Big Intelligent Fish

[Elisabeth83]

What I'm having trouble with is most cichlids you see in shops are young and don't have their adult colors so if you don't know the species and don't know what they will grow up to look like you end up passing them by and walking out of the shop feeling confused. I know I could write down all the names but then I'd be there for ages The shop that stocks the most types of cichlids sends out a newsletter every couple of weeks with a list of different fish that they either have in or got in that week so I've been looking up what cichlids they have but I still dont know what would work well.

Here's the list this week:

Aequidens metae

Geophagus brasiliensis

Geophagus steindachneri

Satanoperca jurupari

Crenicichla compressiceps

Crenicichla sp. Xingu I

Symphysodon aequifasciatus “Red scribble”

S. aequifasciatus “Marlboro red”

S. aequifasciatus “Pigeon blood”

Astronotus ocellatus XL (Oscar)



Ya know I've wanted to keep cichlids forever. The thing is I feel so overwhelmed by everything and not knowing everything that I end up not making a decision and end up not trying anything. Same goes for oddball type fish.

 

[freddyk]

Aequidens metae - good choice

Geophagus brasiliensis - stunning fish, but gets a bit big for a pair

Geophagus steindachneri - nice choice

Satanoperca jurupari - like brasiliensis it will eventually grow too large for a pair

Crenicichla compressiceps - very aggressive to conspecifics, but nice little fish

Crenicichla sp. Xingu I - waay too big

Symphysodon aequifasciatus “Red scribble”
S. aequifasciatus “Marlboro red” - Discus are a very different option, but one worth considering, especially in a planted tank - in this case a group is nice to have rather then just a pair
S. aequifasciatus “Pigeon blood”

Astronotus ocellatus XL (Oscar) - You can do one, but 55 is a bit small and it's much more rewarding to keep cichlids as pairs (one fish with nothing to do but beg for food gets boring pretty quick)