If you want to know how I decide what fish to work with, keep reading. Unless you have been following the blog for a long time and consistently read my posts, it might be difficult to discern why I keep the cichlid species that I keep. You can read my About the author page or browse the blog’s FAQ page.
However, to save you the time, I am going to summarize that information below:
- My source water is hard and alkaline
- I don’t like to modify my source water (with additives, etc.)
- I don’t have a great deal of space for tanks
- I prefer smaller cichlids because of the aforementioned space constraints
- I mostly keep lamprologines from Lake Tanganyika
Okay, now that I have narrowed down the types of cichlids I keep and a few reasons why, what else determines my choices? I still have hundreds of options. The lamprologini tribe of cichlids alone consists of nearly 100 identified species. Keep reading for additional rationale.
I keep dwarf species (<5″) because, as a rule, they don’t need large tanks. With limited space in my basement fishroom, having more smaller tanks rather than a few larger ones maximizes the number of different species that I can keep and work with.
I don’t keep the rarer, hard to find species. Why? Three primary reasons – difficulty to acquire, cost, and risk. Some of the rarer species in the hobby are expensive to source. I don’t have a specific budget for my fish keeping, but I am unwilling to potentially sacrifice what funds I do have on rare species that I have no experience with. They are also often more expensive.
Now let’s now focus in more on availability and cost.
There is limited cichlid availability where I live. This means I have to either order fish online, know someone local who breeds and sells/trades cichlids, or pick fish up at fish events (e.g., conferences) within driving distance. I don’t know anyone local, so that leaves the other two options. The third, conventions and other cichlid events, severely limit when I can acquire new fish. Thus, the first option, online ordering, is the best one for me the majority of the time.
When ordering online, if I have a choice, I will order from a vendor who can ship same day, which again limits species availability. Not all vendors carry what I want at any given time nor offer same day shipping service. The cost difference between same day air versus next day isn’t huge, generally about $30-40.
Now let’s discuss fish purchase economics.
If I want adult, breeding pairs, I can get more dwarf adults than I can other, larger adult cichlids for the same shipping cost. Shipping costs are usually by weight. For example, a box of a dozen adult shell dwellers is about the same shipping weight as a single pair of adult Tropheus or many mbuna. Using this example and assuming I can get same day air, my shipping cost alone is going to be about $70-80. Using the larger amount ($80) divided by a dozen fish adds $6.67 more to the cost of each individual fish. Using that same shipping cost for a breeding pair of larger, adult species adds $40 ($80/2) more to the cost of each fish.
Using the example above assumes the cost per fish (dwarf versus large species), before the shipping expense, is about the same. Dwarf shellies, regardless of size ordered are generally $15-20 per fish online. Using the shipping cost example above for a dozen shellies @ $20 each makes my total cost per dozen $26.67 per fish. A fully grown, adult breeding pair of tropheus could be $60. Using the $80 shipping cost brings the cost of each Tropheus to $70 ($80 shipping + $60 [$30 x 2] fish / 2) per fish. In the larger fish scenario, I’ve paid more to ship each fish than the cost of each fish itself ($40 > $30) if I only order a pair.
I am in no way begrudging or disparagin hobbyists who spend more to ship a fish than the cost of the fish. We all make choices and we aren’t going to dedicate the same amount of money to our personal hobby. Obviously, when you order fish online, the cost per fish goes down the more fish that you order.
Now, let’s go a little bit deeper. I just recently bought two color variants of Altolamprologus compressiceps and some Neolamprologus brevis. So why the compressiceps?
For starters, I think they’re cool looking fish. Their body shape is unique among all cichlid species. Second, I have never kept them, though I have kept A. calvus, which is almost identical in shape to the compressiceps. In fact, the blog logo is an A. calvus. Third, the color variants of A. compressiceps provide multiple options (e.g., yellow, black, firefin, redfin, goldhead).
As for the N. brevis, I have never worked with them either. I needed a shell dweller to occupy a new tank and thought the brevis would be the perfect addition.
The other fish, Julidochromis dickfeldi, is a species that I have probably worked with the most and which have almost single handedly funded the hobby for me. In addition, I have kept almost all other species of julies available in the hobby.
The Amatitlania nanolutea are relatively new to my fishroom. They’re a small, Central American species that does well in source water like mine. A friend and fellow hobbyist recommended that I try them, so I bought five juveniles from him (at an annual fish convention) in 2024. You can read more about them in this initial post.
Lastly, I have a lone adult, female Neolamprologus similis, the last survivor from a group I purchased in October 2024. I bought them because I had never kept them, I had a great tank for a colony of them, and I needed a new species of shell dweller to work with.
All of the above suggests that I consistently have a plan for my fishroom. That is true. Although I have been known to oscillate about what species to add. Nonetheless, indecision isn’t always a bad thing because it highlights that there are options. In fact, when deciding what fish I want to keep, it is energizing to know that I have multiple options.