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Your First Cichlid Tank - Which Species is Best
You fell in love with cichlids. You made an awesome choice, because they are great fish!
But first and foremost you will want to research that type of fish before creating your first cichlid tank. Cichlids are quite aggressive and there are different species that don't get along with others. The size and growth rate of these marine animals will also affect the way they will treat each other. If you don't match them up correctly some of your prized fish will end up as fish food, rather than beautifying your home.
Further, the tank set up, the tank size, pH levels and water temperature play a huge role in how your fish will behave. It is best to replicate their natural habitat as closely as possible to keep your aquarium fairly peaceful and beautiful at the same time.
SPECIES
Cichlids can be split into several groups that should be kept separate based on natural aggression levels. Most stores for lack of better knowledge will explain that you just need to worry whether your cichlids are African or South American, because they will tear each other up in a heart beat. There are a few exceptions, but it's not recommended to mix African cichlids with South American ones, even though I have seen Jewels and Convicts getting along with Africans as long as they were similar in size.
African cichlids are to be divided further by the African lakes they originate from. There are Lake Malawi cichlids, Lake Tanganyika cichlids and the rare Victorian Lake cichlids. There are also the lesser known rift river cichlids that should be studied in depth and best kept separate from rift lake species.
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