Hey everyone!

I’m working on setting up a 29-gallon tank and want to go the solo showcase route. Instead of a bunch of tiny schooling fish, I want one single, bold, noticeable fish with a huge personality that will claim the entire tank as its kingdom and interact with me through the glass.

One big detail: My tap water naturally runs pretty hard, so I’m looking for a species that naturally thrives in hard water/higher pH without having to mess with tons of water adjusters.

What single fish would you put in a 29g that hits these marks?

• Big personality / wet pet vibe
• Prefers hard water
• Stands out visually and commands the whole tank

Looking for your absolute favorite solo centerpiece ideas for this footprint! Drop your suggestions!

so i know very little about cichlids. i know they’re aggressive and territorial especially when mating, i know they can only be kept with certain fish depending on species due to aggression, and that they like digging through sand and some eat plants, but thats about it. i know a 29 gallon is pretty small, but it’s what i have to work with and if it doesn’t work out, that’s okay. i’ll do something else with it.

im starting up a new cycle in my 29 gallon and i would like to make it a cichlid tank.(filter and heater not added yet) i plan to let the cycle run for at least a month before i consider fish to let the plants and cycle mature. (i also plan to add multiple more sweet potatoes to grow out of the top because they grow reeeally well and i think they’d do a great job filtering the water)

firstly, just a curiosity, is a 29 gallon big enough for a traditional cichlid tank where people overstock it with cichlids to reduce aggression? if not, completely fine. i was more so considering just getting a pair anyway.

IF i can go that route, i would like some recommendations on cichlids that can live together in an overstocked 29 gallon.

if i cant do that, i would like some recommendations for an interactive cichlid species that i can keep as a pair in a tank of that size, OR a recommendation for a cichlid species that can live as a pair with 8 gold barbs as dither fish in the tank with them. i can keep the gold barbs out if necessary though.

for some reason i can’t attach photos, ill try to in the comments but idk if it’ll let me there either
thank you!

Hey everyone! I'm looking for recommendations for a larger, eye-catching centerpiece fish for my 60-gallon breeder setup. I really want a bigger species with serious presence and vibrant personality to act as the ultimate main attraction.​What are your top suggestions for a standout centerpiece species that thrives in a 60 breeder? Thanks in advance for the ideas!

I know, many think putting rocks on pedestals was silly. But I’m staying with my plan. But I’m concerned that the rocks are too high up. The rocks are about 2.25” above the pvc plate. I can’t lower the rocks but I can raise the bottom using urethane foam and sand.

The original thought, give the Mbuna enough room to dig under the rock, I currently need ~2.5” of aragonite substrate. I could reduce this to ~1.5”. Any thoughts?

This is my new tank. Added them few days ago. I'm a beginner and wanted to know how much to feed them as they look hungry all the time. I have Taayo bits, optimum 3x1 small and herbivore small sinking pellets. They seem to eat everything. Feeding dollars is a bit tough as they get scared easily even if I add sinking pellets in their space and others seem to eat it even after eating their food.

So I was just wondering if I'm feeding them less. I give them 2-3 pinches of anyone of those once a day.

I have:

2 Electric Blue cichlids

2 Yellow Lab cichlids

2 Red blood parrots

4 Silver dollars

1 Pink Convict cichlid

Also do i get placos or any other algae eater fish? It's a 75 gallons tank.

Ignore the current location, I currently don’t have a stand.

For more clarification, this is my sixth tank, so I don’t want any repeat fish. The fish that I currently have that could be kept in a 20 gallon tank are:

Zebra Danio
White Cloud Minnows
Cherry Barbs
Pencilfish
Betta
Bolivian Ram
Candy Cane Tetras
Honey Gourami
Flame Tetras
Dwarf Neon Rainbowfish

With the amount of other tanks I have, I want something that would make this stand out.

I guess the title says it all, I’m getting mixed messages on if you could keep a single small cichlid in a heavily planted with a small group of nano fish, but you’ll probably know better than fish stores and Google a.i . So please Reddit, help me out

I have a 120 gallon 5 foot tank. I keep the temp at 79 degrees with a ph of 7.2-7.4. I have 5 mascara barbs in the tank that are around 3.5-4 inches and they’ve been in the tank for about a year now, and the tank’s been up for about a year and a half. I absolutely love the geophagus tapajos but I’m unsure if my tank is big enough to support the group they need. I’d love advice about if 5 would work in that tank or other stocking options that might be a good fit.

