Conpatible Cichlids

[kiriyama]

Hi there I'm very new to the hobby. Question is that I have seen a few dwarf cichlids that I really like and wondered if it is possible to keep more than one type in the same tank , also wondered what capacity tank would be required. I currently have 95ltr 30"x12"X15. The dwarf cichlids I like are Apistogramma borelli , Apistogramma agassizii , Apistogramma cacatuoides , Apistogramma macmasteri. The tank I currently have houses lemon tetra , corydoras julii and bolivian rams, looking into a second tank already but would really love to house some dwarf cichlids...
Any replies greatly received.....

 

[Wills]

Hi your tank sounds nice But you allready have some dwarf cichlids in there the bolivian rams! How many do you have? If you have a pair you will be okay to add a trio of any of the apistos you mentioned 1M 2F not sure if you could get 2 trios in though it could work see what others say

 

[kiriyama]

11 Lemon Tetra , 5 Corydoras Julli , 2 Bolivian Rams ( both male )...
These could all be moved to a second tank purchased in the hopefully not to distant future, or new fish could start in a new tank.
So it might be ok to sqeeze a pair or trio in the current tank?
If I wanted just dwarf cichlids, what are the rerquirements?

 

[Wills]

I think that one trio of apistos would def be ok in your tank at present. If you were to move the rams you could have 2 trios of the different species. The thing with cichlids is they need a certain amount of floorspace - for apistos it is usually the females that demand the most room. I think the lemon tetras would look good for the apistos and would work well as dither fish- dither fish work in a tank as they would in the wild most dwarf or smaller cichlids will use smaller fish like tetras to judge when the water is safe from predators so if they see the dithers they come out and rule the area as normal but if no dithers they become a bit more cautious - in a tank environment this works the same but without the dithers the apistos will be more confident in a tank than in the wild.

Think if it was me I would a have a trio (1M 2F) of Agassizii (super fire red if you can find them) and a trio (1M 2F) of the Borelli with the lemon tetras and the cories - although you do hear stories of cories taking a battering when apsitos breed sometimes but some other times they are fine.

Wills

 

[kiriyama]

I think that one trio of apistos would def be ok in your tank at present. If you were to move the rams you could have 2 trios of the different species. The thing with cichlids is they need a certain amount of floorspace - for apistos it is usually the females that demand the most room. I think the lemon tetras would look good for the apistos and would work well as dither fish- dither fish work in a tank as they would in the wild most dwarf or smaller cichlids will use smaller fish like tetras to judge when the water is safe from predators so if they see the dithers they come out and rule the area as normal but if no dithers they become a bit more cautious - in a tank environment this works the same but without the dithers the apistos will be more confident in a tank than in the wild.

Think if it was me I would a have a trio (1M 2F) of Agassizii (super fire red if you can find them) and a trio (1M 2F) of the Borelli with the lemon tetras and the cories - although you do hear stories of cories taking a battering when apsitos breed sometimes but some other times they are fine.

Wills

Cheers Wills , when I started I only wanted Tetras but I think some of the smaller Cichlids look awesome , especially the agassizii and borllli, was nearly getting black phantom tetras , marble hatchets and some shrimp , just shows you , cheers for the advice , I'm heading for the fish shop tommorrow so will have a look and see what they can get , thanks again......