Green Terror Vs Fire Mouth

[Lukey88]

Hahahahahahahah fish and dogs are nothin alike...I dnt care what you lable me as I've done my research on my fish and I've always planned to sell them...they don't no and there not goin to miss me they couldn't care as long as they get fed

 

[Tolak]

In some ways cichlids and dogs are alike. I've found that with NW cichlids there can be differing temperament within a species, sometimes wildly. We've all heard of people who have a certain breed of dog that is the best dog; docile, very tolerant of kids, and so on, while someone else has the same breed and the dog is a skittish dangerous animal. Ciclids are in many ways the same.

Taking this into consideration, some folks may have no trouble keeping those species together with that size tanks, others have mayhem with half that stocking. If you want to try doing this it is wise to have a backup plan; a divider at the very least, a spare tank or two at the ready for a worst case scenario. Yes, you may end up rehoming a fish that end up being too aggressive. Go into it realizing both ends of the spectrum for the best results.

 

[drobbyb]

Tolak makes a very good point. What works for some may not work for others, and in general, the exception should not become the rule.

Lukey I am happy that your tank gets along fine, but you seem to be the exception.

 

[arobinson1984]

Hahahahahahahah fish and dogs are nothin alike...I dnt care what you lable me as I've done my research on my fish and I've always planned to sell them...they don't no and there not goin to miss me they couldn't care as long as they get fed

You can quite easily train an oscar to roll over so you can tickle its belly! so there are likenesses.

Anyway, the comparison between fish and dogs was made in the respect that both should be treated with the same level of responsibility.

And I'm sorry but with your cichlid combination you clearly havent done proper research, It wouldnt surprise me if your local fish store said it'd be ok.

Andy

 

[dthoffsett]

I would like to add that IMO a successful cichlid tank is one in which the occupants "get along" for years rather than months, aggression levels can change rapidly especially as they reach sexual maturity.

Cichlid stocking is as much an art as science, you will find many different combinations among cichlid keepers as most of us have tried different unconventional stocking in order to find what works, especially with species that have almost no care information to be found. This is why it is so important to ask people who actually have experience with a species, rather than a random article or two. There will always be a tank or two where fish that "shouldn't" get along do, however, there are hundreds (or thousands) of other tanks where it didn't work, those tanks are where your guidelines come from.

Ultimately your stocking is up to you, if your research has led you to believe the fish will get along by all means go for it, but as Tolak pointed out you should ALWAYS have a back up plan.

 

[NinjaSmurf]

Everyone is entitled to there own opinion it takes years loaches to grow big and when they do I'll sell them back to a fish shop. Like I plan to do with any of my fish that starts to get aggressve or to big...it's not the end of the world if a fish fights. Mine are and have been fine for months...

Sorry, that just reminds me of the whole "I've had my gold fish in a bowl for a year before they died, so its fine to keep them in a bowl"

Yup. till you consider they can live like 30-50 years... Look, you just killed a baby! Ya!!! (dripping sarcasm... mmmm tasty)