Gourami's and Cichlids - Together?

[Fawke]

Hi there,

Upon reserving Pablo (my syno), i noticed it was in the tank with some really nice Electric Blue African Cichlids......
I thought to myself wow they look good, but then ruled out the possibility due to my Gouramis.

Im not sure why, i know the reputation some cichlids carry, but can these wonderful fish be mixed with Gouramis (and my other tank mates for that matter)

I would ideally like to setup an Afrcian tank, but you know how it is

Any advice much appreciated!

Thanks

 

[CFC]

Short answer is no, not a chance!

Electric blues are a mbuna cichlid from lake malaiwi and would destroy peaceful non aggressive fish like gouramis in seconds.

African cichlids are species/biotope only fish that can only be mixed with other african cichlids of the same temperment and synodontis catfishes from the same region which have years of evolution of living alongside these aggressive species behind them.

 

[Fawke]

Great, well thats what i wanted to know..... not so great as i really like the look of these fish..... but thanks, you have saved my Gouramis from a blood bath ( not that i would of done this without finding out first!)

Would they anniolate my Pictus also? (you mentioned they would be OK with the syno)

Thanks again

 

[CFC]

Im afraid it would be the same for your pictus cats too, im sure that someone is bound to come along and say theyve done it without problems but the bottom line is that pimeloid catfish just dont have the tools to stand up to aggressive cichlids, they have soft fins and bodies and their long whiskers easily get ripped off. Synodontis catfish have armour plates covering the head and hard rays to their fins plus short thick whiskers which make smaller targets, however even a syno needs a tank with many good hiding places to survive with mbuna cichlids.