Cichlid Fish Tanks

Cichlids are some of the most sought after freshwater fish available. Cichlids are very intelligent fish, and some species will even splash the water at the top of the aquarium if they want your attention. Cichlids come from various freshwater bodies from South America, to Texas, to Africa. In this article I will be going through the various things to take into consideration when shopping around to set up your cichlid fish tank.

When you are starting out, it may be possible to keep cichlids in smaller aquariums, but I recommend that you purchase a tank of no less than 30 gallon to house your cichlid. A larger aquarium is easier to keep in good condition and do maintenance on. Cichlids are also aggressive and a larger aquarium will make it easier for any smaller fish to get out of the cichlid's way. It will make your cichlid fish tank more interesting if you have more than one pair in the tank. When you have more than one pair, you can watch how the cichlids interact with one another.

Conditioning your water is going to depend on what type of cichlid fish tank you are going to set up. Different species of cichlids are going to have very different needs. As a beginner it is recommended that you set up a cichlid fish tank with hardier species, this will make conditioning the water easier and they will be able to flourish in a wider range of water conditions. You should stay away from selecting cichlids from the African Lakes, African lake cichlids have harder parameters to meet on their water conditioning requirements.

Now you can get down to selecting the right species for your cichlid fish tank. You could select some peaceful species from the rivers of Africa, or you could put in a couple cichlids from Central America. For a cichlid fish tank with Amazonian Cichlids, I recommend an aquarium of at least 50 gallons in size. For the first setup of a cichlid fish tank, I went with the peaceful African river species, and they have been absolutely great. They are easy to care for and provide plenty of entertainment. If you do want a bit more of a challenge, you could always select Amazonian Cichlids for your cichlid fish tank. They are aggressive and will definitely keep you involved with maintenance and other tasks you will have to perform on the aquarium.

Well, I hope I have given you a bit of information to look into when considering your cichlid fish tank. When considering your cichlid fish tank, you should look in many spots around the web for individual guides for picking out the species you want. I would recommend Central American cichlids or African river cichlids for beginners. African lake cichlids are going to be much harder to care for, they require very close attention to the water levels in the aquarium. Just check around for the specific needs of the cichlids you are considering and you should avoid any confusion.

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