African Cichlid Debate. Why?

Why would anyone want to start an African Cichlid debate?

easy......why is it that when a question is asked or a topic brought up about 'African Cichlids' the subject matter is assumed to be about Malawi, Tanganyika, or Victorian cichlids?

Now, I'm not giving out or having a rant (for a change ), but there are potential problems with such assumptions.

using a recent thread question as an example.....there was a question on what people use to buffer the water of african cichlids. (I'm not knocking that thread by the way as I could have commented on the thread)

My answer to that question would be 'I use peat and bog-wood in RO water to buffer my african cichlid water'.
AND....my method of keeping my African cichlids is correct (very fast torrent water, very soft rather acidic, low conductivity and very high temperatures); but if I answered as such then that would not be what someone would want to hear if they were assuming African Cichlids meant rift-valley cichlids.

There has been similar discussion on 'what do you feed your African cichlids' (and that is instantly followed with an assumption and words like mbuna and aufwachs take priority over everything else).

What has happened over the years?
How come within a few years the type of species from African has 'automatically' meant 'rift-valley' cichlids when previously it would have been taken as a mix of river and lake cichlids?

It's a bit like Hollywood movies depiction of an Irishman (as you know we all say 'top o the morning to ya'...and only with one regional accent).

A bit of fun and serious looks may help us explain to the beautiful african cichlids such as Jewels and the goby cichlids that they have no place in the minds of fish-keepers thinking of African Cichlids, and that those fish might as well just leave the party.

ian

You mean there are other cichlids in africa!!!!! Nah you must be joking seriously though good point Ian don't forget pelvachromis, stenocranus, congo tetras etc a lot of african fish are dismissed as non african as people automatically think rifts

very good point
But then again it is up to the person asking the question to make it as clear as possible and give as much information as they can for people to be able to give them a good answer

it is just common usage of the term "african cichlids" although rift valley lake cichlids would be more accurate to describe cichlids from lakes malawi, tanganyika and victoria. the great african lakes have a huge number of species that far outnumber the riverine species available to the hobby.
i suppose the best names would be african lake cichlids and african river cichlids.
to stretch the debate i would suggest the reason why the african lake cichlids dominate the cichlid side of the hobby is because they can be kept in mixed communities far easier than their riverine cousins.

derek wrote:

it is just common usage of the term "african cichlids" although rift valley lake cichlids would be more accurate to describe cichlids from lakes malawi, tanganyika and victoria. the great african lakes have a huge number of species that far outnumber the riverine species available to the hobby.
i suppose the best names would be african lake cichlids and african river cichlids.
to stretch the debate i would suggest the reason why the african lake cichlids dominate the cichlid side of the hobby is because they can be kept in mixed communities far easier than their riverine cousins.

I remember my first book entitled 'African Cichlids' (or Cichlids of African, or something like that)....in it there were very few rift-lake cichlids; a modern book with the same title would be significantly different (even though at the time there were still many more known rift valley fish than riverine).

Even though the riverine and non-rift african cichlids are in smaller numbers, are less often seen in shops and can be a bit of an anti-social fish (as an understatement) with many having fussy requirements, maybe they are still worth an invite to the party.

Now, following along Derek's lines.....it is that the riverine species are themselves not desirable (many are dull colours, anti-social, and can be pricey at times) or is it that rift-valley offer much more in way of compatibility?
Is Rift-mania still raging?
Has there been a history of bad experiences with riverine fish being plonked into a nice community tank and causing havoc?

ian

Well i can say i have some real old school african cichlids with my egyptians
North east africa i believe they are found. It was first imported to Europe in 1902.So pretty old

igmillichip wrote:

Now, following along Derek's lines.....it is that the riverine species are themselves not desirable (many are dull colours, anti-social, and can be pricey at times) or is it that rift-valley offer much more in way of compatibility?
Is Rift-mania still raging?
Has there been a history of bad experiences with riverine fish being plonked into a nice community tank and causing havoc?

ian

as well as the mentioned points above, the riverine cichlids can cause havoc when a pair sets up to breed as they are all cave or substrate spawners and most become highly territorial when nesting. e.g. a pair of jewels will kill everything that encroaches on their patch (usually the whole tank). so a pair is best removed to a breeding tank. the fry are also more difficult to move on.
the lake species are mostly mouthbrooders and are generally more tolerant of tankmates and this allows for a decent number and selection to be kept in a single tank.