SerLunchbox Posted July 14, 2005 Report Share Posted July 14, 2005 So i have a 15 gallon aquarium that can become vacant soon. The male betta that was in just recently kicked the perverbial bucket. So i have been looking at african cichlids for some time. Is this even possible or should i be looking towards the south amercian ones. If you are worried about size in comparison to filteration, there is no worries there because i am severely over filtering my 15 gallon (about a 24.5 times filteration) Just throwing it out there in case Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishBrain Posted July 14, 2005 Report Share Posted July 14, 2005 I think that is to small a tank, but there MAY be a couple small species you can put in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vallisneria Posted July 14, 2005 Report Share Posted July 14, 2005 Yes there are africans that will work in a 15g. I wouldn't put any malawis or victorians in such a small tank but there are some tangs that will work. Shell dwellers would be a great choice for a 15g. I actually have a trio of N.caudopunctatus in my 15g. http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/shel...ller_corner.php I believe there are also some julies that will work in smaller tanks but i have never kept them so i'll let someone else tell you about them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
African_Fever Posted July 14, 2005 Report Share Posted July 14, 2005 Shellies would work fine, as would some of the smaller julies such as ornatus, transcriptus, and marlieri 'Gombe'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SerLunchbox Posted July 14, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 14, 2005 excellent ... now i know that i will have some options out there. Also, i guess now i have to ask just how many shellies could i keep (do they stay out of their shells for long or just for food)? or how many Julidochromis dickfeldi or Julidochromis Ornatus or Julidochromis Transcriptus could i keep. I am not familiar with these species at all. as i said ... i will have 24.5 times the filteration so that doesn't bother me. also would i have to change my substrate from the black gravel i have to say a sand? working as many hours as i have been is a good thing. So also, while i am thinking of it, where is a good quality place to get these fish? If golds is avoidable then great. Lets just say that i have had a really bad experience there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rahim101 Posted July 15, 2005 Report Share Posted July 15, 2005 It depends on what species you want to keep. With any of the julies, you will probably end up having a single pair in that size tank once the fish decide to pair off. for N. occelatus...you could end up with a trio (1 Male, 2 Females) if you have good barriers and break up the lines of sight. If you want N. Brevis...I think the best way would be a pair and they hide alot int he shells. The only ones I would recommend are either a colony of N. Multifasiatus OR N. similis as you can get away with having a nice sized colony that will tolerate multiple generations and broods. You could start off with 6-8 and in a few months end up with 30-40 of all sizes and they don't seem to hide in thier shells nearly as much....only to hide from a another fish or to breed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SerLunchbox Posted July 15, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2005 well, it looks like i will go with N. Multifasiatus. They just look to be really nice in coloration and would look great with a black background and substrate So ... does anyone happen to know where i can get some (or if anyone is selling any) Please PM me Also, thank you all very much for all the possibilities. i really appreciate it all. African cichlids is where i am not all the sure of when it comes to species and pairings etc. Ask me a lot of other stuff and i can somewhat figure stuff out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rahim101 Posted July 15, 2005 Report Share Posted July 15, 2005 Once you go with Lake tang fishes, it's hard to turn back. I find them to be much more interesting and challenging then Lake Malawi fish and they have MUCh more personality. I have kept N.Brevis, N.occelatis, N.multies and Lepidiolamprologus hecqui all of them very different in keeping. The multies are really cool as you can keep soooo many of them in a small tank with out any problems!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyasa Posted July 19, 2005 Report Share Posted July 19, 2005 Hey Blaine, Shellies would be great for your 15 gallon. I think Gary at Tanks-A-Lot had some in the last time I was in there about 2-3 weeks ago. He had some w/c N. brevis and he may have had some multies as well. Riverfront usually has some L. occelatus in as well for ~$ 15-20 regular price. You definitely need to go with sand though to really appreciate shelldwellers. My L. occelatus are constantly spitting mouthfuls and bulldozing it around. I used pool filter sand. I keep J. transcriptus pemba with my L. occelatus in a 33 gallon tank and they get along fine. I think either the a pair of J.ornatus or transcriptus would be alright in a 15 gallon tank. How are your L 260's doing? Any fry yet? David. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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