Are These Cichlids Compatible?

[minxfishy]

After what has been an awful few weeks in my community tank (55gal) with a nasty outbreak of columnaris, total tank devastation, Im looking to lift my spirits.

I currently have some german blue rams in a 20gal tank.

After completely stripping the 55gal, including ditching all the substrate, plants, decor etc, new filter media and today going out and buying some new black sand/gravel, re-filling and starting a fishless cycle on it, Im ready to start thinking of what to put in it.

I would like to move the rams from the 20 to the 55gal and adding some tankmates.

Would this set up work (not even sure if I can find all of these in my local LFS yet ) and can you advise me on amounts of each for them to be happy.

blue rams, bolivian rams, keyholes, festivums?

Tank will have plenty of hidey holes in the form of coconut caves, my rams love the ones they have so will get more for the new additions.

Oh my ph is 7.6 - 7.8, quite high I know but the rams seem ok with it.

Will those species get on ok? Whats the best size group of each?

Appreciate any help you can give, thanks

 

[jagz]

i think you should have no probs with mixing those fish as they are all fairly peacefull until the pair up i think. if i remember right the festivums can be fiesty little fella but i did read on here a few days ago that they are quite peacefull so i might be thinking of a different fish. as to numbers i think if all you want is these four species then 4 of each should be fine until they pair up if you intend of adding more species in the future then go for just a pair of each for now

hope this helps

jagz

 

[duncs]

The problem is.. essentially, they're all cichlids. You'll probably find that for a while, the tank is harmonious. The second a pair forms though, you'll start noticing nipped fins and bashed heads. Neither your Rams or the Bolivians would enjoy that. All of the fishes you mentioned (the Festivums less so) are peaceful cichlids and won't enjoy having to spend their lives locked in a corner because the dominant, breeding male is controlling three quarters of your tank.

55USG is a fair size though, and all of the Cichlids you mentioned share similar water parameters - soft and acidic. They're all usually peaceful and they're all fairly small, so you'll be ok until your fishes start pairing up. If the 20 USG is remaining vacant then you'll be fine - any problems and you can (at least temporarily) re-home any of the fishes you need to.

6 is the magic number for most juvenile cichlids if you're looking to breed them.

 

[Faythee]

There are alot of possibilities with the Rams. Do you like Angels ? Maybe a Severum ? Plus, a shoal of Rainbows or Congo Tetras would look nice.

 

[Tobigara]

i'd say to stay away from festivums if you want the others. out of the fish you want festivums are the most aggresive and the biggest by a pretty good bit. i'm not saying it can't work but with cichlids it's always a gamble. give it a try and see how it goes but keep your eye on them.

 

[minxfishy]

Thanks for the replies guys, much appreciated.

Will drop the festivums then, stick with the rams and keyholes in a group of 6 each and see how we go. Im not looking to breed them, but if they do

Not a fan of angels, dont know much about severums (will look into them ), maybe some tetras, or rasboras as a shoal would go well.

 

[ox5477]

severums alone will get too big for your tank and if we are all worrying about festivums getting aggressive, then severums can't be considered....

getting a pair of rams with maybe one or two keyhole individuals would be ace with some other schooling community fish

large danios and tetra species would be perfect to fit in with the slight aggression that would come from a paring of either the ram or keyhole species... it would be nothing too crazy but they are still cichlids so they will be very protective parents

 

[minxfishy]

Yep having looked up severums, they are way too big for my tank to be comfortable and I would be concerned for my rams too

Think I will up the numbers of rams I currently have and add some keyholes as suggested.

Thanks for your help