# Best dwarf cichlids for a smaller tank?



## Derelique (Nov 28, 2010)

I was thinking of getting a small, say 5-10 gallon tank, and wanted a pair or harem of some type of small cichlid along with a few pygmy cories. It would be a very heavily planted tank and I have some dwarf cichlid caves I can add.

I've had Rams before, but found them to be more aggressive with each other than I'd expected after hearing that they were quite peaceful, but maybe it was that particular male. And I'd be keeping soft and slightly acidic water which rules out the small African shell dwellers. 

Here were a few possibilities I'd considered:
Apistogramma Cacatuoides
Taenicara candidi (if I could find them)
Mikrogeophagus Ramirezi (perhaps only two females instead, or one male)
The Nichols' Mouthbrooder - Pseudocrenilabrus nicholsi
Nanochromis Parilus - Congo Dwarf Cichlid (or N. Nudiceps)
Nanochromis transvestitus
Kribensis - too large and agressive in my experience
Laetacara curviceps - bit on the large side, but peaceful

Which might have the best chance of getting along in a smaller tank?


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## psalm18.2 (Oct 16, 2010)

IMO shell dwelling cichlids are perfect for a 10G tank. But they prefer shells and sand to plants.


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## Jeto (Dec 5, 2010)

would some badis badis interest you? i know they are not cichlids but they should be fine in your tank and they do have the same temperament as some of those cichlids you listed.


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## reignOfFred (Jun 7, 2010)

There is not a cichlid I would put in less then a 20 gallon except certain shell dwellers, but corys would not be impressed by those conditions or fit in. This group of fish is just too darn active and the smallest still reach a good 3" and a few of those on the list can be quite tempermental. 

Maybe pygmy gourami?


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## ridethespiral (Aug 5, 2010)

reignOfFred said:


> There is not a cichlid I would put in less then a 20 gallon except certain shell dwellers, but corys would not be impressed by those conditions or fit in. This group of fish is just too darn active and the smallest still reach a good 3" and a few of those on the list can be quite tempermental.
> 
> Maybe pygmy gourami?


I agree. I have two red Mikrogeophagus ramirezi in my 75g and they use up all of that room. They're constantly swimming around every inch of the tank. The one is quite a bully sometimes and I couldn't imagine the two in a tank smaller than 20g long. Even that is pushing it because they're actually getting a decent size.


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## Derelique (Nov 28, 2010)

The difficulty is that I'm a bit limited in terms of the footprint of the shelving where I could put the tank. With a fair bit of work in modifying the shelving I could fit in a 15 gallon long/20 gallon high, but not a 20 gallon long. Otherwise I could fit either a 10 gallon or 6 gallon Fluval Edge (which has only 15% less tank footprint area than a 10 gallon). 

I appreciate there are a few shell dwelling Lamprologus and NeoNeolamprologus that are said to do well in a 10g, but my water conditions don't suit African Rift Lake cichlids. I might try to search for some Badis Badis though to see whether there are any available in the area. But if not then which of those 

Nevertheless, does anybody have any suggestion on which Dwarf Cichlid species would nevertheless be the most suitable to a smaller tank? Even if I have to chop up my shelving to allow for a bit larger of a tank? 

I'd really have liked the Dwarf Zairean/Nichols Mouthbrooders, although I read they can be a bit on the aggressive side. I used to have a pair years back which were gorgeous and were breeding and thriving well, but I can't recall now whether I had them in the 10, 29, or 55, but I don't recall any problems with aggression.


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## Solid (Jul 19, 2009)

Ive kept Apistogramma Cacatuoides and Rams and both i would feel bad about putting into any tank smaller than a 20 long. Maybe you could add crushed coral or ph buffers to keep shell dwellers, they are the only cichlids that I think will work in a 10g


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## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

I have Kribensis but they are in a larger tank, but the are fun in that they will have a constant brood of fry if you keep the water clean and give them some wood to attach their eggs to plus some good hidding places. I think they would work in a small tank with only 1 male and 1 female plus the fry, and the females are much smaller and have a great purple patch on their belly and sides along with some yellow, mine have been easy to keep and are very old in a community tank.


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

Could any of those you listed work as a single in a 10 gallon?


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## reignOfFred (Jun 7, 2010)

Nope. If you wanted to give up on the corys it is actually very easy to adjust the water to suit the shellies cheaply with common household items- it is much easier to raise levels then lower them. Check out this: http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/buffer_recipe.php

I did keep a big colony of multifasciatus in a 75, and they are very neat little fish - start with a bed of sand, add a LOT of smallish snail shells and spread them out, and then each group (they organized themselves into 1m to 1-3 females) digs a pit in the sand which they fill with shells, and this shell-pile becomes their breeding ground. Anyway, I did some experimenting and it is useless to keep them in less then pH 8.