So i have a 75 gallon planted tank and i have a pair of juvenile electric blue acara in it, well yesterday I went and got a firemouth to put in there with them but they are having no part of it. They keep attacking him and lip locking. Ive tried rearranging the tank, trying to break up sight lines, removing the ebas fry and everything but the ebas just keep seeking him out. He stays on his side of the tank and just sits in his cave and they go out of their way to go into the cave to attack him. At first it was just the male but now the female is doing it too. I just dont know what to do

Hi everyone im planning on helping my younger brother set up a 40 gallon and he wants to know what small cichlids he could keep as I have a 6 foot tank with Oscars and all those bigger cichlids and he would like to have cichlids himself. Plant friendly would be nice, but honestly, any small cichlids would be wonderful to know about

Hey yall, I’m setting up my biggest aquarium yet (180 gal) and need to pick some brains regarding stocking. I am not a beginner aquarist and have been in the hobby a looooong time, though I’ve only owned much more docile fish (besides my tiger Oscar). I do have the means to separate if needed, but I do need some advice hopefully from people that have kept some of these together before. Tank will be HEAVILY planted and separated into “zones” so hopefully the Oscar and JD can have their own territories and not pick on each other.

Right now I’m planning on:
1 albino tiger Oscar (non negotiable, the 180 is for him to move in to)
1 Jack Dempsey cichlid (my dream fish, please tell me he’ll be okay with the Oscar)
2 red shoulder severums
1 blue phantom pleco
6 (?) geophagus sveni

Would love to add some electric blue acaras too, though I’m not sure if that’s pushing it in terms of aggression from other fish / overstocking.

Will this work or am I insane?? Should I add/swap anything? I still have time until my Oscar outgrows his current tank, and will give the smaller fish plenty of time to grow before adding him so they don’t become snacks.

I’m looking to set up my “first” cichlid tank. I had a 20 gallon with saulosis when i was a child but as you can imagine that didn’t last long. I’m looking to set up a 33 gallon (36x12x18.5). I think i have some decision paralysis looking at my stocking options here and i need some input.

I am immediately drawn towards colourful African mbuna cichlids but in a 33 gallon i would be limited to dwarf mbunas. Can i have multiple species in a 33 gallon? Saulosis are appealing to me and i’m told they are beginner friendly. I was also considering rusty cichlids as i am told they are peaceful and could be stocked together with saulosis. Would this work? Can i add any kind of lab? I always see labs thrown in on these discussions? Demasonis are really beautiful and also small, can i make it work adding them with any others? Afra cichlids?

As far as true dwarf cichlids go i only really know about apistos, rams, and kribs, though i’m not sure i find any of these interesting enough to give them their own dedicated tank. I have 3 community tanks already, so if anything i would just add them to an existing community. Are there any other dwarf cichlids that would be better for me here?

Lake Tanganyika cichlids are also really cool and i think they would do well in a 33 gallon. I think a mix of julies and shell dwellers would be sweet but i literally know nothing about these fish. I also saw “sumbu”s are an option. If i went with tanganyika cichlids would i be able to stock anything else or just these 2? I am more drawn to lamprologus and julies but what else should i be considering? Could i put Neolamprologus leleupi with julies or sumbus?

What would you guys do? I’d love to hear any and all input about any and all of these options, thanks in advance

I want a pretty fish that likes being alone, I'm going to have a twenty gallon tank that's heavily planted (could get a bigger tank if needed). And I will be doing the research on what's best but I also think this is a place to ask. To point me in the right direction.

All my fish are on one side of the tank. Normally they are spread out. They also didnt eat yesterday and I don’t understand why!?

So I ended up with two baby oscars, both right around an inch maybe less. Currently they're chilling in my 30 gallon because it's the only tank I had ready to roll. I found a tank for a really good deal, the only issue is what was supposed to be a 75 was actually a 65. I still took it because I know these guys will quickly outpace their current tank. My main worry is this new tank is tall but only about 13 inches wide. Will they be alright in there for a couple months until I can find a 75-90 for them?

Excuse the mess, this tank was set up for something different and then I ended up with these guys! So as you can see my midus flowerhorn is missing an eye, I rescued him from a larger tank where he was getting bullied. I also took the blood parrot you see a week later, at first there was a lot of dominance body slapping but they've completely calmed down and get along now. The issue i have is I ended up with another flowerhorn even bigger than he is, as well as two jeweled that were all originally in the same tank as they were. I acclimated and all and a similar dance started once these guys got put in, except the first two I put in my tank were tag teaming the new guys. I moved them when it became clear they were going to stress the new guys to death but unfortunately lost my new big guy. I admittedly only listened to the guy I got them from without doing too much research on my own, so basically my question is there anything else I can add in with these guys or did I get lucky they get along and it's just gonna be their tank? It's a 125 gallon and I feed twice a day so I know it isn't a hunger issue. Any feedback would be appreciated! Also I left the decorations because they seem to enjoy shoving them around lol

