Community Tank or Chichlid tank?

I currently have a 3 ft community tank with a neon dwarf gourami, pearl kissing gourami, 3 zebra danios, phantom glass (4 died due to white spot , now cured), clown loach, 2 retail panfish, and a bristlenose catfish.

I don't know if it would be worth the hassle and money changing to a cichlid tank?

Any help or opinions would be appreciated thanks

Adam.

www.aqadvisor.com

This is an online stocking calculator. I use it all the time when i am planning tanks for people. Run some options through there and see how you go. also are you thinking african or american chiclids? cos americans will seriously reduce the number of fish you can have cos of aggression.

im thinking africans for that reason exactly and they are easier to keep arnt they? As far as water parameters go anyway.

BTW very nice site

depends on what your water is like.

our tap water here in Adelaide is horrid. But its perfect for africans, hard as hell and basic. so in that respect yes, it is easier. I use RO water and that comes out of the filters soft as a pillow and acidic so its easy to keep americans, and bristlenose

well if i do go for it ill go african then.
But in your personal opinion is it worth getting rid of my fish for them. Like are they more active interesting to watch?
And will my clown loach, bn and pandtails live with them? I know the rest wont lol

personally, I like the americans. but that is just me. I have seen some stunning african tanks though, like drop dead amazing tanks that i would love to have but I like plants and plants and africans dont mix.

Have a look at some pics on the web of different tanks and different fish then decide what you want. If you based how your tank should look on the thoughts of people on here i would think it would be full of bristlenose and L number catfish...not that we are biased or anything

haha i second that. Bristlenoses are AMAZING. They must be my top favorite fish along with the oscar. Those guys are just so dam aggressive tho! I'm not sure what I'm going to with for now might just stick it out and save up my money

hi i know of a shop were he sells loads of chichlids and at very good prices well to me anyway knows what he is on about the shops called GOTFISH Aquariums at cliff ave pt nourlunga worth a visit just to help your decision

hi there,
i'm going to be completely biased here, but africans are amazing! i have a 4 ft full of them and african catfish. i started out my fish interest with normal tropical fish but soon got a bit bored and wanted more of a challenge so i changed to cichlids and i haven't looked back! their behaviour and personalities are just so unique and still after 3 years i find myself staring at them all the time (more than the tv! lol). i have packed my tank out with about 50 fish and almost every water change i re-arrange all my rocks and ornaments to reduce aggression now that they are maturing and getting big. i will say one thing, do your homework on each fish you get, you want to know everything about them so you don't get problems (how big they will grow etc). also, you need to make sure your 'boss of the tank' is a good boss - sorts out all the fights and looks after everyone, not kills everyone. i had a problem where a peacock was running the tank and i lost quite a few other male peacocks as he was just so aggressive, so i removed him for quite a number of weeks and allowed my venustus to become the boss, and haven't had any issues since. the colours are just stunning! and i have a few americans in there too and they are doing great. so you can mix and match but like i said, do your homework and PLENTY of hiding spots and as you are adding cichlids to your tank you will need to introduce at least 4 - 5 fish at a time.
i have 3 large clown loaches and 2 male bn in the tank too, and they have learnt to get their own food and hold their ground. and my cichlids leave them alone. but i did have them in the tank from day 1 so it was if the tank was theirs to begin with and the cichlids had to get used to that. that's the best way to do it. if i was to add a bn now it would probably get ripped apart and be completely out numbered.
hope this helps!

devo i bought 4 new gouramis yesterday haha. I'm probably going to do a cichlid tank once i have a 4 or 5ft tank. Thanks for the info tho very helpful .