For corys in less then a 20g the best bet is the pygmy cory - they are actually small enough to be able to roam the tank and be kept in a relatively decent group. A small group of a dwarf like the Panda cory can be squeezed into a 10, but I would not do it, they really seem to roam if given the space.


As for singles - yes you can. After my male Ram died my female ended up in a 10 gallon with some white clouds and lived a very long time - longer then I wanted :-/. But I can tell you it is a boring and pointless way to keep them - all their cool behaviour and best colours rely on interaction with their mate.

In very small tanks fish simply have more space to work with if they are small, and not too terribly active. That's why I mentioned the pygmy (sparkling) gourami, and the other person mentioned the badis badis, and why it would be a good idea to forget about the other dwarf cichlids... for now.


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## Derelique (Nov 28, 2010)

Thanks for the honest feedback everyone.

I previously had a mated pair of Laetacara Curviceps that I'd taken out of a larger tank to try and breed in my 10g which was relatively empty at the time apart from decent planting. They proved to be egg-eaters, but otherwise were thriving well enough that I had decided to leave them there and never had any problems with aggression. But it can be difficult to try and get a pair for sure and so I'd been lucky, but as I'd already kept that species I was thinking of trying something else instead this time. 

Nannacara Anamola was another species I was trying to think of, but reading the experience of others the male can be in danger from the much smaller females following breeding.

I'd feel odd as well keeping any cichlids singly, but though that perhaps two female Rams might have done okay together without any dangerous aggression, and the females of that species still do look wonderful but nevertheless might have some positive interaction. 

Interesting what was said about the Kribensis pair maintaining harmony, so that might be an option, at least if I got a little bit larger a tank I guess, and was sure to get a mated pair of course.

I thought that in order of what is most aggressive (thus requiring incrementally larger tanks) so far as I was aware it fell roughly in this order: 
1. Mikrogeophagus Ramirezi
2. Nanachromis (Dwarf Congo Cichlids), either of the three species.
3. Kribensis - too large and agressive in my experience
4. The Nichols' Mouthbrooder - Pseudocrenilabrus nicholsi
5. Apistogramma Cacatuoides
6. Nannacara Anamola (apart from brooding females...)
7. Laetacara curviceps

But I must stress this is based more upon heresay with most of these species than personal experience, so if anyone has other views then I'd certainly be happy to hear them. Do others happen to have experience which differs from this? 

The consensus seems that if I'm to get anything apart from shell-dwelling Rift Lake cichlids then I'd better find someplace else to put a larger tank instead... which is a possibility but a compromise in terms of my house. 

I was a little surprised that no one seemed to think a 10g was okay for any of these species though, especially as my reading has been covering the topic of discus lately and with many breeders suggesting a 29G as a perfect size tank in which to permanently keep a breeding pair in, which I was rather taken aback by.


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## reignOfFred (Jun 7, 2010)

> I was a little surprised that no one seemed to think a 10g was okay for any of these species though, especially as my reading has been covering the topic of discus lately and with many breeders suggesting a 29G as a perfect size tank in which to permanently keep a breeding pair in, which I was rather taken aback by.


Keep in mind people have different ideas and goals. Some people aim for mere survival while others go for thriving. Some just want some pretty fishies in a tank, others want to see their fish display the maximum amount of natural behaviour out of the fish.

Discus are not active swimmers, so a pair can be squeezed into a 29 if water changes are done frequently enough. a breeder is also bound to have a bare, and bare bottom tank. This hardly makes it "perfect" though. Me, I am no a breeder and would not even bother keeping discus unless I can keep them in a proper school in a big planted tank.


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## Derelique (Nov 28, 2010)

reignOfFred said:


> Keep in mind people have different ideas and goals. Some people aim for mere survival while others go for thriving. Some just want some pretty fishies in a tank, others want to see their fish display the maximum amount of natural behaviour out of the fish.
> 
> Discus are not active swimmers, so a pair can be squeezed into a 29 if water changes are done frequently enough. a breeder is also bound to have a bare, and bare bottom tank. This hardly makes it "perfect" though. Me, I am no a breeder and would not even bother keeping discus unless I can keep them in a proper school in a big planted tank.


All of the above, of course!... I wish for my species to survive and not have their lives threatened by aggression, to exhibit natural behaviour, to thrive, and to maintain harmony (so that I'm not stressed either from watching my lovely fish abusing each other, which otherwise takes a bit of the joy out of the hobby!). 

It's funny though, if you talk to serious discus keepers they usually seem to agree and insist that discus (and especially breeding pairs) should be kept alone in bare-bottom tanks with out plants or substrate!... which shows a serious problem in their practices in my opinion. 

Perhaps once I decide upon my tank set-up (I'm leaning towards the 15 long), 
I should search the aquarist classifieds to find a mated pair of one of the species which maintains good pair bonds without aggression even when not breeding, such as Kribensis or Dwarf Flag Cichlids.


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