Having got my community tank up and running, I've been giving some thought as to what to do with the 10 gallon tank I bought for temporary housing for my fishes while I got their new home ready. I'd decided on running it as a species tank as it's only 24" x 12" x 12" and so won't house a lot of fish, but the question was, what species?

After reading around I narrowed my choices down to three basic groups : Labyrinth fishes (e.g. Siamese Fighting Fish Betta splendens, Gouramis etc.,) Livebearers (e.g. Mollies, Guppies and Platys,) or Cichlids.

I've kept livebearers before and got quite distressed trying to save the babies from their cannibalistic parents so I soon discarded that idea, which left me with Gouramis or Cichlids. Visits to all the aquarist's shops within a 20 mile radius showed me some beautiful fish species in both groups, but I was eventually persuaded to embark on a cichlid tank by the very different appearance of the layout, with stark rocks, caves and crannies instead of lush vegetation. Since our local water supply is naturally hard and I found a local breeder willing to supply fish born and raised in the same water as I have, I decided to go ahead.

Originally I had intended to set up an African Cichlid species tank, but then I saw the Crown Ruby Cichlids.......

Not exactly an impulse buy (I had gone to buy cichlids, just not South American ones) but I couldn't resist them. The aquarist's assurance that they were peaceful enough to be kept in a community tank, "But not with neons," was the deciding factor and I came home with two, one with definite fin extensions (and therefore hopefully male) and one which MAY be female - the thinking behind this was, if "she" turns out to be a "he" and they take exception to each other, one of them would have to move over to the big 180 litre community tank and we'd try and find a lady friend for each of them.

Having got them home and into their new tank, they promptly disappeared from view and remained hidden for the next four hours. Meanwhile (having identified the "Crown Ruby Cichlids" I was sold as Microgeophagus altispinosus, a.k.a.Papiliochromis altispinosa, the "Bolivian Ram" or "Bolivian Butterfly Cichlid") I read all I could find on the subject, and also discovered the concept of Dither Fish.

So, back to the shop..... I'd decided to buy another two of the cichlids to make a "juvenile shoal" and increase the odds of a pair, and also some dither fish (the term given to a group of open-water schooling fish kept in a tank containing timid cichlids, and whose presence in open water and lack of fear persuades the cichlids that there is nothing to be afraid of and encourages them (the cichlids) to come out of hiding) : the White-Tip / Silver-Tip Tetras Hasemania nana were by far the cheapest suitable fish, at £2.50 ($3.50) for five, but in the tank with the cichlids were a single female Platy Xiphophorus maculatus and a single female swordtail Xiphophorus helleri. Having asked the shop keeper why they were there, he said they were "leftovers" from the previous occupants of the tank, and when I said I'd take them as well he gave me them for free. So, two odd livebearers and a small school of tetras joined the four cichlids. It seems to have worked. Although still a little jumpy, the cichlids are no longer in permanent hiding and are now feeding in the open, and the rest of the fish are swimming around happily. Now all I need is for them to pair off.........

Heating and filtration:
Since this is a small tank I didn't want it full of equipment so I have a combined heater/thermostat and filter unit. The filter media are activated carbon and sponge for bacteria to develop on.
The heater is set to 80°F which seems to suit them OK; having never kept cichlids (apart from Angels) before I had to look this up, and there was a fair bit of discrepancy in the literature, with a spread of suggested temperatures from 75°F to 85°F. So, I went for the middle.

The rock "cave" : This was built from a pack of "aquarium rock" bought at the aquarists' supply shop, glued together with silicone aquarium sealant so it won't collapse and squish the fish! The "holy rock" : This is a piece of artificial "rock" pierced with holes of various sizes. It already has a small plant growing on it (quite spontaneously) as I "acquired" it from my daughter's 18" Danio tank (that's 18" tank, not 18" Danios.....)

Terracotta pot :
I happened to have this, and I read that some cichlids like plant pots to hide in, and as I hadn't at that time decided what sort of cichlids I was going to buy, I put it in the tank. So far they haven't been near it, but it's early days yet.

Flat rocks :
Cichlids love flat rocks, or so I've been led to believe. So, they have two large ones and several small ones to choose from - a very flat one at the centre/back and a curved but smooth (and very decorative) one in the back right-hand corner. They seem to like the smooth one best at the moment and have already dug themselves a home alongside it.

Gravel substrate :
This is much finer than the gravel in my main community tank, about 0.5mm maximum. The cichlids seem to enjoy picking it up and spitting it out again!

Aquatic plants :
See the page dedicated specifically to plants for details; in this tank I have some Vallisneria spiralis, Anubias barteri caladiifolia, Cabomba caroliniana, Rotala rotundifolia and a small amount of Azolla caroliniana. These seem to be appreciated for the shelter the give rather than their food value, and of course they do add some oxygen to the water during the hours of tanklight.

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