cichlids in 10g?

[Enreche]

im wanting to make my livebearer tank a cichlid tank, because i think they are real cool, and the way i have it set up would be perfect for the average cichlid.

any ideas on a small, mabye breedable, (i love breeding all my fish) and 10gallon compadable? im thinking mabye the ones that live in a shell or something??

any ideas?

thanks!
-Enreche

[NickFish]

I don't know of many cichlids that could go in a 10 gallon.

You could put in a single GBR, but he wouldn't appriciate it too much. Or you could put in a pair of apistogramma cactuoides or borelli.

There are also a bunch of tanganyikas you could try.
Maybe a small colony of multies or a shell-dweller community.

Even with the smallest shell-dwelling cichlids I don't think you could put more than four in there.

Here is a great link, I use this website for most of my cichlid planning stuff, check it out. --->
10 gallon cookie cutter ([Only Registered Users Can See Links.])

[Enreche]

i am aware of the whole size issue.
but i want something that is shell dewling like a Neolamprologus multifasciatus or Neolamprologus ocellatus.

i think if i got the right sized fish, and got some nice sand for that tank, i might be able to work it out.

but im open to new ideas, i just want a pair of little cichlids, to call my tank their home:11:

[NickFish]

If you would like my suggestion,
I'd get two pairs of Lamprologus similis, or a single pair of Lamprologus brevis. Or you could get a trio of 'Lamprologus' multifasciatus, and they are known to breed in 10G tanks, and so are similis, and occasionally brevis will too.

For either of those fish, should you choose them, you will need to get some shells for them to live in. They don't spend all their time in there, but resting at night and when they are scared they usually bolt to their shell.
You can find some decorative hermit crab shells at your lfs, but the shellie pros go into french restaurants and you can buy escargot shells really cheap, if not free.

[Enreche]

yes yes. i have a puffer fish that goes through snails all the time. i have loads of snail shells :D. that and my LFS is a big one, so they have just about everything..they sell shells for 10 cents

thank you so much for everything!

[NickFish]

No problem!

[jbeining75]

cichlids in a 10 gallon = disaster waiting to happen...

[cocoa_pleco]

only small tanganyikan shelldwellers would work in a 10g, anything else is like 3 oscars in a 50g, not good

[Enreche]

yeah, i always though shell dwellers were cute, so i MIGHT do that...

OR i might just keep it a live bearer tank...still unsure :P

[NickFish]

10 gallon cichlid community?

The closest thing to that would be some shellies. If you can get a good m/f ratio you should be good.