South American Cichlids Species

Now, I adore South American Cichlids. I started out with them after I got bored with my community fish tank. I was looking for something more intense and fish that could get very big. Most South American Cichlids will need a tank with at least 50 gallons due to the fact most varieties like Oscars can get 12 inches in length.

South American Cichlids need a large hang on the back filter or canister filter for filtration. In addition they need warmed up water. Like community fish, they need the water heat to be at least 77 degrees. Most of these types of fish are indigenous to the Amazon River. It is very cool to see them in motion in your tank. I recommend getting an odd number of fish because this lessons the odds of them killing others off in your tank.

Now when I started out my South American Cichlid tank I bought a used 55 gallon from one of my friends. He did not want it anymore and was moving out of the area. I desired some crazy fish and ended up getting 3 Oscars. I acquired the fish when they were babies around one inch in length. I was astonished how fast they grew. In about one year they were 7 inches. I keep up with the water modifications and only feed them twice a week live feeder fish. My pals would come over and see them consume goldfish like nothing.

Eventually, I got bored with them and ended up trading them in for something else. I learned that Oscars were easy to take care of, but they were really dumb fish. I mean they were not very sensible and had a one track mind. Another fish like this is the Red Pacu. The Red Pacu is in essence a legal version of a Piranha. They look similar, but do not have teeth.

So when I traded my Oscars in at the store I wanted something special. I was debating whether to get a Red Tail Catfish or an Arowana. I had been studying up on both the fish and realized that they were going to be more challenging to take care of then the Oscars. I observed out that the Arowana was going to be very high priced to buy as a baby ( 3 inches) and sometimes was very difficult to feed. I made the decision to go with the Red Tail Catfish. I got it as 6 inches in size and was able to grow it to 30 inches over a interval of 3 years.

The Red Tail Catfish was the only South American Cichlids that I had in my tank, but it was well worth it. I made sure to keep up with the h2o changes every other week and only feed it frozen food to stop parasites. I also made certain that it was feeling safe in my tank by developing rock statues within the tank. It was very shy and needed to feel protected underneath some rocks.