Cichlid Mix

[GShorty1981]

Just set up my new Ehiem external so going to do a month plus cycle,gonna add some dead prawn in there once the tank heats up to get the bacteria growing.

Gives me lots of time to decide what kind of fish i'm going to have,i am definitley going to have a medium cichlid between 6-8" with some smaller gouramis like a Pearl + a blue then maybe i will try a Angel with the other Cichlid....i mean i have seen Angels getting on with Oscars over a space of years wheras on the flip side i have seen them beaten to death by a shoal of Tiger Barbs.

I may go Firemouth pair,2 medium sized Gouramis or 1 big one like a Kissing Gourami and some tiger barbs.

How do convicts go with dither fish?

Say i had 2 x Firemouths,2 x Convicts and a shoal of T Barbs and 1 Pearl Gourami...how would that work out? i assumed Convicts where one of the most agressive smaller cichlids and needed a species tank

I also saw somebody selling Blood Parrots dirt cheap,i had 2 of these Weird hybrids before with my Oscars and they worked well,i sold them in the end with the O's.

So heres some tank ideas...could you give me the pros and cons.

Idea 1: Festivum,Angel,Firemouth,Pearl Gourami + 5 larger shoaling fish (not tigers as they will shred the Angel so possibly Black Widows or Serpae)

Idea 2: 2 x Firemouths,2 x Convicts,6 x Tiger Barbs,1 Pearl Gourami

Idea 3: Kissing Gourami,Pearl Gourami,Blue Gourami,Firemouth,6 x Tiger Barbs

Idea 4: 2 x Angels (black marble + koi),8 x larger Tetras,5 x Corydoras

Idea 5: Firemouth,Pearl Gourami, Blue Gourami,Kissing Gourami,5 x Tiger Barbs

 

[Truck]

ditch the clown loaches they grow much to big for a Rio 125

 

[GShorty1981]

I dont want to keep them anyway mate,post edited.

 

[foley69]

well 2convicts and 2 firemouths in a 30 is not a good idea like i said why not go for a t-bar cichlid they grow no more than 6" and are stunning fish also they would go with a firemouth then have a bristlenose and a few tiger barbs that is a stunning 30gal tank IMO

 

[alkalinetrioguy7]

i think that any clown loach under 4" is too delicate anyways. if your tank levels shift in anyway, they will be dead.

 

[GShorty1981]

lol still going on about the Clown Loaches.

Can we stick to the Cichlids please?

 

[shroob]

So heres some tank ideas...could you give me the pros and cons.


Idea 4: 2 x Angels (black marble + koi),8 x larger Tetras,5 x Corydoras

Best idea there in my opinion, though bump up the cory's to a nice even 6.

 

[Davo86]

I would personally go with something similar to one of these

2 Angels,
either 2 Keyholes or 2 Rams
5 larger tetras
5 Corydoras

OR

1 Firemouth
5 tiger barbs
trio of Pearl Gourami

OR

1 Firemouth
1 Convict or Sajica or Rainbow
1 Hoplo Catfish or 5 tiger barbs

 

[foley69]

that isnt always true my mate has 2 small clown loach and they used to be in an angin tank that was green and temp and stats rising and falling all the time bu they are fine now he has sorted his tank out they are about 2"

 

[GShorty1981]

I would personally go with something similar to one of these

2 Angels,
either 2 Keyholes or 2 Rams
5 larger tetras
5 Corydoras

OR

1 Firemouth
5 tiger barbs
trio of Pearl Gourami

OR

1 Firemouth
1 Convict or Sajica or Rainbow
1 Hoplo Catfish or 5 tiger barbs

Nice Suggestions mate!

Wouldnt A convict slaughter the Tiger Barbs tho? and wouldnt the Convict and Firemouth Pair up? i heard its common.

I'm tempted by the idea of mixing 1 Angel 1 Firemouth,2 Pearls and 5 large tetras.

I still like the idea of Kissing Gouramis tho.

 

[GShorty1981]

OK we made a decision..a risky one but i think it will work.

1 x Marble Angel Fish
1 x Kissing Gourami
1 x Pearl Gourami
1 x Firemouth
5 x Serpae Tetras or Black Widows

I think i will add the Serpaes first,then my Gouramis then a few weeks later the Angel then finally the Firemouth.

And now for the decor

At the moment i have a black background (reversable with blue) and black stones....but I'm tempted to go with blue background and white stones (not sand as my gravel hoover sucks it up).

Then i was going to add half a terracotta plant pot for my Firemouth,some tall fake plants for my Angel to hide amongst then keep it pretty bare other than that.

I currently have my Ehiem (2213+) externals spray bar at the top of the tank,a power head on the right hand side of the tank left over from my reef tank and a bubble bar capable of doing the entire back wall....is that to much surface agitation for these fish? looking at it now without the Bubble bar working it doesent seem to be enough...maybe i should position the Koriela powerhead up the top more?

 

[GShorty1981]

LFS has alot of Geophagus Cichlids (green with big mouths unsure on common name) what are these like to keep.

 

[Davo86]

LFS has alot of Geophagus Cichlids (green with big mouths unsure on common name) what are these like to keep.

a 75G is needed for most species, as they get to about 10" and need to be kept in groups

 

[GShorty1981]

Oh ok.