BC Hodges asked:


Are you a cichlid enthusiast? Have you ever wondered if buying online is safe? What about purchasing from a store? There are many pros and cons to purchasing cichlids online or at your local store. Let’s talk about a few of each.

Purchasing Online

Pro: You can pretty much choose any single fish you want. The online stores typically have a larger selection.

Pro: Sometimes without a store front fish prices are lower. Keep in mind you need to pay shipping so purchasing many fish online at once is better.

Con: You cannot see the individual fish you buy to check for diseases or odd behavior.

Con: The fish need to be shipped and that can be stressful on them.

Purchasing at a Local Fish Store:

Pro: You can watch the fish and select the fish you want.

Pro: No Shipping. All you have to do is transport them home in a bag and get them safely into your tank.

Con: Can be more expensive.

Con: You may not have a very good local fish store.

Where never to buy:

You should be very wary of purchasing fish from major chain stores. If their main focus is not on fish often times they overlook the fish section. Fish need very specific care and are not like other animals. If you purchase a fish from a huge chain store you are risking buying an infected fish and contaminating the rest of your collection.

Be sure to do your research when purchasing the cichlids you want. It is a very rewarding hobby, and one I think everyone should try.

Should I keep Cichlids over Saltwater fish?

I have kept both saltwater fish and cichlids. I can tell you that my favorite by far was my cichlid fish tank. There is something about keeping cichlids that is so rewarding. First of all they are not as difficult as salt water fish, but they have so many great colors, sizes, shapes, personalities that you can find whatever you want.

I chose to keep African cichlids because I loved the diverse colors as well as the breeding was easy to do. I enjoyed watching the little fry in my tank try to survive and make it to adult hood. I never bred them seriously, but they would breed all the time and it was a blast to watch them. I also included a few catfish in the mix and it made the tank look amazing with some great diversity.

It is really hard to go wrong if you choose to keep cichlids. You can keep African cichlids, South American cichlids and many other cichlids from various parts of the world. Cichlids range in size from 3 inches to 3 feet. Most of them can and currently are being kept by cichlid enthusiasts all over the world.

Some of the best tanks I have ever seen are from people that keep peacock bass, which is a South American cichlid species. Now you need at least a 300 gallon aquarium to keep them because they get so big, but they are spectacular.

So if you are trying to decide whether or not to keep cichlids or try salt water, my suggestion is to try fresh water cichlids.



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