I don't know what types of cichlids i should put in my 75 gallon tank!?

Question

i need some help deciding what types of cichlids i can put in my tank. i want some colorful cichlids who can all get along with each other, but i am a newbie to raising cichlids. so i don't know what types i can put together. so i am sending an SOS out and i hoping that someone who is an expert on cichlids will help a newbie like me. thanks for everything (whom ever answers my cry for help)

Answer 1

you actually have a massive selection as there are many types i own a malawi tank which is fantastice as you get blue reds yellows and darker colours but you can only have malawis together but you can add a few various other fish i have 2 catfish and 5 clowns in mine but if you were to do this it is better to have a larger number of cichlids as they can get aggressive towards each other also if you want you could go for souh american cichlids some do grow rather large but there are many smaller species (dwarf cichlids) that can also be housed with a few more tropical fish. keyholes firemouth kribensis rams are just a few and parrots are amazing

Answer 2

I am a member of cichlid-forum as well, and it's a great reference site.  I don't however like stocking advisments for first timers.  While it's not complex to keep Africans or cichlids in general, you do have to spend some time watching how they interact.  I'm also not a big fan of mixing cichlids that come from different lakes, however, one should note it can very well be done.  One rather amazing thing to find is many of the Central American cichlids have water needs VERY close to that of Africans, so basing sheerly on water chemistry is not a solid approach.  I tend to view temperments bigger then water chemistry.

In a 75 gallon tank, you have such a large array of choices, it's going to take you doing some interaction as well to narrow this down.  First thing is do like JoHn said, look over some profiles on cichlid-forum to get an idea, do you like South Americans, Central Americans, or Africans first, and then go from there.

Answer 3

I like bumblebee cichlids.

Also from the Cichlidae family, I always love angelfish (but I don't know if that's what you want).

Answer 4

pretty ones!

Answer 5

I have blood red parrot cichlids, and they're gorgeous.  The only bad thing is that since they are manmade (crossbred), they keep laying eggs that won't hatch.  It's sad to watch them guard their eggs that never hatch.  But other than that, they're awesome to look at.

I listed a link to a picture at the bottom.

Answer 6

african peacock cichlids are really colorful and cool

Answer 7

Cichlids are among my favorite type of fish. The best thing that I can advise you to do before getting any cichlids suggested is go to http://www.cichlid-forum.com Go through their library section, they have wonderful information about all different types of cichlids, their behavior issues, best tankmates, what type of water they are most comfortable in (africans prefer slightly higher Ph 7.6-7.8ish) and most importantly how large they get. There is nothing worse than buying a fish getting attached to it and finding out that you cant take care of it properly.

Also, in their Library, under Quick Reference there are articles called "Cookie Cutter" builds. They are pretty good starting points for stocking your tank. It is organized by tank size.A 75 gallon tank is the perfect size for a nice colony of fish :)

Just one thing, no matter what you decide on getting, only get cichlids from the same region, ie Do NOT mox South American ciclids with Africans. They have different water requirements to be healthy and happy.

Hope this helps.

Answer 8

Try african cichlids, they don't get as big as south americans and are a lot more colorful.