The 10 best dwarf cichlids for your aquarium - Swell UK

Dwarf cichlids have big characters for such small fish, and they're suitable for tropical community tanks.

Just keep it to one pair of dwarf cichlids per tank. Here are some of our favourites

Ram, Mikrogeophagus ramirezi

Rams are gorgeous yellow fish with pink, black and blue markings. They need warm, soft water and are ideal tank mates for cardinal tetras. The standard fish are called blue or German blue ram (despite being yellow,) but now bright "electric blue" rams are also available, as well as all yellow "gold" variants. If they spawn it means you've got their tank just to their liking. Safe with aquarium plants too.

Max Size 2"/5cm

Kribensis, Pelvicachromis pulcher

Kribensis are probably the most popular dwarf cichlid species and are hardy with regard to pH too. Give them half a coconut shell to spawn under and they'll be happy. Look out for other Pelvicachromis species like P.taeniatus.

Max Size 4"/10cm

African Butterfly Cichlid, Anomalochromis thomasi

Anomalochromis thomasi are also West African dwarf cichlids, like Kribs, but they look more like dwarf Jewel cichlids. Often drab and unassuming in the fish store, get them home, give them a mature, well-decorated tank and they will repay you with blue reflective scales over a pink body. 

Max size 2"/5cm

Keyhole Cichlid, Cleithracara maronii

Keyhole cichlids are old favourite freshwater fish which are very much outshone (in terms of colour,) these days by other cichlids from South America like Rams and Apistogramma. But these dwarf acaras have a peaceful temperament and develop tail extensions as they mature. Be lucky enough to breed them, keep them in dim light and you'll see the pair display the Keyhole markings on their flanks that give them their common name. 

Max size 3"/7.5cm

Dwarf Flag Cichlid, Laetacara curviceps

The Flag cichlid is a stocky little dwarf cichlid that is easy to keep and makes a nice breeding project. Offer them a natural-looking furnished aquarium and they develop more blue colouration as they mature. Laetacara dorsigera is a similar species but prefers higher temperatures. 

Max size 2"/5cm

Apistogramma, Apistogramma spp.

Apistogramma is actually a large genus with some 90+ species, many of which are beautiful fish if a little delicate at times. Males develop ornate finnage and markings which make them popular aquarium fish, with the Cockatoo cichlid, A. cacatuoides probably being the most popular. Give them a blackwater themed aquarium with tetras or pencilfish as company and lots of aquatic plants or leaf cover and fine sand to replicate their natural environment and they will blossom. 

Average size 2-3"/5-7cm 

Checkerboard Cichlid, Dicrossus filamentosus 

Checkerboard cichlids are like Apistogramma in their care, needing quiet, mature, soft water aquaria to see them develop into their best. There are several species in the genus although D.maculatus and filamentosus are the most common. Not dwarf cichlids for beginners, if you see a pair, invest time in caring for them and they turn into wonderful looking, beautiful fish and may even breed too. 

Max size 2"/5cm

Golden Dwarf Cichlid, Nannacara anomala

Nannacara is a genus of dwarf cichlid you may walk straight past in the shops, but give them a quiet, furnished fish tank and the male colouration can become a blend of gold, green and blue. They've been in the hobby a long time but now are often overshadowed by the much showier Apistogramma. But give them a try - they are little beauties.

Max size 2"/5cm  

Bolivian Ram, Mikrogeophagus altispinosa

Bolivians are larger than their yellow cousins, but they are also more hardy community fish and straight forward to keep. They're peaceful too. They don't need such acidic water and are a good choice for the tropical community aquarium.

Max size 3"/7cm

Egyptian Mouthbrooder, Pseudocrenilabrus multicolor

If you can find them, these are wonderful dwarf cichlids from Africa that as the name suggests, holds eggs and fry in the (female's) mouths. The genus Pseudocrenilabrus is instead much more widely represented by P. nicholsi, which is a much larger, much more aggressive fish, although with more striking black and red colouration too.

Egyptians are by contrast much smaller when offered for sale, but males take on gold livery as they mature and they are a great, easy way of breeding dwarf cichlids and a way to keep mouthbrooding cichlids without having to keep hyper-aggressive cichlids from Lake Malawi.

Max size 3"/8cm

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

This fish is worth $300,000 - New York Post

This fish is worth $300,000 - New York Post This fish is worth $300,000 - New York Post Posted: 05 Jun 2016 12:00 AM PDT With exacting precision, the surgeon inserted the scalpel above the eyeball and cut out a snotty deposit of fatty tissue. The routine eye-lift was nearly complete when suddenly the patient awoke, suffocating, and began to flop about on the table. The audience gasped. Knowing time was of the essence, the surgeon scooped up the patient in his arms, raced across the stage, and dropped her into a tank of water. She revived. Because she was a fish. Yes, fish eye-lifts exist. As do fin jobs and tail tucks. The operating theater was a mall in Jakarta, Indonesia, where a pet expo was under way. As for the patient, she survived, her formerly droopy eyes now bright and perky. A good thing, too, as this was no ordinary goldfish but rather an Asian arowana, the world's most expensive aquarium denizen, rumored to sell for as mu...
Read more

Catching Dory: selling aquarium fish supports coastal livelihoods in Indonesia | npj Ocean Sustainability - Nature.com

Image
Abstract The global marine aquarium trade has created new local markets across the planet, including in Indonesia, now the second-largest exporting country of marine aquarium fish in the world. Participating in the global aquarium trade has been touted as a potentially sustainable addition to fisher livelihoods, but scant data exist showing the numbers of fish coming off the reef and how those fish contribute to income. To determine how participants in the trade incorporate aquarium species in their livelihoods, we examine source-level aquarium fish collecting and trading data in the Banggai Archipelago, a region in Central Sulawesi that has become a significant source for popular aquarium, also known as ornamental, fish species. Using a sustainable livelihoods lens, we examine this data to understand how participants in the aquarium trade both contribute to as well as benefit from the trade and consider how their participation relates to emerging Blue Justice principles. From one year...
Read more

NilocG Launches New Website for the Only All-in-One Thrive Fertilization Solution for Planted Aquariums - PRNewswire

Image
NilocG Launches New Website for the Only All-in-One Thrive Fertilization Solution for Planted Aquariums - PRNewswire NilocG Launches New Website for the Only All-in-One Thrive Fertilization Solution for Planted Aquariums - PRNewswire Posted: 11 Mar 2021 02:00 AM PST ALBANY, Ore. , March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- NilocG launches a new website for planted tank enthusiasts to gather and make THRIVE, a plant fertilizer that assures planted tank aquascapes flourish while eliminating the need for multiple products more readily available online. The company also takes it a step further in the industry, making its flagship product easy to dose, super-concentrated, and an all-in-one solution based on an effective EL dosing method with all essential micro and macronutrients. Continue Reading Thrive fertilizer: North America's most trusted aquarium plant fertilizer Colin Grice , CEO, a self-described planted tank lover, re...
Read more