Is It Possible...
- Thread starter Vethian
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Yes and no. By SA cichlids, I am assuming you are referring in general terms to the "dwarf" cichlids such as the many species in Apistogramma, the two Mikrogeophagus species, Dicrossus, and so forth. There are some larger cichlids obviously that are less commonly seen.
The rift lake cichlids tend to do best with several in the tank. But the neotropical species are generally very different. The majority of these are endemic to specific watercourses where they are the only cichlid species, and in a few cases it goes even further by having the species living almost in isolation from one another except when spawning (thinking of the Bolivian Ram, Mikrogeophagus altispinosus here). Males are territorial naturally, but when the species spawns, the females for their small size can be very rough customers. I have had Apistogramma females kill other females in my 4-foot 70g tank, and seriously stress out non-cichlid fish that got too close.
Tank size is very important. And many of the Apistogramma are harem fish, that are best with one male and two or three females. You need sufficient space for the females to stay out of each other's way, and the male's. Territory to these fish can be vast; my Bolivian Ram owns the 5-foot tank he is in, without question, and it is divided up with large chunks of bogwood and plants.
Byron.
The rift lake cichlids tend to do best with several in the tank. But the neotropical species are generally very different. The majority of these are endemic to specific watercourses where they are the only cichlid species, and in a few cases it goes even further by having the species living almost in isolation from one another except when spawning (thinking of the Bolivian Ram, Mikrogeophagus altispinosus here). Males are territorial naturally, but when the species spawns, the females for their small size can be very rough customers. I have had Apistogramma females kill other females in my 4-foot 70g tank, and seriously stress out non-cichlid fish that got too close.
Tank size is very important. And many of the Apistogramma are harem fish, that are best with one male and two or three females. You need sufficient space for the females to stay out of each other's way, and the male's. Territory to these fish can be vast; my Bolivian Ram owns the 5-foot tank he is in, without question, and it is divided up with large chunks of bogwood and plants.
Byron.
Vethian said:
They are indeed beautiful. Over the years I have maintained and spawned several species. Like most dwarf cichlid aquarists, I think this is a fish for smaller individual tanks. By smaller, I don't mean tiny, as a 24-inch or better yet 30-inch length is best for many of the species. Twenty gallon long tanks are often ideal. B.
Vethian said:
One species would work, depending upon the other fish in the tank. At the moment, I have a 29g that is home to a pair of Dicrossus filamentosus that I acquired recently (haven't seen these locally since the 1980's) that I hope will spawn. With them are groups of 8 Ember Tetra (Hyphessobrycon amandae) and 14 Three-line pencilfish (Nannostomus trifasciatus). But I would not have more than one cichlid species in this tank.
My tank is quite heavy on the SA cichlids, but its something built up over a long time, the current fish are a mix of ages but some of them are still under a year old. Others are a few years old now.
I do have other fish in the tanks though and I find these really help with the community of the tank, in the wild Cichlids will use schooling fish as an indication of how safe the area is, when the smaller schooling fish start to disapear, they know there is a problem so either move on or hide. In a tank with just cichlids you will find they are often find they hide more than otherwise. So adding a school of Tetras or a group of bottom dwelling catfish will actually help you get better character and colours out of your cichlids.
My tank works slightly different from this but seems to work. I have a group of Headstanders which are my dither fish as well as a school of Flag Tail Catfish but the actual smallest fish in the tank are my Cupid Cichlids which I think my Threadfin, Geos and Uarus use as the real dither fish in the tank and the Cupids take confidence in being in a group plus the group of Geos so the tank is pretty active.
I agree with Byron that the Checkerboards would be a good option, they are a great little fish and quite gregarious so a good sized group would look fantastic with a group of something like Green Neon Tetras and a group of Panda Cories. You could potentially look at a trio of Nannacara Anomala or a small hareem of Apistos like one of the small species like Panduro with a small group of 4 or so of the Checkerboards.
Wills
I do have other fish in the tanks though and I find these really help with the community of the tank, in the wild Cichlids will use schooling fish as an indication of how safe the area is, when the smaller schooling fish start to disapear, they know there is a problem so either move on or hide. In a tank with just cichlids you will find they are often find they hide more than otherwise. So adding a school of Tetras or a group of bottom dwelling catfish will actually help you get better character and colours out of your cichlids.
My tank works slightly different from this but seems to work. I have a group of Headstanders which are my dither fish as well as a school of Flag Tail Catfish but the actual smallest fish in the tank are my Cupid Cichlids which I think my Threadfin, Geos and Uarus use as the real dither fish in the tank and the Cupids take confidence in being in a group plus the group of Geos so the tank is pretty active.
I agree with Byron that the Checkerboards would be a good option, they are a great little fish and quite gregarious so a good sized group would look fantastic with a group of something like Green Neon Tetras and a group of Panda Cories. You could potentially look at a trio of Nannacara Anomala or a small hareem of Apistos like one of the small species like Panduro with a small group of 4 or so of the Checkerboards.
Wills
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