# planning south american cichlid tank



## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

tank is 30 to 35 gallon, 12 x 36 footprint and filter will be ac70 and will have a heater.

I probably will not do planted but might try depending on the fish. I believe the bulb is a single 22 inch t8, maybe the next size up, so only really basic low light plants if even that.

Gravel or sand is best? I personally prefer sand but don't mind doing gravel if they prefer that alot more.

I plan to put lots of rocks in and it is my understanding that some rocks drop ph, so in theory I can just grab almost any rock I feel like because my water ph is about 7.5 from the tap?

Because its a small tank, I don't plan to get any fish over 5-6 inches. I am not sure what I want exactly, maybe rams? maybe a jack dempsey and others like that.

Are cichlids dirty fish? Or will water changes be similar to my community and semi aggressive tanks?

Also how often should they be fed normally? and do I need to do cichlid food or the normal flakes I feed the other tanks?

Do I need to provide extra circulation or is that optional?

what temp should I use, I use 78 in my other tanks


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## spanosilvio (Jan 4, 2008)

With a florescent tube i think you can still maintain healthy some floating plants like frogbits, the rest you can keep it like in your community tank, as long your parameters are steady. 
You can host some rams with pencilfish and dwarf cory like hasbrosus and your tank will be beautiful. 

Sent from my U9200 using Tapatalk 2


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## pat3612 (Jan 29, 2008)

1 if you are new I would do gravel only because you have to be very careful of sand when cleaning. In a new tank you are going to get algae and if you get one little bit sand while you are cleaning it will scratch your glass.
2 Not much light but you could do moss it wont grow fast but you will not need to trim much.
3 If you are going south I would go with lava rock.
4 Rams are nice do not forget any cichlid protecting fry can be mean.No they are not dirty fish. Water changes should be the same.
5 Feeding is up to you I feed my freshwater fish every 2 days you can feed them every day small amounts if you start getting alot of algae then chances are you are feeding too much.
6 No you dont need to. 
7 I keep mine at 78 though your fish will adapt.
Hope this helps


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

I am experienced with sand substrate so that isnt an issue

do the fish prefer sand or gravel?

I have a plant hospital/growing tank so maybe I can try to rotate plants

I guess the main question left is just sand or gravel

thanks for the info

I have a few tanks, this would just be my first cichlid tank


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## bob123 (Dec 31, 2009)

My experience with Jack Dempsey, they should have at least a 55 gallon tank for a pair they get to about 10" temp around 78 ph 7-8 can be aggressive but will eat out of your hand. Others such as apistos, rams or dwarfs would work better.


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## Jackson (Jan 30, 2009)

In that size you could do dwarfs as suggested. 

5"-6" fish are too big to be in there in groups.


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

still wondering about gravel or sand


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## Jackson (Jan 30, 2009)

pyrrolin said:


> still wondering about gravel or sand


Well it really depends on the fish you choose. 
If you choose a substrate spawner sand or fine gravel is a good choice.

If substrate doesn't play a role in their habits then the choice is yours.

I personally hate sand. It kills your filters.


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

Im thinking maybe two firemouth and two of something else around the same size, and maybe two more of another kind, 3 pairs of medium size fish, or maybe just two depending on the kind I get.

Still not sure if Im going to use sand or gravel


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