rockscape for cichlids

[overdrive]

Technically no because African and American cichlids need different water parameters, however with that said here in the U.S. they're given the same water parameters because they're tank raised. Tank raised means they were bred in captivity and raised/sold in the nearest towns water source. For instance I live in Denver Colorado, and when I buy a fish from a local fish store they're using the same water as I am for their tanks.

So you can put African and American cichlids together, but I always advise against it because African cichlids need more of a plant based diet, and South/Central American cichlids need a high protein diet.


I buy my fake plants that are my True Festae (red terror) cichlid tank from Aliexpress.com which is a China based online store kind of like Ebay... You'll find fake plants starting at $0.63 so I always go there and buy a few different fake plants, I bought 6 fake cabomba plants for $5 and free shipping.

As far as I can tell mine are mostly south american hybrids. From what I understand african cichlids are more aggressive, so I decided to at least try and avoid that headache.

 

[Brent419]

That's another rule I have too; keeping African and New World Cichlids separate. I just didn't say that up front because I didn't want ya'll to think I was racist or something....

 

[xxUnRaTeDxxRkOxx]

Lol!!! ^ ^ ^ There's no racism when it comes to cichlids, just global location, and preference between which kind you like... I prefer South/Central American cichlids because they're more sociable with their owners, and recognize them as well. Their easier to teach tricks, such I had some wild caught Green Sunfish (through they're not classified as cichlids) in a native tank I had a couple of years ago, I would hold a spoon full of pellet food just above the water line, and after a couple of times of doing it they figured out that if they jump and bump the spoon it causes the pellets to pop out to eat.

As for African cichlids being more aggressive that's "true" because it's always advised to overstock an African cichlid tank to limit the aggression, but to me South American cichlids are more aggressive due to the fact that they're bigger, show more aggression when outsiders try to enter their territory, and especially because they're egg layers and defend their "nesting" site like psychopaths!!!

I've seen convict cichlids kill fully grown oscars when defending their fry... Whereas most African cichlids are mouth brooders that keep their eggs, and fry in their mouths.

 

[overdrive]

Heh, well that's great! I can't say I regret my choice. They're doing very nicely so far, though we'll see how they feel in a year when they're all bigger.