I need a "show" fish for a 180g community - Ideas?

[ed seeley]

You should be able to source the West African dwarfs from some specialist suppliers like Ted's Fishroom, Rehoboth Aquatics or others. Don't buy my fish in North America I'm afraid!

Here's a link about Nanochromis transvestitus
http://dwarfcichlid.com/Nanochromis_transvestitus.php

[bigstick120]

Im liking these guys, do a search and you can find some better photos, Columbian tetra
http://badmanstropicalfish.com/stats...lumbianus.html

[AaronT]

If you can find them I recommend Rhadinocentrus ornatus.

http://members.optushome.com.au/chelmon/Rhadino.htm

They actually do really well in soft water unlike most rainbowfish.

[BryceM]

Wow. Nice fish Aaron!

I'm really impressed by some of the newer species starting to come onto the scene. Rehoboth's has some VERY nice West African chiclids. Thanks Ed. I'm almost tempeted to set up my 20g just for them. Hmmmm.

[Afyounie]

I had a pair of kribs for awhile. They were just the common ones, but they had beautiful colors and were fun to watch. The only thing I hated about them is that they bred like rabbits. They are also great parents, so those babies don't die often. They filled up a 55g in 2 months with about 60 or so juveniles which I ended up with about 50 of them living. They do stop spawning though when the population gets too big.

I'd go with a rarer species of W. African dwarf, try cichlid-forum.com to see descriptions of different species and pics.

[ed seeley]

Originally Posted by BryceM

I'm really impressed by some of the newer species starting to come onto the scene. Rehoboth's has some VERY nice West African chiclids. Thanks Ed. I'm almost tempeted to set up my 20g just for them. Hmmmm.

No worries mate. I'd keep the 20 to raise the babies!!! Let us know how you get on!

[JanS]

Originally Posted by BryceM

Jan - Do the butterflies have a tendency to jump? I do need a little activity in the upper layers, but most fish that live there often try to go flying. The back of the tank has a pretty large opening. I absolutely love angels, but they've always intimidated congos in my tanks. Someday I might try altums in the tank though.

Yes, apparently they do to an extent, but not as much as something like a Hatchet would. I've never had a problem with them getting out of the back opening of my tank like I did with the Hatchet's. I think the big key there is to have a few surface plants for them to hang out under, so they feel secure.

I have about a million of the common Kribs (want some? ), and they are beautiful fish, but as stated, they breed like bunnies. I know Tony Orso has some of the more uncommon varieties like you have pictured above, so he might be a source, if you're looking.

[ranchwest]

How about checkerboard cichlids? They like soft water.

[ingg]

Bryce, Twofishguyz.com has had a ton of the Pelvivachromis color morphs in in the last few months, you might try them, too.

[JanS]

I'm pretty sure it was Twofishguyz that I bought some fish from at a convention a couple years ago, and the fish were top quality.