African & American

[drufly]

is it possible to have african and american cichlids in the same tank

 

[dnn3]

i asked that question when i wanted to put angelfish in a 60 gal with 2 female kribs and got somes no's but a moderator said he'd tried it without problems so i went ahead and did it and so far so good.i guess it depends and which of each you want to mix.

 

[drufly]

Good Good because i was looking to keep 3 keyholes(african) and 3 peacocks(american)

 

[oakes]

Good Good because i was looking to keep 3 keyholes(african) and 3 peacocks(american)

Other way around. Keyholes South American, peacocks African.
Kribs & angels not so bad, since kribs though African are riverine.
Peacocks from Lake Malawi & so like hard alkaline water.
Keyholes prefer much softer & more acidic.
Not a good idea at all. Sorry to be a party-pooper.

 

[drufly]

Are peacocks and mamelela the same fish or they diferent. I cant find any where that will tell me. If not what other peacefull cichlid will go with the mamelela. Because out of the keyholes and them i would prefer the mamelela.

 

[oakes]

I'm sorry i don't know mamelela? If it is an Aulonocara it is a peacock.
If you want to keep peacocks and looking for suitable tankmates try a post in the African forum. Most of my experience is with Americans.

 

[drufly]

Aulonocara jacobfreibergi. Think i spelt it right. Thanks for your help oakes will try the african section

 

[bricko]

There si a link here for different peacocks;

http/www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/mixing_peacocks.php

I don't recommend mixing Keyholes with any African cichlid, this will only end in tears, at best the keyholes will shy away and die, at worst they will be ravaged by a superior (agression / speed) fish

the water chemistry is also very different for these two species so it would be almost, ney impossible to meet the needs of both fish in one tank.

http/www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=1384

http/www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=139

Sorry this isn't the positive answer you may have been looking for but I do believe if this were attempted it would leed to disaster in you tank.

Regards,

Bricko

 

[drufly]

Not really what i was looking to hear lol. What would you recommend in having with either fish ie with keyholes or with mamelela

 

[bricko]

I would stick with either NW or OW Cichlid species.

What is your tank size, what are your water parameters out the tap?

If you live in a hard water area with high PH then African cichlids may be the better option due to the fact that you won't need to alter the water chemistry too much to suit the fish.

Alteratively if you have Soft water with low PH then you may be better suited to CA / SA cichlid species. Really depends on how much hassle you want really.

What sort of look would you want with your tank? Planted, rocky etc.. I don't believe most planted aquariums are too suited to African cichlids due to the highter ph level and the digging habits or the fish etc.. I have never kept African cichlids (unless you count Kribs) so I am probably not the best person to qualify this though however.

Apistogramma Cacotoides, and Ramerizi are peacefull dwarf american cichlids which can tolerate medium to higher PH conditions. These would work well with Keyholes also if the tank was big enough for all the territories.

Hope you can make sense of most of my rambling.

Bricko

 

[drufly]

Think my water is soft so its gonna be the keyholes. just checked out the cockatoo dwarfs and they are whats going with them. The tank i am getting is a 240ltr so it def big enough prob go for 3 or 4 keyholes and the same in the cockatoo's.

Thanx for the info bricko really helped make my mind up

Dru

 

[bricko]

No problem Drufly,

If that is your fianl selection can I recomend you have lots of caves and plant the tank heavily to seperate the territories.

Try to get a pair of Keyholes or 2 pair, they are not easy to sex at a juvinile stage so you may want to get 6 -8 and wait for two pairs to form, then take the rest back to the LFS,

Cacotoides, as are most apistogramma species, are a hareem breeder, deally you want 1 male to 2 females. The females will each have a territory and may squabble until these territories are established. #The male will swim between the territories uninterupted and service both females.

Hope this helps, good luck,

Regards,

Bricko

 

[drufly]

Lfs doesnt keep and wont order the fish i want, luckly i found a place that will order them. I have any amount of stone to make caves courtesy of a building site. hopefully it all goes well and i get sorted soon.

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

Good Good because i was looking to keep 3 keyholes(african) and 3 peacocks(american)

It's not so much the water chemistry issue that most people are talking about, but mostly the differences in diet and behavior (aggression mostly.)