Short tanks and aggressive fish

Why would you think that? I think being able to swim in a straight line to escape something chasing me would be far easier.

The reason is that I asked a cichlid forum about tanks as short as I am considering before, and they said that for most cichlids, a 8" deep tank would be too shallow for them to get away from each other. I don't see how that really makes sense, but I just wanted to check before including any potentially irritable fish on my options list.

Grah the great said:

The reason is that I asked a cichlid forum about tanks as short as I am considering before, and they said that for most cichlids, a 8" deep tank would be too shallow for them to get away from each other. I don't see how that really makes sense, but I just wanted to check before including any potentially irritable fish on my options list.

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A 8 inch deep cichlid tank would not be a good environment for them, they do spend a fair amount if time in the bottom but also like to Cruz and play in the upper waters at very least you would defiantly increase a already aggressive fish.

I have 5 tanks all cichlids

How about for other potentially irritable fish?

My guess is that longer tanks allows for larger territories that could be broken down by the use of plants to reduce sight.

mistuhmarc said:

My guess is that longer tanks allows for larger territories that could be broken down by the use of plants to reduce sight.

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That's what I was thinking...I was just confused about whether or not the tnak's height had anything to do with a fish's aggression levels.

The size of the fish would make a difference here. A six inch fish isn't going to be happy in six inches of water. But a one inch fish won't mind.
Why don't you just stick with peaceful species??? Are you going to do any filter or lighting??

amcoffeegirl said:

The size of the fish would make a difference here. A six inch fish isn't going to be happy in six inches of water. But a one inch fish won't mind.
Why don't you just stick with peaceful species??? Are you going to do any filter or lighting??

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He probably has it planned out. I'm assuming that he's going to get a fish that's more "wider" than "taller", like obviously not putting an angelfish in a tank that's wider in terms. Apistogrammas would definitely prefer wider tanks because they don't normally swim in the upper area as often.

mistuhmarc said:

He probably has it planned out. I'm assuming that he's going to get a fish that's more "wider" than "taller", like obviously not putting an angelfish in a tank that's wider in terms. Apistogrammas would definitely prefer wider tanks because they don't normally swim in the upper area as often.

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Yeah, no angelfish! :icon_smil I was thinking of sticking with fish no longer than 4 inches. And yes, the pond will have filtration of some sort.

If you are asking if a taller tank with the same footprint is better than a shorter, Yes. The fish will use vertical distance to avoid trouble as well as using horizontal. But then if you are speaking of cichlids, there are so many that act so different that you really need to get down closer to which cichlid. Some will not tolerate any other fish while some will do fine with any fish that doesn't bully them. Good idea to sort out which cichlid you want to keep if you are making a decision on tanks.