Cichlid Beginner

[neon1423]

Hey all, so I've had fish for ever, done the tropical thing, the shrimp thing and the plant thing and now am thinking about doing the cichlid thing I'm leaning towards african cichlids, however I've never had cichlids before. so the following questions;

What do I need to know about keeping cichlids?
Wheres good places to buy them?
What good online resources are out there?
What types are there and what compatibility do they have?

Thanks

[Gowalkitoff]

I love south American cichlids.  Worldwide, there are dwarf cichlids at 2" and monster cichlids at 2'.  Peaceful that can live with guppies, predatory that will eat anything it can fit in its mouth.  Diggers, plant eaters, neither.  Some so predatory or aggressive they should be kept alone.  Some south Americans and africans can be mixed, if they are west african; soft acidic water environments. 

As a person who has done a metric crapton of impulse, misinformed decision making, I recommend thinking long and hard about what kind of tank you want, then add the fish that will fit that.  Or, choose the fish you want, and design the tank around that.

Do you want wood, plants, wood and plants, rocky, bare?  Want to deal with feeders, either buy or raise?  Do you want to deal with breeding (behaviours are very cute!)?  Run a hospital tank? 

[Mark]

I once tried chiclids 50 plus years ago and have kept them in one form or another ever since.

If your tank/tanks are big enough I highly recommend them.

[Mike L]

Cichlid forum. Com. The absolute best place for information. They have hundreds of species profiles, articles on dozen of setups, species stocking lists, endless info. Plus it is literally a worldwide community.
Unless your doing dwarfs, minimum 55 gallon tank, weekly 50% water changes. Your good to go.