Big Sized Cichlids And Tank Mates

[MermaidMel]

So I had 40 black neons and I think my blue acara ate them all even though he's still a juvi :0(

So I now have a juvi acara, juvi jack dempsey, gold sev, keyholes and an ellioti.

I also have 3 L-number plecos. Will the cichlids eventually grow big enough to eat them? I wanted to add some bigger cichlids anyway, but don't want to compromise the lives of my L number collection.

 

[Verminator89]

It depends on various factors as to what you can have with what you've got. The biggest limiing factor being the tank size and filtration you have. You have two big cichlids in already, and a boistrous one with the Acara.

Just to add i doubt your cichlids will grow to eat them. The blue acara is potentially a 6" fish that, albeit may be slihtly beligerent with others, it shouldnt "eat" your plecs. Plecs arent normally the ones to be "eaten" per say.

What size tank are we talking about here, and what would you like to see from your tank? You already have "big" cichlids, so adding more i hope the tank is atleast 100G upward. I have 7 mid size cichlids in a 63G i'm hoping to upgrade them sooner rather than later as it looks a tad crampt. The biggest i have in there atm is an 8" Jack.

 

[MermaidMel]

My tank it's 70 gallon. All the cichlids in there are young, none over 3 inches. I've had the gold sev 2 yrs, they must be slow growers, he doesn't wanna get big!

 

[Verminator89]

I have a 63G with 1 Male EBJD 8", 1 Female Jack Dempsey 6-7", 1 Rotkeil Sev 6", 1 Firemouth 2", 2 Juvi Geo Brasiliensis <1" (bought yesterday), and 1 Cupid Cichlid 3". IMO it looks full, and i'll be upgrading their tank sooner rather than later as said.

Your tank is 70G with admiteddly a few less cichlids in, but most will hit similar sizes to mine as they grow, and thats where i think it'll look cramped. Adding more i would say go for smaller cichlids, perhaps up your number of ellioti slightly? Perhaps a group of Cupid Cichlids would look nice? They stay at around 6" max and are absolutely adoreable, i'm smitten with mine - i want more! Geo's are slower growers, atleast my brasiliansis are.

 

[MermaidMel]

Wow I've never had any fish that big! I would love up my Ellioti numbers, can't seem to find any, but I do keep looking. Never heard of cupid cichlids so will look for those, sound lovely! I had geos, they didn't do very well, I don't know why but they are earth eaters aren't they? I have fine sand and wonder if that was the problem since all the other fish were fine. But you reckon my 2" L numbers will be fine with 6" cichlids?

 

[england]

Wow two years and the severums still under three inches, have you got a picture of him?
Depending on what L numbers iam sure it will be fine, i had a clown plec in with my big cichlids, never got eaten,,

 

[Verminator89]

No, i wouldnt think sand was the reason your Geos may not have done very well last time. They prefere sand, its actually ideal for them.

Certainly look up Cupid Cichlids, they arent commonly available, but they are easy to get if you have a good LFS that will get fish in on request. Stunning little fish, with bags of character, atleast mine has.

As nelly pointed out, if your Sev is that size after 2 years, i think something is a little wrong with either it, or something else affecting its growth.

 

[MermaidMel]

Wow two years and the severums still under three inches, have you got a picture of him?
Depending on what L numbers iam sure it will be fine, i had a clown plec in with my big cichlids, never got eaten,,

Yep here's a pic, just looking now, he's probably 3"

I have a candy stripe pleco, mega clown pleco, leopard frog pleco and a dwarf gold nugget thing i've had for years, it's the same size as a pitbull pleco

Wow two years and the severums still under three inches, have you got a picture of him?
Depending on what L numbers iam sure it will be fine, i had a clown plec in with my big cichlids, never got eaten,,

I did think it was strange about his size because people say they are fast growers but he is otherwise very healthy and all my other fish are growing around him so yes it's strange

 

[england]

It is strange, you waterchange system is good,tank size is fine?
I probally think you just got a runt, when i had my snakehead babies i had a handful of runts in each batch, the first ever batch the left over runt is now with the last batch, there bigger than he is, the runts are still alive and well,

so what size tank is this,

 

[Verminator89]

His eye does look quite big for a fish that size. When i bought my rotties from Star4 she had a fair few runts from the various batches of fry she had. Give it more character than what an ordinary Sev would have. I like it

 

[Verminator89]

One thing i havnt pointed out, which i really should have noticed from the first post. You say you have Keyholes in this tank also. Just be carefull whatever you add to this tank with them, they are notably more shy than pretty much all other cichlids. Also they can be prone to being picked on by the more aggressive cichlids. With you hving a Blue Acara, Acara being one of the notably more beligerent and aggressive cichlids its something to keep an eye on. Certainly as they all get older/bigger.

I've always thought Tiger Barbs worked well as dithers in cichlid tanks, they keep themselves in check and they dare mess with the bigger boys in my tanks.

 

[MermaidMel]

It's a 4ft long 71gallon tank running an Eheim 2217 and yes everything runs well. I was going to give up fishkeeping but i've changed my mind because I love them all so much!

 

[tenohfive]

Mel - IIRC you aren't too far from Wildwoods right? When I went in last month they had both Cupid Cichlids and Ellioti, and according to Tropical Fish Finder they've got 2 Cupids in at the moment. I wasn't sure about them as I've read they can be fairly aggressive, but if they've got enough room to establish their own territory apparently they can be alright. Another option is a Rainbow cichlid - I added one 2-3 months ago to my setup and he's a coloured up beautifully - the photo's on the internet don't do that fish justice. A relatively peaceful SA cichlid, probably the safer of the above options.

Given your tank size though I'd be fairly careful, and wouldn't add any more than one more cichlid.

 

[MermaidMel]

One thing i havnt pointed out, which i really should have noticed from the first post. You say you have Keyholes in this tank also. Just be carefull whatever you add to this tank with them, they are notably more shy than pretty much all other cichlids. Also they can be prone to being picked on by the more aggressive cichlids. With you hving a Blue Acara, Acara being one of the notably more beligerent and aggressive cichlids its something to keep an eye on. Certainly as they all get older/bigger.

I've always thought Tiger Barbs worked well as dithers in cichlid tanks, they keep themselves in check and they dare mess with the bigger boys in my tanks.

Funnily enough I was planning on buying a shoal of tiger barbs or pentazona barbs or are they the same thing?

My keyholes do really well, they've all been together a while now and the acara is younger than they are, they are a good deal older. I was gonna buy a few more to build up the shoal.

 

[tenohfive]

Funnily enough I was planning on buying a shoal of tiger barbs or pentazona barbs or are they the same thing?

My keyholes do really well, they've all been together a while now and the acara is younger than they are, they are a good deal older. I was gonna buy a few more to build up the shoal.

Pentazona's and Tigers are different fish - Pentazona's are smaller and more peaceful (a very underrated fish IMO.) Tigers can be more aggressive (though less so if kept in bigger numbers) and seem more active than Pentazona's.