alkaline
- sandy bottom
- lots of white rock

**************************************Ã¢â‚¬Â¦
Don't go discus the tank is too small. I've suggested just some tanks I like but you can mix it around for what you like, my suggestions are quite specific because it's how I think fish should be kept. As for crowding, it depends on your filter as well. If you have a good external you can keep more fish but obviously you can't go overboard, there's no exact measure.

Hope that helps.


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## sharad (Jul 3, 2011)

this is what one had suggested.
Please help in this regard


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

> this is what one had suggested.


Who suggested??


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## sharad (Jul 3, 2011)

one of my friend


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## kopite (May 16, 2011)

If you're worried about breeding, then jewels would not be a good idea. I've had breeding pairs of jewels and every 4 or 5 weeks they would breed. Gorgeous fish in breeding colors, but they breed like bunnies (actually a lot worse with up to 500 eggs in one go).


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