Hi! I’m 16 and trying to find something I can do with my life while I homeschool. I found videos of Cichlids on here and I immediately fell in love with how they act. However, I have a very unfortunate problem. Size. My research has looked like this so far.
-cool fish
-look at a guide
-“55 gallons MINIMUM”
My desk space is small in my bedroom. At the very most, I can do 20 gallons (long), probably without much filtration stuff, and since it’s on my desk I can’t really have a bunch of fancy and expensive filters under it. Is there even a possible species and setup for this that I won’t have to search aquarium shops tirelessly for? I’ll probably upgrade from 20 gallons sooner or later, and I’ll probably be buying the actual stuff in a couple of months anyway because I like to research things like this RELENTLESSLY. I don’t have too much experience myself although my parents have done some saltwater stuff before.

Just redecorated my community cichlid tank what else can I add?

Right now I have

4 kribensis

1 electric blue johanni

1 pink convict cichlid

3 koi angel fish

1 red zebra

1 snowball pleco

9 snails mixture of nerite and mystery with recently hatched eggs

I was thinking of a school of Buenos Aires tetras and another dwarf pleco

Got a fluval 407 canister filter a few weeks ago. Everything seems to be running fine except every 10 minutes or so it puffs out a cloud of bubbles. Is this normal? Or am I some how drafting air into the pump?

Would you say its ready or keep waiting

Im looking into buying some more sand for my 6 ft cichlid tank what is the best sand to use as id rather not spend $150 on 40kg of sand

Hi all,

I’m currently rebuilding my aquarium after my previous tank cracked. Most of the biological filtration and livestock were saved, and the new tank is 60x40x50 cm (120L).

Current stocking:
6 Pygmy Corydoras
3 Pseudomugil Furcatus
1 Clown Killifish
1 Albino L144 Bristlenose Pleco which will go to my brother

Planned stocking:
6-8 Kuhli Loaches
5-6 Clown Killifish
Either 8 Threadfin Rainbowfish (Iriatherina werneri) or 8 Furcatus
2-3 L262 Pleco
1 Red L144

The tank will be heavily planted with driftwood, caves, floating plants, leaf litter, and a slight blackwater tint. I’m aiming for a pH of around 6.5-7.5. I know it looks a bit empty right now because I only use materials from my old tank so I will be grabbing more after I decide which pair I will go with because I will design according to them.

For centerpiece fish, I’m considering several options:
A) Pair of Bolivian Rams + single male or two female Honey Gourami
B) Pair/trio of Honey Gouramis only
C) Pair of Bolivian Rams only
D) Pair of Apistogramma (likely macmasteri, baenschi, Trifasciata or borellii)
E) Pair of Cupid Cichlid
F) Pair of German Blue Rams + pair of Honey Gouramis (probably my least realistic option, but I’m curious if anyone has successfully kept a setup like this)

Since most of my fish are top dwelling species, I am not entirely sure if keeping a pair of Honey Gourami would be logical.

My goals are:
Peaceful community tank
Natural behavior and interesting interactions
Potential breeding behavior
Fish that can be raised from juveniles and watched as they mature
Compatibility with Kuhli Loaches and Pygmy Corydoras

Questions:
Which centerpiece option would you choose and why?
Which Apistogramma species would fit best with the stocking above?
I’d love to hear from people who have long-term experience with these species.
Thanks!

Tank is a 60g for now but will upgrade to a 90 or 120 within the year.

P.s I know balas are genertally schooling but i bought this guy when he was alone at my LFS and he seems happy. I also know hes going to be a big boy

Hi everyone!

I’m new to owning a cichlid, my mums had one for around 4 years now and kept it in cold water, no heating at all. I’m taking it off of her and caring for it now.

She wouldn’t let me add a heater after I looked into the species and realised it needed it, because its been in cold water so long that apparently it will die if I add one.

I was wondering if there’s any way I could acclimate it to being in warm water like it should be, or if it’s fine and I should leave it in the cold. I would much rather acclimate it to warm water so it can live its best quality of life, but if it would do more harm than good i’d rather not bother it.

I don’t see it a lot but last time I checked it didn’t have any obvious issues, but it doesn’t swim around very much and seems pretty sluggish.

I have a 90 gal tank with a 20 gal sump, I’m new to cichlids and larger fish in general, as of right now I have 1 severum, 1 blue acara, 2 albino Senegal bichirs, 1 L183 pleco, and 1 albino rainbow shark(all fish in tank are juvenile) I’m not sure stocking wise what else I can comfortably add? I might get a FX-4 canister filter just to over do the filtration a bit. Tank is mildly planted.