The Puffer Forum

I agree that bigger the better, but that foot print 60x24is plenty big enough for a 15-17 inch fish.

Saying this i still would LOVE to have a 60x30 tank for Bloat

And i will push a Fahaka till Im blue in the face LOL

ironbone wrote:u know there is a lake in africa which has 1000 species of fish,most of which are chicklets-well thats what i call them to each their own i guess

A lake or two lakes? I know of Lake Malawi and Lake Victoria.

xrayjeeper83 wrote:And i will push a Fahaka till Im blue in the face LOL

Don't waste your time. I've never once considered a Fahaka for this tank. I consider it way too small just like I consider a 5 gallon tank way too small for a Dwarf.

Ciclids are the the most variable and showy family of FW fish, in color, form, and complex breeding patterns. I used to be a real Cichlid nut, and i am unlikely to ever be without a Cichild tank or two or three or four or five... They are also as long-lived as puffers and many catfish, and there are some for every water condition.

Oscars are magnificent fish. If you found them a PITA, you were not doing something - or a lot of things - right. They are highly intelligent, good breeders and parents, but need huge tanks and good and proper care - just as do many mid-sized and large puffers -which we can barely breed at all. They are also as human-interactive as are the puffs, and learn to recognize individual humans quickly - without the scent clues dogs have.

Whatever size tanks you care to work with (for normal sizes, not many micros, say the 10-180 gallon range), there are Cichilds which are ideal. Whatever your source water conditions, there are Cichlids which will relish that condition. They are an endlessly fascinating family of fish.

HTH

i agree they are fascinating, but have to be properly set up to truely appreciate their natural instincts and behavior. thats basically the same with any fish though. i really like the tropheus duboisi in cichlids for some reason. some of the colors and different morphs of cichlids are amazing. oscars i am not a huge fan of but have always wanted to keep one for whatever reason. they are just monsterous fish and i really like seeing the bigger ones donated to pet stores and the way they react when a human comes to the front of the tank. we had someone donate two oscars that were massive at the pet store i worked at. but they were probably the least aggressive fish in our non community setups. "they were raised on pellets and wouldnt harm a rosey or goldfish" the owners said of the fish bringing them in. well them being oscars we were thinking "yeah ok, im still not trusting this with any other fish". put them in a 75 after moving some cichlids out to a 55 and a co-worker wanted to test their theory on roseys and put 6 in... nothing at all. then dropped pellets in and they tore them up! we couldnt believe it. those roseys grew up a little in that tank until someone actually bought them because they were the biggest roseys they have ever seen

Camaro95:

Since you live in Ontario.. why not try a sunfish, perch or a blue gill? No heater required!

J-P wrote:Since you live in Ontario.. why not try a sunfish, perch or a blue gill? No heater required!

No heater required, but a BBQ sure is!

the ultimate live well

Convicts have been ruled out. Based on research on Cichlid-forum.com, I've learned they'd harass the catfish like no tomorrow, and would kill the amanos and kuhlis. Not going to happen.

Rather like puffers, many to most Cichlids are not for mixed tanks. But then, some of us do like or keep mixed tanks.

But in proper set-ups, they are endlessly fascinating.