| It all began when I gave Kris a fish tank about 4 years ago for his birthday. Over the years, I became totally responsible for the fish tank. I was not too attached to the fish, after all, they were just fish. THEN IT HAPPENED... Kris decided that the next time we restocked our tank (by now we had two 10 gallon tanks - long story) he wanted to pick "MORE EXCITING" fish. Without researching or even reading the information on the tanks at the store, Kris purchased 4 African Cichlids. I noticed that these fish were NOT scared of me nor were they hiding from me when I cleaned the tank. All four seemed comfortable that I was in their domain. I also noticed that they had almost doubled, if not almost TRIPLED in size!! Within five months, these fish, who had been only 1 inch when purched now were at least 4 to 4 1/2 inches long!!! I became facinated with these new fish and began reading and reasearching about them. I also joined about five different fish chat sites just to learn more! I became worried when I realized that these fish would probably still grow another two inches! That was way too much fish for just a 10 gallon tall tank! After almost a month of constant bickering and nagging (yes I admit I nagged and bickered!!!) Kris finally agreed to a larger tank. I inherited a wroght iron stand from Kris's parents and a 20 gal long tank from my brother Josh. I hope that I can help others learn more about cichlids and that others enjoy them as much as I do. |
| Kenia's African Cichlids |
| The inherited 20 L tank after set up - during fishless cycling mode |
| Cichlid Info & Help: Check out these sites! |
| Red Zebra - Females are bright orange much like one above and even have egg spots. Males are also bright orange but have a blue untertone underneath. Kenyii - Most cannot be sexed until at least 2 or 3 in in length. Females will stay bright blue. Males will fade to an almost yelloish blue. Bumblebee - also called "Hornet Cichlid" and pseudotropheus crabra - I have yet to really know how to sex these. Both male and females can change from the yellow with dark stripes to almost a full dark color (use as camoflauge and also a disquise. In captivative may be related to mood). |
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| Cichlids are very popular due to their vivacious personalities, beautiful coloring and of course their interesting behavior. Only by spending a few minutes or even several hours watching your cichlids, will you come to fully appreciate and love them. By watching them you learn about their vast range of behavior. Possible tank mates include but are not limited to Loricarid (plecotype fish), clown loaches, red tailed sharks, tricolored sharks and bala sharks. Of course the size is very important! If you want to have tank mates with your cichlids, make sure that they will be very similar in size - especially in size when they are adults. Tanks size is also important and a tank that sacrifices depth for width is always the better choice. Cichlids usually prefer to stay towards the bottom of the tank and so all that extra height is wasted. |
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| Kenyii - Male - "Steve McQueen" Unfortunetly Mr. McQueen passed away 10/12/02 - he will be missed! |
| Bristlenose Catfish - Male -"Mr. Clean" - Not in his contract to pose for pictures |
| Red Zebra - Female "Bobbie Lee" |
| Kenyii - Female "Sapphaire" |
| Bumblebee - (Fe)Male (?) - Tibadeuax aka Tibby |
| -NOT PICTURED - |
| What I have learned about sexing |
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