Fish tomorrow!

I am excited! After finally settling in somewhat here in Cali, I am going to set up my first fish tank in our new home tomorrow. (I already set it up; I am buying fish tmrw.) I had kept everything from Oscars to Pike to goldfish and koi back in NY.

I am starting out small, for budget and space constraints. Just a few coldwaters; goldfish, I am thinking. I miss watching my fish, and hearing the filter (it's a sound that used to help put me to sleep at night.)

Just a little 10 gallon; again, nothing fancy. But I am still excited! Of course I will post pics when things are set.

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Originally Posted by Ginevive

I am excited! After finally settling in somewhat here in Cali, I am going to set up my first fish tank in our new home tomorrow. (I already set it up; I am buying fish tmrw.) I had kept everything from Oscars to Pike to goldfish and koi back in NY.

I am starting out small, for budget and space constraints. Just a few coldwaters; goldfish, I am thinking. I miss watching my fish, and hearing the filter (it's a sound that used to help put me to sleep at night.)

Just a little 10 gallon; again, nothing fancy. But I am still excited! Of course I will post pics when things are set.

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Thats great :gj:.If you can not find anything give this site a look.Its a fish auction site and you just might find breeders in Cali.Its www.aquabid.com.

Oh wow! That's neat; thanks for posting.

wonderful! I love fishtanks, I've recently started up a 29g coldwater tank myself.

Here we go :) I got two smaller African cichlids. I plan on upgrading them to a nice long tank that will fit over my mantle; for now, they are ok in the 10g. Nothing smaller than what they were in at the store :)

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...fisheeeees.jpg

I know that the window poses an algae hazard; it is closed 90% of the time.

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil.../6/9/tank1.jpg

cichlids are great :D looking good there! :gj:

Cool fish :cool:

Congrats on the fish.I like the blue one the best.

Im a little confused.You were going to get goldfish a coldwater species but have opted for warm water fish, do you have a heater in there? Also your tank looks vey coludy are you sure its cycled the whole way?

As for them being ok in a small tank, I find even the smallest cichlids get stressed in short tanks. It would defo be a good idea to go long for over your mantle, where you will be able to buy more and make them feel more comortable. They are lovely looking fish, even more so in a group.

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Originally Posted by DarkSean

Im a little confused.You were going to get goldfish a coldwater species but have opted for warm water fish, do you have a heater in there? Also your tank looks vey coludy are you sure its cycled the whole way?

As for them being ok in a small tank, I find even the smallest cichlids get stressed in short tanks. It would defo be a good idea to go long for over your mantle, where you will be able to buy more and make them feel more comortable. They are lovely looking fish, even more so in a group.

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i agree, also two cichlids need a 45g min tank but preferably bigger. they are fairly agressive fish prefer being in groups a 1.3 ratio to sort out agression.

yay fish!

those first two look like Tropheus - if so they are strict vegetarians FYI

The hard thing about african cichlids, is that most times they are sold in assorted groups. Most times, the fish that are shipped to the store in assortments really should not live together. Some species are just much more aggressive than others. Your best bet would be to either do some research, or to go to a specialty shop for african cichlids. For instance, species from the Melanochromis family are known to be a lot more aggressive than Labidochromis caeruleus or yellow labs.
For now, since you did mention that you were going to upgrade your tank size, I would say that you should add some more hiding spaces than what you have right now. Also, you should have a heater if you don't already have one.
As mentioned above malawi cichlids in the mbuna family are vegetarians, and can die from bloat if not given the correct diet.
Good luck with the fishes!

I also hate it when people say that you have to have a big tank to keep cichlids. This is not completely true. If you spend the time and money and do the research, there are a couple of shell dweller set ups that can work in a ten gallon. Granted, you will not have more than a couple of fish in that tank, it will still work. Lamprologus multifasciatus is more than suitable for a smaller set up, if it is given the right aquascaping and the the shells to live in.

my Melanochromis started attacking my yellow labs.
but then again my yellow labs won out in the end.

yes you dont need a 200 gallon tank just the right individuals in the tank.

my Christmas Fulus and my yellow labs get along well.