Looking For Another Cichlid

[Flute]

So I've found myself browsing this part of the forum far too regularly I desperately want a 6ft tank for larger cichlids, but alas, that will have to wait until I get my own place next year

The reason why I'm posting this is that I'm curious about whether I'd be able to keep another dwarf cichlid species in my current 200litre (54ish US gallons) tank or not?

So far I have 9 female betta, 1 pearl gourami, 7 Espei rasbora, and a pair of Laetacara araguaiae. I did have my Apistogrammoides pucallpaensis in with them, but they're so tiny when I first got them that the female betta and the laetacara pretty much saw them as prey, so they were relocated to my dads tank.
I plan to add a bristlenose plec in the near future, but beyond that I have no idea what else I want. I'd love Angel fish but I know that is a no go with the female betta.

Has anyone had any experience with Laetacara araguaiae with other dwarf cichlids, and if so, how did they get along? I know that L.araguaiae are an uncommon species, but I'm pretty sure I've seen a couple of members on here with some.

My laetacara's keep to themselves and don't bother anyone else in the tank so I'm hoping that I'd be able to keep another paired species with them. I particularly like Keyhole cichlids but am open to any other ideas of any kind, although I'm not overly fond of apisto species. Of course if it's not feasible or risky then I wont chance it

Thanks to anyone who can help me out

 

[jacko32]

i kept mine with a pair of bolivian rams a german blue ram and a apistogramma baencshi and a keyhole with no problems

 

[Flute]

Cheers Jacko32, I was hoping you'd reply as I saw that you have a pair That's great, now all I need to do is find a suitable species that I can get hold of

Like I mentioned in my first post, I do like keyhole cichlids (they look so adorable ), but they're not that colourful are they? Could anyone recommend a cichlid of similar size with better colourations?

 

[Verminator89]

Have you concidered Flag Acara. Stunning small cichlid in my opinion. Doesnt get to big, stays at around 3" tops i believe and are generally quite peacefull. They say a tank of 20G or more is better and that they can go in community tanks. I saw some in a shop recently and was very temped, unfortunately all my cichlids are alot bigger and more boistrous.

 

[DRE]

I'd say a Guianacara Geayi would be suitable. They are quite colorful in my mind.

A link to a swedish site, atleast you can enjoy the pictures:
http/www.zoopet.com/forum/showthread.php?t=142909&highlight=guianacara

They are all mine. I hade some fry that I brought up and sold. One of the buyers also put some pictures of his juvies in the thread.

 

[Flute]

Verminator, I was looking for Flag Acara's a couple of months ago. Couldn't find any in my area (I live in the middle of nowhere, so choice is sometimes limited), and ended up with my Laetacara Araguaiae. As much as I'd still love to get a pair, I was wondering if they'd be able to interbreed, as the Flag Acara's are also a Laetacara?

Dre, those are lovely fish and the type of look I'm going for. How ever, having just read up about them, I don't think I could house 4-6 of them, and as my tank is heavily planted with lots of bogwood, there wouldn't be much room for them to dig

Are more ideas? Sorry to be a pain on this, it's just because I'm limited with space, I really want to find the right cichlid ^^'

Cheers for the help so far!

 

[ZoddyZod]

I've recently bought a Dwarf Flag Acara (incredibly similar to yours so assume same temperament) and this seems to get on very happily with my single Bolivian Ram and angelfish (after the angel spent a day telling the newbie who was boss) so I would imagine you would be fine with any of the other dwarf cichlids. If you are looking for colour in particular, some of the Apistos look amazing, especially agassizi and cacatuoides

 

[DRE]

Dre, those are lovely fish and the type of look I'm going for. How ever, having just read up about them, I don't think I could house 4-6 of them, and as my tank is heavily planted with lots of bogwood, there wouldn't be much room for them to dig

I only have 2 and that is just fine. With 2 couple you get more colors, but not needed. The trick is to geta male and female in that case. They use very little space but a couple of places were they can dig is fine. They reuse same spot from spawn to spawn, but the male wants a new pit after they have spawned outside of spawning pit. If you have bogwood they would be happy and just dig underneath a piece of wood. They are close relatives to Acarichthys Heckelii.

 

[Verminator89]

Apistogramma; agassizii, baenschi, borellii, cacatuoides, hongsloi, macmasteri, steindachneri, trifasciata.

Apistogramma in general are amazing little cichlids. They do better in smaller tanks i find, anything from 60L upwards is ideal for a pair for most species. They do vary slightly in colour and size, although most are under 4" and the males exhibit fascinating colours. Some can be more plain, but equally stunning IMO. You'll also find that most LFS can get them in,certainly most on that mini list i compiled for you can be aquired readily everywhere i've been (UK).

Have a little nosey on google images for them. They are addictive little fish to keep. I'm toying with the idea of getting rid of my 3ft tank and setting up 3 cube tanks in a row and having a pair in each selected from my personal top 3 of Apisto's. Small in size, big in personality

A little more food for thought,
James

 

[Flute]

ZoddyZod, cheers for more confirmation I can't imagine they'd be that different in temperament really. I had thought of apistos initially, but I'm not sure if I want something slightly larger if I can get away with it.

Dre, I'll be definitely keeping those guys in mind then And I'll be keeping a look out for them too.

Verminator, cheers for the list I'll having a nosey around in the local shops and see if any of those come up. To be honest, I've never even seen any apistos in my area, which is quite strange as they're so popular at the moment.

Probably a really sill question, but is there anyway I could get away with a single/pair of firemouths?

 

[Verminator89]

Thorichthys Meeki (firemouths) you could probably get away with, although i'm not sure how they would mix with female betta's. One to watch, hopefully someone else can inform you o nwhether thats a compatable mix.

Alternatively as Lesley (Star4) made me aware there are Thorichthys Ellioti which are slightly smaller with better colouration. So potentially even better than firemouths. Again, someone would have to confirm if you aught to mix these with female bettas.

Even your gourami could suffer a little bit if mixed with too big a cichlid, they don't always take kindly to other fish in their space.

 

[Flute]

I also realised that my rasbora might be a problem as they're quite small. Ellioti were another that I was interested in. All in all, I think I've severally limited myself to what I can keep with the betts and rasbora >.<

Thanks again for all the helpful advice After really thinking about it, I think I'm going to play it safer this time, and go with either of these three species- keyholes, A.borellii or A. Macmasteri.

Either that or I'll be brave and give gold or electric blue rams a go

 

[kizno1]

What about a small group of Cheackerboard cichlids. One of the nicest looking dwarf IMO and a small group of 4-5 would do perfect in a tank like this.

 

[Flute]

Just when I thought I knew what I was going to go for ....I'm sold. Those are beautiful, and so unusual looking I'd love a group, what kind of ratio would I need to look for? The Lyretail Checkerboards especially are gorgeous ^^

I've just got to try and locate them now

 

[kizno1]

Haha, To avoid fighting i think 1 male, 2-3 females would be best.
Theres some for £4 on Wholesale Tropicals and they do delivery
http/www.tropicalfishfinder.co.uk/stores_productsinfo.asp?store=6&prod=2666