The Daily Cichlid

Did you know that there are common but equally beautiful fish related to Cichlids that can be found in North America in just about every river, lake or pond and that these fish can be housed in water as cool as 65-79 degrees F or 20-25 degrees C?  It is true: Bass, Sunfish, Blue gills and Crapie of all types shapes and sizes are the north american equivalent of Cichlids, I say equivalent because although they are closely related they are not of the same general species (Cichlids) but to make it easier I will refer to them as being the North American equivalent of a Cichlid. These fish are found just about anywhere in Canada and the United States. Bet it makes a lot of sense now when you consider the behavior and even the shape and colouration of these types of fish which are closely related to Cichlids. Depending on your local laws and guidelines it is possible to house these types of fish in large indoor aquariums.

North American Cichlids water conditions and environments vary from ponds, to rivers and to lakes. On the bright side this has made the North American Cichlids very adaptable and will fit into just about any natural looking aquascape. As long as ample cover and space is provided most north american cichlids will do well. Like most fish North American Cichlids do not tolerate pollution or unclean water conditions very well but they tolerate it better than most. In saying this, our waterways are not perfect and in fact are considered some of the worst in the world because of acid rain, raw sewage leaking into main rivers and streams as well as lakes during heavy storms, seemingly uncontrolible amounts of fertilizers that seep into our river systems because of heavy agriculture, and for many years heavy industrial waste was allowed to be dumped into our great lakes and rivers as well.    

Water Conditions:

Ph 6.0-8.6

Ammonia 0ppm 

Nitrites 0ppm

Nitrates 10-30ppm is the norm

Average Temp 65 - 79 degrees F or 20- 24 degrees C - technically room temperature water is perfectly fine with North American Cichlids and if it is too warm they become lethargic and don't want to eat.  

Environments:

Rocky shore lines with minimal vegetation and some drift wood - heavily weeded areas with sandy or gravel bottoms.  

Minimum Tank size for school of 8-10 sunfish 120-150 gallons

Minimum Tank size for 1 small mouth or large mouth bass plus sunfish or other small native species 300 gallons, 6-10' feet long. Keep in mind that most sunfish reach 8-10 inches and most bass can reach 24 inches and you will get depressed looking at this giant bass swimming in the middle of a short or small tank with no where else to go. Idealy you would want a custom 10 foot long by 3 feet deep aquarium with lots of cover, weeds, other plants, Large rocks, drift wood to really keep them happy. In order to feed these monsters you would need to start your own bait tank, probably 50 gallons or so with multiple kinds of shad which you can catch and breed until you have ample amounts and then feed the excess on a daily basis to a couple baby fingerlings or 6-10 inch bass and watch them grow up. That is my dream aquarium lol I would love it if I could have a nothern pike aquarium too but at 48-50 inches per fish I don't think it would be possible to house one successfully. 

Keep in mind if you are planning to keep a native species tank that you must talk to your local fishery councel to see if it is even legal.   

Central American Cichlids originate from rivers and streams like the Panama River pictured (left).

Panama River offers beautiful and various types of environments and clean water.

Water Conditions:

Ph 6.5 - 7.8

Temp ranges from: 26–29 °C (79–84 °F) on average

Ammonia 0ppm

Nitrates 10-20ppm (maximum)

Nitrites 0ppm

Some of the most common Central and South American Cichlids include the Bolivian Ram, the Convict Cichlid, Oscars, Discus, Angel Fish, and the Jack Dempsy.

Because of the river environment and the low Ph of the Central and South American Cichlid habitats it is fairly common to see Central American/ South American Cichlid setups with drift wood, plants, gravel or sand with some rocks. For example you would not see a Ram setup with large rock piles and no plants.  Pictured below are typical South and Central American Cichlid Setups.

