Checkerboard Cichlid, Apistogramma Or Rainbow Cichlid?

[chesterjohn]

I'm planning on buying some new fish this weekend/next week, and these are the fish that I have found and am fond of so far.

Spade tailed checkerboard cichlid (dicrossus maculatus)
Apistogramma (several types)
Rainbow Cichlid (not found a source, but I like them.

Tank is a Juwel Rio 240, with 0 ammonia and nitrites and about 40ppm nitrates atm (cleaning due tomorrow)
Temp is 24C
Ph is 6.4 ish

Current stocking:
4 Cardinal tetra (will be upping to about 8 or 10)
5 Black neon tetra
1 Red Robin Gourami (female died last week)
2 Bolivian Rams
1 Spotted Bulldog Plec
2 Oto
5 Ammano Shrimp
4 Guppies

Which goes best with the stocking I have? I've always wanted apistos, but after finding a shop that sells checkerboards and apistos nearby, I'm torn between the 2.

Any advice would be great, also if anyone has any recommendations of other fish, cichlids or not, it would be good. I prefer colourful fish, but all advice is welcome

 

[Carlovel1]

Apistos

 

[kaivalagi]

that's a far sized tank for apistos or checkerboards, can you not get both? Just get some suitable decor added if need be and have a couple of each

Not sure the rainbows would get on with your smaller tetras

 

[chesterjohn]

that's a far sized tank for apistos or checkerboards, can you not get both? Just get some suitable decor added if need be and have a couple of each

Not sure the rainbows would get on with your smaller tetras

I can get both and would like to, but I thought with a pair of rams, a pair of apistos, a pair of checkerboards and a plec, it might get a bit crowded down there. Especially if any of them spawn. Unless the checkers like to spend a lot of time higher up, don't really know an awful lot about their behaviour.

 

[kaivalagi]

I would hazard a guess that all 3 species like the lower regions of the tank...it could work but it's down to how you have the decor setup and what hiding spaces there are available to them

 

[hamfist]

I'd avoid the rainbow cichlids in you particular setup. I think, in the end, they would bring chaos.

Don't know much about the checkerboards, but they look very suitable from a quick googling on them. I'd go for a pair of apistos OR a pair of the checkerboards.

 

[Monty-2010]

I love rainbow cichlids, got two breeding pairs the only time they get slightly aggressive is when they breed and all they do then is keep others out of their breeding territory

 

[chesterjohn]

I've just returned with a pair of Spadetailed Checkerboards. I'm told they're 1m 1f, but I thought they were both male. They're still small though, so hard to tell for definite.

1 of them is having a nose around his new tank, but the other doesn't look too happy. Hopefully it's ok and will move about when it's settled

 

[Flute]

checkerboards! They're such pretty little cichlids ^^ I've wanted a group for ages now. You'll have to post pictures once they're settled