Cichlids.....in the community

[Ava_Banana]

Ok..........so this post may need to be moved to one of the Cichlid topics...........so feel free mods........

I am happy with our 140L window tank.......nothing needs adding.........it is full and ticking over nicely.....fish are mating.....MTS snails are raking over the gravel......Loaches are loaching .......things are good with the world in this tank.


My "main" tank, the first one I had which is in my Living room needs a little something.

It is 36" x 12" x 15".

I currently have:

Eight Mollies (various sizes)
5 Serpea Tetras
2 Synodontis Eupterus
2 Apple Snails (bout 1/2 an inch)

I would like to start "going cichlid with this tank.

Any thoughts on what I could get that would share these waters?

Rams......Kribs...........?

Would like to do a bit of breeding too................

 

[Fawke]

We have a pair of kribs in our 42gal, and they make the tank IMO.

I got a smaller female and a larger male, which is recommended, as the female is more impressed by the size of the male - and thus increasing the chnaces of breeding.
Having said that, if you only get 1 pair, then edventually they are sure to breed anyhow.

These are amazing cichlids and will do ok in the community, like ours. During breeding they will get very aggressive and defend their territory vigorously.
Make sure there have their OWN cave to call home....

I cannot comment on Rams, but they look great too......

We love our kribs, and we are now on our 3rd batch of fry - after 6 months of having them.
If you get a pair the colours of each fish will come through very nicely - as they shudder and shiver towards each other before spawning and making babies

Good luck - and enjoy your new fishies, whatever you choose....

 

[rvm]

I first got into cichlids with a pair of Sajicas (which I still have!) and they were in a communitiy tank at first with no problems. They had neon tetras, platties, and clown loaches as company and never bothered a soul!! When they bred they got a little aggressive, but nothing too major, and it was more about chasing the other fish away than anything else.
They are beautiful fish, and their colours really stand out as they get older. Check the link in my sig and look at the 50g corner tank for pics of them.

 

[jmelnek]

I have 6 black skirt tetras, 6 zebra danios, 6 cories, 1 plec, and 4 ghost shrimp in a 46 gal bowfront. Can I add a pair of kribs or rams and ifso then what species?

 

[sylvia]

You could add rams. Don't know about kribs. But it depends on the plec. If it's a common or similarly large pleco you'll need to re-home it sooner or later and don't add anything else to the tank until you do so or you will end up majorly over-stocked. What do you mean by what species?

 

[pendragon]

I've never had rams or kribs, but both are "conditional" community tank members, as I understand it. In some tanks they work; in others, not. With both rams and kribs you may very well have times of aggression. I've also heard of people who've had good luck integrating dwarf cockatoo cichlids into a community tank.

Let's not forget the compatibility king of the few community cichlids - keyholes! Keyhole cichlids are wonderful, friendly fish that get along well with just about any non-aggressive fish. I have a male and female pair in my community tank with Celebes Rainbows and Yo-Yo Loaches. Despite being the largest fish in the tank by far, the keyholes are as gentle as can be. If you want to add cichlids to a community tank, there is no closer fish to a can't-miss thing than keyholes. The only negative thing I could say about keyholes is that they are very shy; any quick movement near the tank and they're bolting to a hiding spot. But they come right back out. Housing them with some schooling fish seems to help this somewhat (schooling fish make shy fish feel safer). Of course, although I'm sure it's a very small chance you'd find it, I'm sure somewhere out there in the world there is an ornery keyhole cichlid too. Alway have a backup plan in case the addition doesn't work out, no matter what kind of cichlid you're talking about.

pendragon!

 

[modernhamlet]

I'd avoid the kribs, or at least a pair. One might be ok. Sajicas get a little big for your current tank. Rams are a good choice. As are keyholes.

I'd add one of the Apistogramma species to your list of cichlids to look into...