Possibly starting a Cichlid tank

Question
Ron:
I currently have a new 40gallon tank with community fish and I feel that I am missing the boat with the cichlid fish.  I have the noob questions regarding any setup differences with community fish and cichlid fish?  Is there a tank size minimum?  Ive always seen pictures of aquascaping with what looks like cichlids and that is pretty much what I want to emulate.

Ive always noticed that cichlids are or can be very large fish but I have seen some stores carry about <1" african cichlids.  Is this good for a starting cichlid tank?  Are these african cichlids ok to mix with a community tank?

Answer
Hi Eric,
 There are several basic ways of keeping cichlids.  Some of the smaller species, like rams and butterfly cichlids, can live in community tanks.  Most cichlids, however, will not be good occupants of a community tank.  Most cichlids are highly territorial, particularly when they are breeding, and they will clear out an area to breed.  In the case of being in a small or even a moderate sized tank such as a 40 gallon tank, that can often mean "eliminating" other fish.  

  Most cichlid keepers either go the large tank route (something like 100+ gallons) or they generally keep only one or two species together.   The latter is by far the most common and most likely to be successful.  

  Also, most cichlids benefit A LOT from a complex living environment, with LOTS of wood and/or rock and/or plants to make what I call a highly structured environment.   Just as a ballpark rule, if I can see the back of a tank, that tank doesn't have enough structure for most cichlids.  

  Some cichlids are large (I have one guy now who is about 18inches long and he's still a teenager), others are very small.  I have some that are adults at just over an inch. There is a huge range (over 2300 species!).  

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
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