Want to get some cichlids!

[Cameron]

i've been looking at these and i want to get a pair of 2 of them but im not sure which i know i want rams but im not sure if i should get a pair of these:http://www.aquariumlife.net/profiles/south-american-cichlids/cockatoo-dwarf-cichlid/100079.asp
or a pair of these:http://www.aquariumlife.net/profiles/south-american-cichlids/yellow-dwarf-cichlid/100078.asp

I want to know which is easy to find and care for and what else could i put with them, i want a 55 gal bowfront.

[Nautilus291]

In a 55g tank you could put a couple of both speicies in the tank if you wanted too. But if you only want to put one in I would go with the cockatoo. They both like lower ph so make sure your water has low ph or you can use ph buffers. But watch out with those becuase you dont want your waters ph jumping around with fish in it. A well oxygenated tank will also help lower ph. Another thing is plenty of caves and or plants for cover. most dwarf cichlids are known to be less aggressive but having plenty of territories in your tank will help out will aggression.

now for possible tankmates I would say corys would be a good choice. some loaches can be aggressive and nip at fins of fish. And you could get a group of schooling fish That also stay at the top section of the water a good choice would be hatchet fish.

http://www.aquariumlife.net/profiles/characins/marbled-hatchetfish/100135.asp

I dont like the picture that they have here for this hatchet fish but they stay close to the top of the water. Make sure that your tank is fully covered becuase they are well known to jump out.

I hope this helps

[CAF]

A well oxygenated tank will also help lower ph.

This is incorrect. Aerating a tank raises the pH. Adding CO2 lowers the pH...

[Nautilus291]

oh sorry about that. I was thinking opposite I guess.

[CAF]

oh sorry about that. I was thinking opposite I guess.
Not a problem! :hmm3grin2orange: I just wanted to make sure the correct info was out there for everyone use! You gave alot of really good info there though!

[Cameron]

Thanks a bunch i think i'll just get 2 rams and 2 cockatoos maybe 5 bronze corys and some schooling fish, but i have loads of time because i'll get the tank either for christmas or a little later, whenever my basement gets finished. If i jsut used some kind of ph buffer for like 7.0pH and and it in my water and in all my water changes would that work, my water in my tank has about 7.2 pH w/o and buffers, so do i really need the buffer, and i think i will get the AC110 for filter wise... thanks again :)

[Nautilus291]

I would make sure that the schooling fish that you decide on stay at the top area of the water. If they swim in the middle section more they might bother your cichlids.

[Cameron]

yea i like those hatchet fish, what about them harlquin rasboras?

[Fishguy2727]

Just to make sure it is out there, I had two pairs of rams in a 55 and they decided it wasn't big enough. Different species should be okay though.

Middle dwellers should not bother the cichlids, they seem to ignore non-cichlids unless they get too close. Rasbora hets/harlequin rasboras should be a great choice, but they do like larger schools to get the best colors (10-12 minimum), which you should be able to do without issue in there.

I think you may want to reconsider the bronze cories for a smaller species. I personally like sterbai (nice pic of mine in my PhotoBucket page), as well as some others.

[Cameron]

thanks again for all the help, im not sure when im going to get the tank but thats probably the way ill go, and also if my lfs doesnt have the cockatoos where should i buy them? thanks

[Cameron]

bump please

[Cameron]

hello, if my lfs doesnt have these fish where should i get them???