# In Need Of Cichlids Under 3"



## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

hey guys, im looking for a little cichlid, 3" or under, that has a lot of personality or a lot of color.


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

Well my first guess wouldn't be a south american **coughs**dwarfjewel**coughs**[/b] ...

but for south american, go for some _Nannacara anomela_ ... males are beautiful, they are spunky little things to boot.

_Laetacara_ dwarves would be nice too, but not everyone finds them colorfull enough.[/i]


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

i love the dwarf acaras, but i really wanted curviceps, and all i could find was mislabeled dorsignera... and everyone has those! LOL.

ill check in the others, even the african, but that will mean i will have to take out my SA plants and get african plants... LOL


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

dwarfpike said:


> Well my first guess wouldn't be a south american **coughs**dwarfjewel**coughs**[/b] ...
> 
> but for south american, go for some _Nannacara anomela_ ... males are beautiful, they are spunky little things to boot.
> 
> _Laetacara_ dwarves would be nice too, but not everyone finds them colorfull enough.[/i]


OH, the dwarf jewels are the AKA dwarf butterfly cichlids, ok, my LFS had those, i dunno if im a big fan, i would rather get normal jewels LOL.

the Nannacara are beautiful! remind me of an Apistogramma borelii LOL

BTW, color isnt a big thing if they have attitude, i have a pair of neets in a 29 by themselves, not much color there LOL

also, i like high bodied fish, but elongated arent out of question!


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

If you do a search on _Anomalochromis thomasi_ in the westie folder, one of the entries you will see a totally differant fish than you see in the store. I have no camera otherwise I'd snip pics of mine, they settle in to totally differant fish.

Everyone does seem to have dorsigera's ... but if you saw the recent pics of *DFF*'s pair, they are much more colorfull than people think.

_Nannacara_ used to be really common, but it's kinda hard to find them now a days. I've only seen them once in the past several years in a LFS, though a few times online ... but not many. They kinda act like apisto's but with bit more pluck.


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

i know the dorsignera are awesome looking, i like them a lot, but they seem more common then even A. cacatuoides LOL


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

There's a reason they are so common though! :wink:


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

lol, i know, but if i do that i may as well go get rams LOL, well, not really, but you know what i mean.

i have nothing against common fish really, but i only have one tank to work with for a cichlid like this (i own larger CA as of now) so i wanna make a good decision, i almost went with Kribs, but i dont wanna change around the plants.

i think i might try and find some cool apistos, or those Nannacara. unless anyone else, or you, have any more suggestions on cool cichlids to go in there.

id like to go back to SA from CA, i want both, but i want a couple of my tanks to be SA, so much nicer aquascaping ideas,


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## Big Vine (Feb 26, 2007)

gage said:


> id like to go back to SA from CA, i want both, but i want a couple of my tanks to be SA, so much nicer aquascaping ideas,


Who are you kidding, gage? You know you want more convicts...:dancing: 
BV :lol:


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## kornphlake (Feb 12, 2004)

What's this about having to change all your plants? Do you really think that tank raised fish will know the difference between a plant that is native to the amazon basin and one that is native to Sumatra? I'd be surprised if even wild caught fish knew the difference, it's my understanding that the majority of the SA species kept in the hobby are found in water that has no plant life. The only one that would know or care is yourself, but that may be enough to keep you from putting some African species in a SA biotope.

What about some killifish, there are some amazingly colorful species and are found on every continent but Antarctica.

Dicrosus filamentosus is a small cichlid that comes to mind as being less common and interestingly colored but not necessarily colorful, I haven't kept them yet so I can't comment on their personality. There are plenty of apistos that are uncommon but colorful, cacatouides is the most colorful of the bunch but there are others that are quite colorful. Someone here was breeding australoheros oblongum, I guess they stay fairly small, maybe not under the 3" mark though, they like slightly cooler water which may conflict with your planting scheme.


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## DeadFishFloating (Oct 9, 2007)

_Did some say Laetacara?...I swear I heard *dwarfpike* around here somewhere..._



G'day *gage*,

If you could find them, I reckon a pair of Laetacara sp. 'buckelkopf' would make the rest of us jealous.

I have no idea what the LFS are like in your part of Canada, so don't know what's available to you. If your on the West Coast maybe you might be able to ship something from the USA. I do know quite a few SA dwarf keepers are located in the US North West, that or in PA.

If your interested in Apistogrammas maybe you should check out Apistogramma.com. The next cichlid on my wish list is Laetacara fulvipinnis.

If I had a small system setup, something like a dozen odd 20 gal long tanks, these are some of the apisto's I'd like to keep:
Apistogramma baenschi
Apistogramma hongsloi 
Apistogramma juruensis
Apistogramma macmasteri I already have a pair and both male and female have attitude.
Apistogramma nijsseni
*Apistogramma sp. 'papagei'* :drooling: :drooling: :drooling: 
Apistogramma trifasciata My next purchase.


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

Big Vine said:


> gage said:
> 
> 
> > id like to go back to SA from CA, i want both, but i want a couple of my tanks to be SA, so much nicer aquascaping ideas,
> ...


not enough tank space , but i still have my CA, I have 6 Juvi Black Belts growing out ATM along with my breeding pair of neets, and probably a 125 with a pair of Jaguars, as my parents are letting me put it outside of my bedroom.


