Cichlasoma Nicaraguense

[dave_oddballs]

i have been looking for a pair of cichlids for a while know and just havent come across any i really feel i like alot,
saw these on the stock list of the wholesaler at my lfs, looked them up and they are gorgeous, found a bit of info which states they are fairly gentle for the larger cichlid, they are a stunning colour!
they would make a stunning centre piece in my tank but feel i dont have enough info on them!
i have found only one thing that puts me off, my tank is heavily planted, not cheap plants either! and some info i found indicates that especially when in breeding condition they eat some soft leaved plants from time to time. now i dont know wether this indicates that from time to time they will absolutely demolish the tank or just nip a few plants around the breeding area?
anyone have any more info on these?

i just found this:

"Like all cichlids, the Nicaragua Cichlid is territorial; but this species is relatively gentle. It is peaceful and reserved compared to other cichlids from this region and of this size. It can be kept with other smaller cichlids, but not with the more aggressive cichlids such as the Texas Cichlid or the Red Devil."
cheers

Dave

 

[minxfishy]

Having just rehomed my female, I can tell you that in my experience, these are not peaceful by any means, maybe just the one I had, however, I originally bought two females, the dominant one within a couple of weeks had stressed and attacked her sister so badly that she unfortunately died. The remaining Nic then went on to cause quite a bit of damage to my GT, nipping his fins and chasing him relentlessly until he no longer came out. She also had no problems going for my Oscar, who rapidly outgrew her, So I returned her to an LFS.

They are stunning fish, particularly the female and I never noticed any plant nipping, although the only live plants I have are anubias. Maybe during spawning they will move plants or nip them, but I dont think they would do too much damage.

This is just my experience of them, I was suprised as everything I read said the same, peaceful cichlids although not to kept with anything smaller than themselves, like rams for instance.

Davo has one, a male and I believe his is peaceful enough, so maybe just my bad luck with my female.

 

[dave_oddballs]

ah, yeah all info i found said they were relatively peaceful, i dont have any other cichlids in my tank, it seems as though it was the other cichlids they were going for in your tank.
anyhow thanks, i need to do a bit of thinking!!

Cheers
Dave

 

[Davo86]

yep as Minx says my Male is fairly peaceful, in cichlid terms and is in with everything from small clown loach, and colombian tetras to juvi cichlids and bichirs,

It is bordering on 7-8" now and the only fish it has had problems with has been my bristlenose which it does act quite aggressive towards from time to time