Cichlid comes from a wide range of regions such as Central and South America, Asia, Madagascar, Africa, etc. One of the most commonly held myths about cichlids is that they are aggressive fishes. While not entirely untrue, keeping cichlids in your aquarium need not be a difficult task at all, provided you know what to do!

If you are thinking of keeping cichlids, you will need to pay attention to the following points:

Naturally, there are exceptions to the above statement as some cichlids can co-exist with certain cichlids. However, there are literally thousands of different species of cichlids out there and there is no way I can tell you which species can or cannot be mixed.

The main rationale here is that different regions have different water requirements. Thus, it is highly unlikely for them to be perfectly compatible with each other. Another good reason is that you want to avoid the issue of cross-breeding, where two different species from the same genus breed. Hence, it is best to play it safe and not mix them around, especially if you are new to keeping cichlids.

Cichlids are notorious for being territorial fishes. Thus, you are asking for trouble if you put them (together with other fishes) in a tank with very little objects. An empty tank will create ALOT of fighting as there are no objects to define the boundaries. Cichlids, like most animals, use surrounding objects to mark their territory.

Hence, you need to ensure that you tank is as complex as possible. It doesn't need to be a big tank, the key point here is COMPLEX. A small 20 gallon tank with lots of wood, plastic plants, rock features, caves, and empty shells can house a dozen cichlids without any problems! Of course I do not recommend that you keep that many fishes in a small tank, but you get the general idea!

Keeping cichlids in your aquarium is not a difficult task as long as you followed the basic rule to fish care. Think before you act and at lot of problems and potential disasters can be avoided fairly easily. Learn more the facts and myths to cichlids keeping now!