a new world cichlid question or two

[wrs]

my first question is about blue acaras, my lfs has them, and I have wanted them for a long time, but they said that they are really aggressive, anmd I have herd here that they are not. So I didnt buy any because i didnt want to risk any other fish.

well I would still like to get them. I would like to know what fish of mine, if any theywould go with.

I have
3 angel fish
3 corries
4 platties
1 swordtail
2 ottos
1 rubberlip pleco
5 Van riero tetras
1 dojo loach
2 kribs
1 rainbow shark

Also, I would like to know what other, if any NW's I can have. i am willing to remove the live bearers and smaller cat fish from the tank, putting them in my 20 gallon, even though I would prefer puffers in there. I want the cichlids the most.

 

[nc_nutcase]

I'd side with a pair/trio of Dwarf Cichlids or possibly a Severum. If you do add anything you will probably want to remove the same amount of fish (ounce per ounce, not fish per fish).

 

[sylvia]

I'd say the kribs, the pleco (unless it's realy small) and the shark would be ok with an acara. Probably the dojo would be ok too and maybe the tetras but that depends on a lot of things and they might eventualy become lunch if they are small and the acara is full grown. They aren't that aggressive though - just don't think of them as community fish . I wouldn't risk the livebearers or the otos or cories and, as I said, I'm not entirely certain about the tetras. I wouldn't mix them with angels.

 

[wrs]

what kind of NW's can go with the angels? NOt rams or aspitro's though.

what about fire mouths?

This is a planted tank BTW.

 

[nc_nutcase]

To my knowledge Severums are about the most docile of large Cichlids and FireMouths are about second in line. I've seen and heard of Sevs being mixed with Angels several times. I would think that FMs would go well, but I've never done it, seen it, or heard of it through a reliable source.

I know that really doesn't answer your questions... but it's something to start with....

 

[parker313]

I've got a sev with my angel and they're getting along really well. They take turns chasing and dive bombing at each other, but I've never seen them actually nip at each other - body or fins.

My poor angel's been taking much more nipping from the stupid serpae tetras (but I got more, now they're in a big enough school that they're leaving the angel alone).

 

[wrs]

okay, so angels, sevs (which I love) and kribs. What else? and how many of them?

 

[freddyk]

Cichlids don't like each others presence, and though we can force them into a truce in our tanks, it's not necessarily the best thing to do for the fish. IMO we get the most out of the cichlid tanks if we don't try to stuff as many different kinds in as we can.

 

[parker313]

In a 55g?

I would have:
1 pair kribs
1 Sev
3 angels

That's it for cichlids.

The livebearers and tetras will be fine in there and as for the loaches and corys, that's up to the kribs

My kribs have successfully forced out my cories (by not letting them get to food ) but others may have had more success and you're working with a 55g, not a 46.

The pleco should also be fine, the only one I'm not sure about is the rainbow shark, just because I'm not familiar with them as a fish.

 

[Dwarfs]

To my knowledge Severums are about the most docile of large Cichlids and FireMouths are about second in line. I've seen and heard of Sevs being mixed with Angels several times. I would think that FMs would go well, but I've never done it, seen it, or heard of it through a reliable source.

I know that really doesn't answer your questions... but it's something to start with....

I suppose you've never seen an Uaru? They are like hardy discus that aren't half as colorful

I'd say that you are set right now wrs, 2 kribs and 3 angels is enough cichlids for a 55g IMO, plus the other fish add to the bio load as well

 

[lucky62]

Sevs and Uarus are like lawn mowers , and love to eat plants IME

Blue Acaras aren't as aggressive as many other cichlids [ no guarantees though ], but I wouldn't put them in that tank , If you get a breeding pair things change , the will become aggressive .
Your tank looks good the way it is , though I'm not a big fan of Angels myself .

You could get some more otos and cories , and maybe loose the dojo and the rainbow shark [ can become 6" terrors , the shark , not the dojo ] , but that's just me

 

[wrs]

um, I am moving many of the fish to other tanks. the platties, swordtail, corries and ottos. Possibly the tetras as well. So the tank will only have the dojo, shark, 3 angels, 1 shark, 2 kribs and 1 pleco. It is one of those 2-3 inch species though.


I can also find homes for the other fish as well, if my brother will le t me put some in his tank.

I just want Ideas. As I am going away this week, hopefully tommoro, to NH, and on t6he beach, so there are alot of rocks up there I will be getting for my tank, as it looks like crap now. The plants will be moved into other tanks.

 

[sevs]

As said above new world cichlids are notorous tetra eaters and livebearers may be on the menu too. Be sure not to overstock your aquarium, severums and blue acaras get 8" and angels 5" so it is quite easy to overstock when buying juvenile cichlids.

 

[wrs]

well the teras and live bearers may not ven be alive by the time I get home, i am away at a computer on vacation as i type right this second, 10:44:44 to be exact. lol.

I would love the acaras, and sev as well. And fire mouths. I can move the angels, and all other fish to diffrent tanks, except for the shark, because I have a shark in my other tanks. I would like to keep the kribs in there, and get some other fish as well. the tank at this moment is very barren, but i got a bunch of rocks and will be getting some fake plants for it so it will have planty of hiding spots.

I dont want to overstock the tank, but I still want it to look full, if you know what I mean, not empty like it looked when I left, 21 tiny fish, doesnt seem like there is anything at all except a loach, though it is a golden dojo and blends in quite well with the sand.

 

[leroy]

blue acara's arnt aggressive in the slighted. And severums and firemouths would make great companions for him.