Compatibility advice

[Electric Warrior]

Hello guys, it’s been ages since I’ve posted but I have a question regarding compatibility. Basically I want to know if there is another dwarf cichlid/apisto that would be compatible with a single laetacara dorsigera? I had two but the female died a while back and he has been in the tank with a pair of angelfish and a school of terras. I would ideally like to get a few more laetacara but they are pretty hard to come by here currently. I went into my local Fishkeeper last few and they had some but they weren’t on sale because something was wrong with them, and they didn’t look very good just sitting on the bottom of the tank and barely moving. The rest of the nearest closest shops to me don’t have them at all.

Ideally I would rather not have to rehome the male because he is a beautiful fish, and I would like to keep a few more of something else with him, but I have no idea how well, or not well keeping another dwarf cichlid would work with laetacara? The angelfish don’t bother him or anyone else and only chase anyone when they lay eggs on one of my swords. The tank is 240 litres, and moderating panted with plenty of wood/caves. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks.

 

[Byron]

Given that this species does not compete well with other cichlids, especially if they are the same size or larger, I would not risk cichlids. There is also the pair of angelfish to keep in mind, also ruling out other cichlids.

 

[Electric Warrior]

Given that this species does not compete well with other cichlids, especially if they are the same size or larger, I would not risk cichlids. There is also the pair of angelfish to keep in mind, also ruling out other cichlids.

HI Byron, thanks for your reply. As far as the angels go, I have had this pair for nearly 5 years, and have kept other cichlids with them (Bolivians and then dorsigera) and never had a problem, so I am not worried about them. They lay eggs pretty often and the most aggression I have seen from them is chasing (usually the rummynose try to eat them) when someone gets too close to the eggs. They have always stayed on the right hand side, mid/upper part of the tank. Most of their aggression is shared between each other when they are breeding.

What I was more concerned about is this lone acara, and whether or not he will be happy enough on his own, as I can't seem to find much info about how many should be kept? You read about most of the other dwarfs/apistos etc., and you find out that they like being in groups/pairs/harems etc., depending on the species. I am thinking that maybe I should hold out until I can find some more dorsigera, and then add a couple more so the lone one feels more comfortable? That is, unless people think that this fish would thrive better on his own rather than with some additional conspecifics?