Flag cichlid

[Gimli]

I have recently got 4 Flag Cichlids, Laetacara curviceps. We think they are two pairs and I have provided two caves at each end of the tank. Have any of you got any experience on these fish you could share with me?

gimli (Jake)

 

[lucky62]

pretty easy going fish , but when breeding will become Territorial and aggressive .

Sexual differences can be hard to distinguish .

Males have longer and pointed dorsal and anal fins .

Females have reddish -brown color on the flanks .

They may use the caves , but not for breeding. plants and rocks , places to hide will make them feel more secure .
Spawning takes place out in the open on substrate or another surface [ the top of the cave ].
It helps if the water is on the soft side , as eggs seem to calcify in slightly hard water .[ my case ]

Parents will take turns guarding eggs and fry , getting food , and digging small pits to transfer fry to once hatched .

It may take a few spawnings before they get it right .

A closely related species is Lateacara dorsiger , same size more brown/maroon than blue [ like curviceps ] will have more success hatching young in harder water .
Lateacaras are AKA smiling acaras .

 

[jflowers]

Hi Lucky62

gimli is my son, he had his heart set on these fish, glad you have experience with them too. They are the only fish in the tank at the moment and it took me and the lfs guy quite a while to sex them and we are still not sure, thats why we ended up with four, instead of two. They are very small, around an inch, so difficult to sex, but two have pointier dorsal fins and longer pectorals, males I thought, the lfs guy, went with the pectoral fins and agreed.

Our water is on the hard side and comes out of the tap at a PH of 7.5.

Yer, I have a book on 'Smiling acaras'

What would YOU keep with them in a 39x15x12 tank, he was thinking, 5 cory's, 6 or more tetras (can't decide which yet, I suggested peguin or cardinal) and a large gourami or two (three spot or opaline).

Sorry to jump in gimli, but I will be fishing out the dead fish if it doesn't work And doing the water changes for a while

Jon

 

[lucky62]

Hi Guys ,

Glad to see another father son team on the forums .[ some day he may know more than you , Jon ].
Well I found out the hard way about these guys and my peacock gudgeons .
Will you be keeping all 4 ? [ as individuals they are so timid , breeding pairs are another story ]
They'll do do fine in that water ,maintenance is the key [ water changes ]
egg hatching may prove difficult , but I don't think impossible .

Blue/gold/opaline Gouramis [three spots and opaline are the same species] you'll most likely only be able to have 1 [ aggression between them is deadly at times ], but 1 may work , and believe it or not may bully your Curvies .
Cardinals may work , never kept them .
I like harlequin rasboras myself .
Cories too .
The tank should be big enough for 2 pair , I breeding happens other fish will be chased , or worse in my case

If you set it up in the hopes they'll take opposite ends of the tank with an open area to the center it could work .
But it's going to be their choice .

Plenty of plants / rocks and areas to retreats are good to have .

 

[freddyk]

I've never kept flags, but based on my experience with other cichids and the flags reputation of aggression during spawning, I'd suggest steering away from the smaller and weaker schoaling fish like cardinals and tetra's, and go for a larger and more robust tetra, or a rasbora or danio. I'd also go with a larger group - wouldn't hesitate to put a dozen of a smaller species in the tank mentioned.

Cories will not handle the stress of the breeding well either, but if you provide them a refuge the cichlids can't get to I think you'd be alright.

Cichlids can be tough, so it's best to keep them with tough fish.

 

[lucky62]

Sorry Jake , never said they'll grow to about three inches .

I currently keep 4 species of dwarf cichlids , 2 of the 4, Curviceps and Anomalochromis thomosi , these guys are typical for cichlids , and what freddy says rings true , aggression is an issue while breeding .[ I keep them with skunk loaches ]

My Cockatoos and Nannacara are quite exceptional , even while breeding , as they are territorial the aggression is usually all show .


Maybe look into Rasbora and a some of the smaller loaches , skunks get about 2.5 " as tankmates . Danios are also very hardy , and fast .

What ever you do , try and provide as much cover [ plants /deco ]as you can .

 

[Gimli]

Do you think that pretty tetras are hardy enough for the cichlids?

 

[freddyk]

Do you think that pretty tetras are hardy enough for the cichlids

Yes I do.

 

[lucky62]

Sorry , What are Pretty Tetras ? EDIT ok they grown to 2"

Bleeding Heart tetras while kind of nippy , could also work .

 

[Gimli]

Thank you all for the help you have gave me!

For my tank i was thinking

4 Dwarf Flag Cichlids
The guppies i have (4 female 2 male)
10 Pretty tetras
6 Peppered Cories
2 Gold or maybe opaline Gourami.

Could you please tell me if there is anything wrong with that and could you also tell me if there is any other nice fish that i could add to that?

gimli (Jake)

 

[freddyk]

In your a 110 litre I'd leave it be and see how it goes before planning any more livestock - it's all too easy to overdo it at first, and it's just as easy to add more later, should you decide there is room after observing the tank a while. As it is, I would personally only go with one pair of cichlids to give all the fish involved more room to properly live.

At the very least you should go with either one pair of cichlids and the gouramis, or just the two pairs of cichlids and no gouramis, I don't feel there is enough real estate for both.

I do have one issue with the cories that I forgot to mention. Cichlids are very avid feeders, and cories have been known to starve to death in cichlid tanks because they leave nothing for them to forage and they're too shy to share in the feeding frenzy. Make sure they get some special attention when it comes to feeding.

 

[lucky62]

In your a 110 litre I'd leave it be and see how it goes before planning any more livestock - it's all too easy to overdo it at first, and it's just as easy to add more later, should you decide there is room after observing the tank a while. As it is, I would personally only go with one pair of cichlids to give all the fish involved more room to properly live.

At the very least you should go with either one pair of cichlids and the gouramis, or just the two pairs of cichlids and no gouramis, I don't feel there is enough real estate for both.

I do have one issue with the cories that I forgot to mention. Cichlids are very avid feeders, and cories have been known to starve to death in cichlid tanks because they leave nothing for them to forage and they're too shy to share in the feeding frenzy. Make sure they get some special attention when it comes to feeding.

Jake , I would agree with freddy's advice as well .

Esp in regard to to cories , give them there own places to hide [ tiny flower pots work well ], and have some kind of sinking food available for them .
Feed the rest of the fish whatever you feed [ floating type food ] , then after they've all eaten a bit drop some sinking food in for the cories [ in the area where they hang out ].

Also be aware with the Gouramis , if you get 2 males eventually one way or another you're likely to end up with just 1 .

Good luck buddy .

 

[Gimli]

I think i've got 3 male cichlids and 1 female so i think 2 males are goimg in different tanks anyway. Cheers for the help. I'll take the advice.