• Posted 12/19/2024.
    =====================

    I am still waiting on my developer to finish up on the Classifieds Control Panel so I can use it to encourage members into becoming paying members. Google Adsense has become a real burden on the viewing of this site, but honestly it is the ONLY source of income now that keeps it afloat. I tried offering disabling the ads being viewed by paying members, but apparently that is not enough incentive. Quite frankly, Google Adsense has dropped down to where it barely brings in enough daily to match even a single paid member per day. But it still gets the bills paid. But at what cost?

    So even without the classifieds control panel being complete, I believe I am going to have to disable those Google ads completely and likely disable some options here that have been free since going to the new platform. Like classified ad bumping, member name changes, and anything else I can use to encourage this site to be supported by the members instead of the Google Adsense ads.

    But there is risk involved. I will not pay out of pocket for very long during this last ditch experimental effort. If I find that the membership does not want to support this site with memberships, then I cannot support your being able to post your classified ads here for free. No, I am not intending to start charging for your posting ads here. I will just shut the site down and that will be it. I will be done with FaunaClassifieds. I certainly don't need this, and can live the rest of my life just fine without it. If I see that no one else really wants it to survive neither, then so be it. It goes away and you all can just go elsewhere to advertise your animals and merchandise.

    Not sure when this will take place, and I don't intend to give any further warning concerning the disabling of the Google Adsense. Just as there probably won't be any warning if I decide to close down this site. You will just come here and there will be some sort of message that the site is gone, and you have a nice day.

    I have been trying to make a go of this site for a very long time. And quite frankly, I am just tired of trying. I had hoped that enough people would be willing to help me help you all have a free outlet to offer your stuff for sale. But every year I see less and less people coming to this site, much less supporting it financially. That is fine. I tried. I retired the SerpenCo business about 14 years ago, so retiring out of this business completely is not that big if a step for me, nor will it be especially painful to do. When I was in Thailand, I did not check in here for three weeks. I didn't miss it even a little bit. So if you all want it to remain, it will be in your hands. I really don't care either way.

    =====================
    Some people have indicated that finding the method to contribute is rather difficult. And I have to admit, that it is not all that obvious. So to help, here is a thread to help as a quide. How to become a contributing member of FaunaClassifieds.

    And for the record, I will be shutting down the Google Adsense ads on January 1, 2025.
  • Responding to email notices you receive.
    **************************************************
    In short, DON'T! Email notices are to ONLY alert you of a reply to your private message or your ad on this site. Replying to the email just wastes your time as it goes NOWHERE, and probably pisses off the person you thought you replied to when they think you just ignored them. So instead of complaining to me about your messages not being replied to from this site via email, please READ that email notice that plainly states what you need to do in order to reply to who you are trying to converse with.

African cichlids vs. South American cichlids

S

sake51

New member
Joined
Apr 12, 2012
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
corona,california,usa
I have a 75 gallon that I want to get set up and in preparation I wanna start looking into what fish I should be putting in this tank. So my questions are:
What are the pros of each?
What are the cons of each?
Which one is able to be housed together with other types of fish?
Which is more likely to be able to permanently be housed in a 75 gallon?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Its kind of difficult to simply list pros and cons of such a huge group of fish. Both groups contain very beautiful fish and both contain species that are easy to care for. Both groups contain species that will live comfortably in a 75 and both groups contain species that will get along with others. On the flip side both groups contain species that are none of the above.

I know that's not what you want to read but it really 100% up to you. Personally I prefer the Africans as a group (Tanganyikans in particular) over the South Americans but recently I have become enamored with the SA species of the genus Cryptoheros.

I will try to Answer some of your questions though so I don't come off sounding like a total jerk. IMO many of the commonly kept the South Americans get too large for a 75. Oscars come to mind but there are a quite a few SAs that simply get huge. Obviously there are notable exceptions such as the rams, Apistos and the aforementioned Cryptoheros and there are others as well. That's not to say that all the Africans stay small but as a whole it seems that a community of Africans will be a better fit for a 75. I also think that with the right selection of species you will be able to get a better mix and a more peaceful mix with the Africans. Africans do get territorial but in my experience if you end up with a mated pair the SAs can be down right vicious. More so than a lot of the Africans.

Another thing to consider is your water quality. Where I live the water is very hard and alkaline so it is perfect for any of the rift lake cichlids from Africa. Of course I have kept a fair number of SAs in the same water so unless you are looking to breed or considering a very fussy species water parameters are not that crucial.

Something else to consider and it something I mention with some trepidation because I know there will be people jumping all over me for it, is the fact that SAs and Africans can be mixed. People will say they shouldn't be mixed because the water conditions are different but they are both highly adaptable. Like I said I where I live the water is hard and alkaline but I have never adjusted my water conditions and I have kept an bred many species of SAs.

As far as mixing, it all takes research. If you want a mixed cichlid community Africans may provide you with a better opportunity to do that, especially if you stick with one of the rift lakes (but you can mix species from different lakes) If you want to mix other types of fish such as catfish or tetras you may be further ahead going with the SAs because, in general, when we talk about Africans we usually are referring to the rift lake cichlids and many tetras and catfish from Africa do do better in softer water. That is not to say you can't find them that will adapt but in my experience they are not as adaptable as the cichlids. Of course there are the Synodontis catfish that would be right at home with your African cichlids.

All of my suggestions are very general and for the most part deal with the more commonly available fish. For everything I said there will be fish that don't fit. If you do your research and want to consider some fish that you are not going to find at most pet shops you can find many that will fit your needs.

Ultimately it is your tank and you are the one who will be looking at it so you shouldn't let anyone tell you you should keep this or that because they do this or that. As long as what you want is within reason that's one of the most important aspects of being successful. Keeping something that someone else tells you you should keep because they are "easier" is not a guarantee for failure (or quitting the hobby) but it is big factor.

The internet is a great research tool and my suggestion would be to simply take some time and search the images for fish you like. If you see something you like write it down after you have a big list then you can start looking at the specifics. If you see something you just have to have that will become your key species and everything else you choose will have to be compatible with it. If you don't have your heart set on one particular species your job will be much easier.

My nephew wants to turn his 180 native tank into a cichlid tank so he is going through pretty much what you are going through. His problem though is he really wants blue rams so that is going to make his job more difficult. It won't be impossible but I do know he will have some choices to make because he has also mentioned a lot of the rift lake Africans with peacocks in particular so something will have to give.

I wish you luck. In many ways I find aquarium keeping to be more rewarding than herps but the chips have fallen where they have and for now I am left with 1 saltwater tank with a pair of clownfish and that's it. Someday I'll get back into it though.
 
SA Cichlids are usually much larger and African Cichlids tend to do better in community tanks (less fighting). A lot of the SA Cichlids will get too large for a 75 but you could keep a pair in there, something on the smaller end like Jack Dempsey or Umbee but I would not recommend Oscar, Red Devils or Dovii, those will all get too large. pl*cos and other bottom cleaners should do well with both.
I've never kept African Cichlids, only SAs, but if you want a tank with multiple fish and species, I believe Africans would be the way to go.
:)
 
Last edited:
ah there you go, much more detailed and good info from Steve! (we posted at the same time)
 
That was awesome! Thank you so much Steve. And no need to worry about coming off rude haha I'm in love with the rams as well but definitely will start looking and writing down as you said. Idk why I didn't even think of that (duh) I definitely have lots of research ahead of me. I breed chameleons so I'm barely getting into the fish hobby and am still learning all the dos and donts. I appreciate all the information!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top