# Stock List for 30 Gallon African Cichlid Tank



## fishfan1000 (Jan 31, 2012)

What would be the ideal stock list for a 30 gallon African tank? There are a lot of nice looking fish in the African family but I am a beginner with cichlids and don't want to keep killing fish. Any advice will be appreciated.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

A colony of shellies. Is the tank 30" long or longer?


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

Take a look at the cookie cutters. Get an idea of what you'd like and we can help you finalize a list. And as DJ requested, let us know dimensions of the tank.


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## brinkles (Jan 30, 2011)

African cichlids in general are very aggressive and need some room, so you're limited on what you can keep in your 30.

I've bred kribensis in a 29 with small non-cichlids, that's an option especially if you want a planted tank and want to see some interesting behavior.

The good news is that if you stock the tank appropriately, most cichlids are hardy and easy to breed.


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## fishfan1000 (Jan 31, 2012)

Was kinda hoping to be able to use peacocks but I guess the limited space puts a damper on that. Would my best bet be to start out with South Americans?


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## Anthraxx8500 (Feb 11, 2011)

IMO think dwarf cichlids. they can be loads of fun and fun to watch. check out some apistos, rams, shellies, african river fish, etc. GL in your choices. theres plenty out there for everyone to love!


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

You could do peacocks, but it would be one male, and 3-4 females, of a lesser aggressive species. Typically these are harder to find species though. So you'd have one coloured up fish, and the rest brown. You could put in a few rainbow fish to add some colour though. If this interests you, I can come up with a list of species for you to track down.


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## fishfan1000 (Jan 31, 2012)

Stupid question...for shellies, would I need to provide shells or would they do just fine without them? I like the color of some of them.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Shellies need shells. Brevis don't need too many. Multifasciatus like a LOT! :thumb:


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## fishfan1000 (Jan 31, 2012)

The tank is 30"Lx12"Wx18"H. Are shells pretty hardy in everyone's opinion? Also, where's the best place to buy shells for them?


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## skurj (Oct 30, 2011)

You can get shells off ebay, or local craft stores such as Micheals or even dollar stores.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Be careful with the shells. The pretty cone shaped shells can trap a shellie that darts in and gets stuck. A shell with a wide opening that winds down inside abruptly is best...like a whale-eye. Since that is not the prettiest shell in the world, you may not find too, too many of them in craft store mixes. Escargot shells are good too.


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## Anthraxx8500 (Feb 11, 2011)

if you end up deciding to go with shells send me a pm. id be happy to let my 100+ shells go from my old multi colony. again GL buddy.


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## fishfan1000 (Jan 31, 2012)

What would my best choice be for substrate?


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## fishfan1000 (Jan 31, 2012)

Thanks Anthrax. I'll definitely keep that in mind.


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## skurj (Oct 30, 2011)

For shellies, sand

I like the more natural looking stuff as opposed to the coloured sands. You can get pool filter sand cheap. Take a look in the library for recommendations.


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## fishfan1000 (Jan 31, 2012)

I've decided on the following group of shellies for my tank.

Lamprologus caudopunctatus-pair

Compressiceps shell-pair

Lamprologus similis-trio

This is from the cookie cutter suggestions for a 20 gallon shell dweller tank. Does anyone know of another user on here that used this same setup. I'd like to see a pic of a tank with this setup to at least get a couple of ideas.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Some of the Tang cookie cutters for the small tanks are too ambitious IMO. I'd choose either the caudo's or the altolamps with the similis, but not both.

Please provide vendor recommendations via PM only, or in the Reviews section. :thumb:


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## fishfan1000 (Jan 31, 2012)

Thinking of only using caudo's. How many should I buy if only using this one fish? 6, 8, more?


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

fishfan1000 said:


> Thinking of only using caudo's. How many should I buy if only using this one fish? 6, 8, more?


5-6 and be ready to remove any that are rejected.


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