# 40g Cichlid Tank?



## OceanInspired (Jul 12, 2009)

Hi all! 
I just recently purchased a 40g with the intention of keeping German Blue Rams in it & then I realized my water is very hard!

Chlorine : 0 
Hardness: between 150 and 300 
KH: Not sure? I'm guessing somewhere between 120 - 300 
(I'm using test strips. The pad turned light blue but there is no light blue on the comparison chart. Only yellows and greens.) 
pH: 8.4

After reading up on fish that thrive in hard water the most common kind I found were in the cichlid family. My question is, what fish can I keep in a 40g that is also good with my water? Also, I'd prefer to have a multiple species tank but if I can't get around that I'll get over it. 
My ideal tank is active & colorful.

Thanks in advance.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

What are the dimensions of your 40G? Malawi and Tanganyikans like that pH, but the tank size will limit what you can keep.


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

Central Americans cichlids would also do well, ie rainbows, convicts, firemouths.


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## OceanInspired (Jul 12, 2009)

Thanks for the suggestion! I've been reading up on the Lake Tanganyikan species & I found some fish that really interesting and seem to find my setup (but I'm relatively new at this). 
What do you think about these: 
Lemon Cichlid 
Calvus Cichlid 
Congo Blackfin

Another Cichlid that I really like and is relatively small is the Peacock. 
Also, would the Cuckoo catfish work with a Lake Tanganyikan or Malawi setup? 
If you have personal experience with any of these I'd love to hear your opinions.



> What are the dimensions of your 40G?


It is 36in long and about 16in tall.

Thanks!


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

If you go Tangs a Calvus/shellie combo works in a 36" tank. I had Calvus/Caudopunctatus for a while. I might avoid lemon cichlid (leleupi) in a 36" tank unless you will have them in there alone.

If you go Malawi peacocks, you would only choose a small, peaceful peacock like Baenschi and have one male and four/five females.

For Malawi mbuna, single species dwarf mbuna only. A dozen Demasoni would work.

I'd probably do Synodontis Lucipinnis in a 36" tank just because they are smaller. You need a group of 5-6 to make them happy and see them out and about the tank. Cuckoo (synodontis muntipunctatus) also need a group and they are larger, boisterous fish.

You would not want synos with shellies, but they would be fine with calvus, peacocks or mbuna.


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## OceanInspired (Jul 12, 2009)

Thanks for the input!
So I have two different ideas about what to do for my tank.
Either:
(1M, 6F) Peacock Cichlids ( Aulonocara baenschi )
(How many? ) Neolamprologus multifasciatus

Or
(?) Calvus Cichlids
(?) Neolamprologus multifasciatus

I've also heard that shellies prefer sand substrate & I have already added gravel. The gravel isn't as chunky as some I've seen but I wonder if they'll like it??

As of right now, I'm leaning toward the Peacocks simply because of their color.
Any ideas as to how many of each?
Also.. Am I right in thinking these fish are not readily available..? Where could I order them?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Don't combine lakes, and know that only the one male peacock is colorful. 1m:4f of the peacocks will go nicely with 6 Synodontis Lucipinnis however. I have a trio juvie maleri in my 36" tank with lucipinnis and it's a nice tank. The maleri will be too aggressive for the 36" tank when adult. Peacocks prefer sand too.

Shellies prefer sand, they are small and like to move it around. But gravel won't harm them.

It's against forum rules to name vendors in posts, so have a look at Reviews and the Trading Post. You can PM individuals if you need to name vendors.

If you do calvus and multie's then get 6 of each as juveniles. A pair of each will form (they like to choose their own mates and may reject a mate you provide) and the pair will drive away the other fish, you remove them at that time.

Calvus grow very slowly so you can enjoy the six individuals for a year or so before they are old enough to form a pair.


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## football mom (Feb 19, 2006)

Calvus and shellies will do well together, and also a small Julidochromis species will do well with shell-dwellers. I have a 33 long tank (same footprint as a 55, but shorter) with Juli. transcriptus and N. multifasciatus. One end has a rock pile, center flat with plants, and other end with a shell bed. The multis will form a colony. I started with 5, which turned out to be 2 males and 3 females, and the fish sorted themselves out to be a pair, and a trio, and have been reproducing like crazy! They fiercely defend their shell-bed from the bigger fish, they are like little finny pit-bulls, but do not fight with each other.
Here is what their tank looks like, the plants are still pretty small in the picture:


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## OceanInspired (Jul 12, 2009)

> If you do calvus and multie's then get 6 of each as juveniles. A pair of each will form (they like to choose their own mates and may reject a mate you provide) and the pair will drive away the other fish, you remove them at that time.


So at that time I will only have two of each kind? Or are they likely to form more than one pair?
I recently read about one species that forms dominant pairs that kill of the other fish but I can't remember which it was.lol


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

The multies will form a colony, but they could still reject individuals. The Calvus usually form a pair but you might get a trio.

Those are not fish that kill everything. :lol: They say calvus are fry predators, but mine don't bother my caudo fry any more than the other Tangs.

But yes, you will likely end up with 1 pair and a colony in a 36" tank when they are adults. It's not a very large tank and they need territory. But they will breed and some multie fry are likely to remain in the tank.


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## OceanInspired (Jul 12, 2009)

> Those are not fish that kill everything.


Heey, they say no question is a dumb question. 8) LOL



> But they will breed and some multie fry are likely to remain in the tank.


When the Calvus breed, would I remove the fry?

Thanks for all of your help!


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## Morcs (Jun 1, 2009)

My 40G breeder (3ft) houses: 5 Keyholes (will be done to the pair soon) 1 blue acara, 1 red tailed shark, and 20 neons.

Works well


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## OceanInspired (Jul 12, 2009)

Thanks for the suggestions! But I probably couldn't keep those as my pH is higher than they would like. :roll: 


> Keyholes (will be done to the pair soon) 1 blue acara, 1 red tailed shark, and 20 neons.


So I've narrowed it down once more.
Either I'll have Calvus\Multis or (as someone recently suggested to me) a Brichardi species-only tank. 
I have a question, though. I know in a tank the size of mine, Brichardis won't tolerate other species. Does that mean I wouldn't be able to keep a pleco or some kind of algae-eating fish?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Right, brichardi ARE those fish that kill everyone else. So you start with 6, a pair forms and drives the remaining 4 away (kills them if you are not fast enough). Then the pair fills the tank with their own fry which they tolerate.

The pleco or algae eater would have low odds of survival.


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## OceanInspired (Jul 12, 2009)

Oh okay. Thanks.
So far, I'm leaning towards the Calvus\Multi combination but I'm really trying to do my research & see all of the different setups I could do.
What about Cyprichromis leptosoma ? They're a community fish, so would I be able to keep a syno with them? What else?

If I am bugging everyone with the questions, lemme know. 
I'm having fun with this. opcorn:


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I would not do cyps in a 36" tank, except maybe paracyps. You are looking for 2 species.

So paracyps and synodontis lucipinnis? Yes.


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