# 37 cichlid tank?



## Citrusburst (Jan 25, 2013)

i would like to have cichlids, so my question is, what can i put in a 37 gallon tank?

i may breed them and also if i breed a fish i have someone to take most of the fry, id keep some for myself

thanks for any help

dimensions are 30x24x12 i think


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

37G tanks are usually 30" long x 12" wide x 22" high. It is preferred to have a larger footprint, i.e., long and wide, rather than tall.

It is still possible to keep some smaller cichlids in that size tank but that will depend on the species and stocking levels.

Are there any particular fish that you are interested in?


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## alfafoxtrotvictor (Jan 24, 2013)

I'm interested in this too. I've got a 37g hex with 6 juvenile Mbunas.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

30" rectangle I'd go with brichardi species tank.

37G hex probably does not have enough length in any direction to do a lot with Africans...maybe shellies?

There are cichlids from other continents that may fit the hex.


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## Citrusburst (Jan 25, 2013)

i like fish with massive personalities like bettas and cichlids. ones that will re decorate if they dont like a certain things and also recognize me.

super colorfull fish are not a must have for me....so anything will do as long as its active and doesnt hide all day


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

You just described the brichardi, LOL.


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## Citrusburst (Jan 25, 2013)

i did a little research on them and well how do i maintain 8.6ph and my water isnt very hard
n
currently my water ph is steady at 7.2 and my water is a little hard but not very hard


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Are you looking for softer water options?

If you want to go with the Africans...measure your KH. You can add baking soda to bump it up a little, but 7.8 is good enough, you don't need to go all the way to 8.6.


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## Citrusburst (Jan 25, 2013)

i would like to have something that will live fine in the water i have. i work a lot and can't keep exact close eye on the perameters


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

What is the KH of your water now?


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## Mschn99 (Dec 24, 2012)

Citrusburst said:


> i would like to have something that will live fine in the water i have. i work a lot and can't keep exact close eye on the perameters


Then you should probably look more into a small south american species, because 7.2 is going to be too low for africans.


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## Citrusburst (Jan 25, 2013)

hardness as of right now is 120 according to my test. and looks like i have a little ammonia so ill be doing a water change in a little bit.


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## metricliman (Sep 3, 2012)

Mschn99 said:


> Citrusburst said:
> 
> 
> > i would like to have something that will live fine in the water i have. i work a lot and can't keep exact close eye on the perameters
> ...


I would disagree. I keep all of my Africans in 7.4, I also know a guy who has discus and brichardi in a 125, the brichardi are actively breeding.


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## Citrusburst (Jan 25, 2013)

how would blue rams do in my current setup? they seem to be amazing fish


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## Mschn99 (Dec 24, 2012)

metricliman said:


> Mschn99 said:
> 
> 
> > Citrusburst said:
> ...


I knew discus liked lower PH but I would assume a 37 gallon would be too small for discus, although i dont know much about them and there may be smaller species.

I also should have said unless there is a tang that will do OK as *** never kept them to know the difference. Fronts and probably calvus will be my first after i get my fishroom set up so i can free up my 220.

I can say with my malawi and vic's though, i have seen first hand with a friend that tried to get some of my fish to work in water that was 7.2-7.4 and he had troubles. The fish were not very active and did not seem happy. He got his water buffered to 7.8 in the same tank and once it got to 7.6 the fish were like whole new fish.

I was also taking into account that he wanted fish that didn't require as much maintenance and care. When i kept south americans i found they did quite well with bi-weekly water changes and the changes did not have to be near as big. I experimented with bi-weekly with my africans for a couple water changes and the nitrates skyrocketed and the fish were scratching on the rocks a lot. Everyone's experiences are different though.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I like to try to match the fish to the parameters when possible. I think 7.8 would be good and even 7.6 would be OK but lower I would start to want to bump it up a little for Rift Lakes.

I think rams want lower pH than 7.2 which is even harder to accomplish.

If it were a 40" tank I'd suggest Jewels...but the articles say 40" minimum.


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