nice africans Badflash. love the peacock cichlids, are the yellows, soccolophi? (sp)

another thought would be the fish from acidic rivers such as part of the amazon, and some fish from asia that prefer pH readings in the 5.3-6.8 range which is the ideal ph range for plants and the uptake of nutrients. several of the fish bring good prices at fish club meetings.

the only cichlid native to north america, the Texas cichlid. no where near the value of badflash's africans, but if someone likes aggressive fish, here is a good candidate that is quite hardy.

some of the most valuable, like the discus can't tolerate nitrates even at 20ppm without breaking down. the infamous hole in the head problem (no it's not heximeta) is a result of high nitrates, coupled with a lack of proper nutrients. the condidtion will go away with proper water conditions and diet. flagilate protozoa are everywhere, giardia, hex, spironucleus are three common ones.