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

kornphlake said:


> What's this about having to change all your plants? Do you really think that tank raised fish will know the difference between a plant that is native to the amazon basin and one that is native to Sumatra? I'd be surprised if even wild caught fish knew the difference, it's my understanding that the majority of the SA species kept in the hobby are found in water that has no plant life. The only one that would know or care is yourself, but that may be enough to keep you from putting some African species in a SA biotope.
> 
> What about some killifish, there are some amazingly colorful species and are found on every continent but Antarctica.
> 
> Dicrosus filamentosus is a small cichlid that comes to mind as being less common and interestingly colored but not necessarily colorful, I haven't kept them yet so I can't comment on their personality. There are plenty of apistos that are uncommon but colorful, cacatouides is the most colorful of the bunch but there are others that are quite colorful. Someone here was breeding australoheros oblongum, I guess they stay fairly small, maybe not under the 3" mark though, they like slightly cooler water which may conflict with your planting scheme.


i know they dont know the difference, but i do, and it will bother the **** outta me if i have an african fish with SA plants...

ill look into those guys!


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

thanx a TON for the link DFF, i completely neglected to look at apistos on cichlidae, completely forgetting they have a list!

*** decided im going apistos, but i dunno which spp.

btw, i have heard conflicting info on this, are Apistos pairing fish or Harem breeders?


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## chapman76 (Jun 30, 2004)

Harem. I've always had MUCH better experience keeping trios vs. pairs.


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

ill go for harem then, i was 99% sure they were a harem spawner, but *** been hearing of a lot of pairs lately.


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## RyanR (Apr 29, 2008)

DeadFishFloating said:


> _Did some say Laetacara?..._


Mmmm.... I'm a newly converted fan myself. I'm loving our new _dorsigera_.... even though they're still in the QT tank. They seem smart and pretty. :thumb:

-Ryan


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## MetalHead06351 (Oct 3, 2007)

> ill check in the others, even the african, but that will mean i will have to take out my SA plants and get african plants... LOL


Glad you're not going to the darkside with an african cichlid. :lol:


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

MetalHead06351 said:


> > ill check in the others, even the african, but that will mean i will have to take out my SA plants and get african plants... LOL
> 
> 
> Glad you're not going to the darkside with an african cichlid. :lol:


 :lol: , never, africans just arent the same... for th most part, which is why i said maybe, like, i like Kribs, and Jewels, and Madagascans like the Paratilapia, but SA is better!


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## Big Vine (Feb 26, 2007)

gage said:


> probably a 125 with a pair of Jaguars, as my parents are letting me put it outside of my bedroom.


 :thumb: :thumb: 
BV


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

Westies aren't really african, they are more like south americans. Of course there are some south americans that are more african than they are south american too!!


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

ya, i know they prefer SA conditions, but still different plants! LOL


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

Bahl, anubias and crypts are all I can grow!


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

LOL, that sucks! you cant even grow Vallisneria? LMAO...sorry...


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

Haven't tried them yet, mostly becuase I can't find anything but half dead ones at the LFS. I will work up to them though, one of my plants will be planted tank darnnabit!!


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

i bought dead ones and they came back! they are HARDY! LOL they were only a buck each...


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

Yes, I know they are hardy, but you are talking to I think the only person able to kill java fern!!! :lol:


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

you managed to kill Java fern??? dam


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

and java moss, swordplants, crypts, and almost anubias too!! Good with fish, very very bad with plants. :lol:


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

just dont clean the tank, they are probably starving because you take out all the food with water changes! LOL


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## DeadFishFloating (Oct 9, 2007)

G'day *dwarfpike* and *gage*,

So I will assume you never have any problems with algea?

I'm just happy my swords have started throwing runners. Now I just need to find some room in my tanks for some more pots.

On a serious note, have you tried using plant substrates?


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

Before I used Eco-complete for plants, I had trouble with crypts too. I think I might try the Florite sand next time, the eco complete is fairly large grained and I wonder if the roots just have trouble with it.

Considering I usually do 30-50% weekly water changes, it could very well be nutrient or lighting issues. I haven't setup my 40 breeder yet becuase am saving money, going to go full on plant attempt .. ie 3wgp lighting and CO2. Doing the 40 breeder versus the 50 breeder since it's 2 inches shorter, thus stronger lighting.

And nope, never had algae issues. Usually include a fleet of oto's, shrimp, a bristlenose or my new favorite, rubberlip plecos. One tank doesn't have any algae eaters and has no algae, only anubias ... probably due to the insanely low lighting though.


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

i ended up getting a bolivian ram, need to find out the sex and get it a partner, it is a sad looking malnutritioned little ram, so i bought him and am making him better , i felt bad for him.


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

I love bolivians ... but then I enjoy most geo types ... I really want to try them in a larger group/larger tank setup. Though I might sneak a pair in somewhere just becuase I really enjoy them.


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

well, now im feeling bad as he looks a little big for the tank, so im moving him to my 35g with my keyholes, tetras, and baby angelfish.

back the the drawing board again, i think i may just go for some Blue rams, so much easier to find, now, the same question as with the apisto, i was under the assumption rams were pairing fish, now im hearing they are harem by some others, which one?????


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

Traditionally both rams are pair breeders, but in aquariums have been known to switch to harem if available. In the wild they tend to stick to pairs though, from what has been observed. A prefered metheod doesn't always mean it's the only way it can be done of course. I've always kept rams in pairs though, there is just something about a pair defending the eggs that seems so cool versus other ways cichlids do it.


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

i thought so, ok, thanx, im goin blue rams then, they are commonly available.


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