Injured Cichlid In Goldfish Tank

[danimarie37]

I have a large african cichlid tank. there are several aggressive "alpha" fish in there. One night about a month ago, they all started picking on this one "omega" cichlid. They chewed his tail fin down to the root. He was near death. i pulled him out and he recovered in our "hospital" tank - which is basically a square plastic trash can (clean, of course). unfortunately, the blue trash can in my living room clashes terribly with the antiques. so, i put him in the goldfish tank. at first the gold fish were terrified, but he went into a little house and is claiming it for himself. they seem to be getting used to him and he's leaving them alone as long as they stay away.

I thought the cohabitation may work simply because his tail never grew back. he can swim, but not too well. it's tiring for him. so, he hasn't attempted to eat the goldfish. has anyone tried putting a disabled cichlid in a goldfish tank? and, what about the food? goldfish are vegans, cichlids are...not. how do i feed them both in the same tank? what about the moral implications of putting a sick predator in a tank with a bunch of healthy prey fish. can the goldfish environment make the cichlid sick?

 

[cosworthlady]

I have a large african cichlid tank. there are several aggressive "alpha" fish in there. One night about a month ago, they all started picking on this one "omega" cichlid. They chewed his tail fin down to the root. He was near death. i pulled him out and he recovered in our "hospital" tank - which is basically a square plastic trash can (clean, of course). unfortunately, the blue trash can in my living room clashes terribly with the antiques. so, i put him in the goldfish tank. at first the gold fish were terrified, but he went into a little house and is claiming it for himself. they seem to be getting used to him and he's leaving them alone as long as they stay away.

I thought the cohabitation may work simply because his tail never grew back. he can swim, but not too well. it's tiring for him. so, he hasn't attempted to eat the goldfish. has anyone tried putting a disabled cichlid in a goldfish tank? and, what about the food? goldfish are vegans, cichlids are...not. how do i feed them both in the same tank? what about the moral implications of putting a sick predator in a tank with a bunch of healthy prey fish. can the goldfish environment make the cichlid sick?

Don't goldfish and cichlids need different water requirements? Heat for example? Gold fish will happily eat bloodworm btw so you can feed them both on that for an occasional treat. Hope someone comes along and gives advice cos I'd be interested to see how this goes. i would fear for my goldfish though 0

 

[dthoffsett]

What type of african cichlids do you have?

If mbuna, they're herbivores so food wouldn't really be the problem. African cichlids do thrive in high ph and hard water, but if they are tank bred can do well in a lower ph, I think the real problem will be heat. Africans should be kept at 78-80 F while goldfish are coldwater and do best at lower temps.

 

[danimarie37]

I have a large african cichlid tank. there are several aggressive "alpha" fish in there. One night about a month ago, they all started picking on this one "omega" cichlid. They chewed his tail fin down to the root. He was near death. i pulled him out and he recovered in our "hospital" tank - which is basically a square plastic trash can (clean, of course). unfortunately, the blue trash can in my living room clashes terribly with the antiques. so, i put him in the goldfish tank. at first the gold fish were terrified, but he went into a little house and is claiming it for himself. they seem to be getting used to him and he's leaving them alone as long as they stay away.

I thought the cohabitation may work simply because his tail never grew back. he can swim, but not too well. it's tiring for him. so, he hasn't attempted to eat the goldfish. has anyone tried putting a disabled cichlid in a goldfish tank? and, what about the food? goldfish are vegans, cichlids are...not. how do i feed them both in the same tank? what about the moral implications of putting a sick predator in a tank with a bunch of healthy prey fish. can the goldfish environment make the cichlid sick?

Don't goldfish and cichlids need different water requirements? Heat for example? Gold fish will happily eat bloodworm btw so you can feed them both on that for an occasional treat. Hope someone comes along and gives advice cos I'd be interested to see how this goes. i would fear for my goldfish though 0

Excellent point on the water requirements. I'm not sure what to do about that. Maybe keep it a little warm for the goldies and a little cool for the cichlid. So far, no homicides. The goldfish aren't cowering away from him and he's no longer hiding in his little house. Good call on the bloodworms. I'll go sprinkle some in now.

 

[danimarie37]

What type of african cichlids do you have?

If mbuna, they're herbivores so food wouldn't really be the problem. African cichlids do thrive in high ph and hard water, but if they are tank bred can do well in a lower ph, I think the real problem will be heat. Africans should be kept at 78-80 F while goldfish are coldwater and do best at lower temps.

He's an African "Jewel". Good point about the ph! I live in Florida, so hard water is easy to do. I guess I'll cycle the tank more often. According to Wikipedia, the ideal temperature for goldfish is 77 degrees. I don't have a heater in there, but i keep the house temp at around 78. Maybe I need to add a heater and carefully raise the temp just a few degrees.

 

[Davo86]

He's an African "Jewel". Good point about the ph! I live in Florida, so hard water is easy to do. I guess I'll cycle the tank more often. According to Wikipedia, the ideal temperature for goldfish is 77 degrees. I don't have a heater in there, but i keep the house temp at around 78. Maybe I need to add a heater and carefully raise the temp just a few degrees.

77 is tropical temperatures, for goldfish you really don't want it to be more than around 71 long term really, However in a warm climate that isn't an easy thing to achieve and on the plus side it is fine for the jewel.

As for feeding both goldfish and jewels are Omnivores,

How big is the goldfish tank btw?