Lake Victoria:

With a surface area of 68,800 square kilometres (26,600 sq mi), Lake Victoria is Africa’s largest lake by area, and it is the largest tropical lake in the world. Lake Victoria is the world's 2nd largest freshwater lake by surface area; only Lake Superior in North America is larger. In terms of its volume, Lake Victoria is the world's ninth largest continental lake, and it contains about 2,750 cubic kilometers (2.2 billion acre-feet) of water. 

Geologically, Lake Victoria is relatively young – about 400,000 years old – and it formed when westward-flowing rivers were dammed by an upthrown crustal block.

The introduction of the Nile Perch has changed the freshwater eco-system and has driven several Cichlid species that were native to the lake to near or total extinction.

Water Conditions: Poor, the lake is considered shallow at only 280meters deep it is highly polluted because it is used as a raw and industrial sewage dumping ground all year round. This pollution causes algae blooms occasionally and with these blooms large scale fish kills are observed. 

PH 8.6

Because the lake is being used as a sewage dumping ground I can only speculate its conditions and would suggest that if you do get Lake Victorian Cichlids treat them the same way you would Lake Malawi or Tanganyika Cichlids because they are not meant to live in a sesspool of filth. 

Ammonia 0 ppm

Nitrites 0 ppm 

Nitrates 10ppm (maximum)

Lake Tanganyika

Lake Tanganyika is the second largest freshwater lake in the world with a PH of 8.4 and an average temperature of 78-84 degrees F or 25-27 degrees C all year long. The water conditions of this lake are stable and pristine. In order to house Tanganyikan Cichlids you must match these conditions as best you can.

All species of Cichlids from this lake are intolerant to high nitrates, ammonia, nitrites and acidic water. Neutral water doesn't provide the mineral intake requirements that the fish of this lake require. Most Aquarists use buffering techniques such as salt, and crushed coral sand substrate to house their fish successfully. If you use soft water out of the tap your Tanganyikan fish will not live very long. Soft water has a PH of 6-6.5 usually so it is best to test your water before you decide to get African Cichlids because there are many options out there for unique and beautiful Cichlids if you do have water with low PH and low carbonate hardness. As most aquarium enthusiasts know PH is directly related to hardness. If your PH is alkaline (PH 7.9 – 9.0) and stable it is a good indication that your water has a lot of minerals. If your water is neutral (PH 7.2-7.5) it indicates that you have medium to light hard water conditions, these conditions are suited for most South American Cichlids but not for Tanganyikans or other Rift lake fish however if you use buffers you can easily bring water with a ph of 7.5 up to 8.0-8.4 with buffering agents like crushed coral or aragonite substrates. If you have a PH of 6.0-7.0 your water is considered soft and is only suited for South American Cichlids.

Take PH with a grain of salt, I currently have a PH of 8.2 and I have a community aquarium that houses a Ram (aquarium bred), 3 Emerald Corydora’s, a school of 6 Black Skirt Tetras, and a Flame Gourami. Although my conditions are not perfect for the Ram or any of the fish in terms of hardness and ph, my fish are healthy. How can they be healthy you ask? It is simple, my conditions are stable. Most fish have the ability to adapt to certain conditions as long as these conditions don’t change. Do I think my Ram could breed successfully in these conditions? It is possible if her line was born in similar conditions for a number of generations. Number 1 rule is that it is best to leave your conditions the way they are and adapt to those conditions rather than try to change them drastically and then try to keep them stable. Usually when you make huge changes to your water chemistry it is never stable and when your water isn't stable it can lead to fish death or illness. 

80-90% of all species of Cichlids in the aquarium trade are a Lake Tanganyikan species. although more and more lake malawi species are becoming more common due to local breeders and fish farms breeding them and making rarer species more readily available 

Beautiful Lake Malawi, home to thousands of different species of Ciclids and also many other species of fish and wild life. 

It isn't the largest lake in the world Ranking #9 and it is the third largest lake in Africa but what it lacks in size It makes up for it in depth. Lake Malawi is the second deepest lake in Africa. 

Beautiful and full of life and very many of the Cichlids we see in the Aquarium hobby today originated here and are commonly known as Mbuna Cichlids.