Most Peaceful Cichlids

[sweet-like-coco]

What are the most peaceful cichlids that I can have in my tank? I love their colour and that they are more active than other more placid fish but I don't want them to be aggressive to each other all the time. Is this inevitable or will it be a case of finding the most peaceful species and allowing them to grow up together?

 

[11gatorgal11]

Obviously Yellow Labs are one of the most docile of African Cichlids. I don't suggest adding any african cichlid to a tropical tank other than strictly other african cichlids.
What size tank do you have? If it's not large enough then I wouldn't suggest having any african's in it. I always find that having an all male tank is less aggressive because they aren't fighting over females. They still chase each other, there is usually still a bully, but it seems less aggressive to me.
Did you have any cichlids in mind already?

 

[AstonN24vantage]

well, all cichlids are different, so you can have a red devil that can live no problem with another little fish or something, but you could also have a yellow lab that would beat the **** out of another little fish. africans that are not electric yellow or blue (preferably yellow) are usually vicious.

 

[11gatorgal11]

well, all cichlids are different, so you can have a red devil that can live no problem with another little fish or something, but you could also have a yellow lab that would beat the **** out of another little fish. africans that are not electric yellow or blue (preferably yellow) are usually vicious.

The red devil that you speak of is actually an Central American Cichlid, and the question this person asked is in the African Cichlid section, so I assume they wanted to know what the most peaceful African Cichlid is, which would technically be a yellow lab, a rusty cichlid, an acei, or a couple others.
But they didn't specify what lake so it could be several others as well....

 

[Squidward]

Haps and Peacocks are a lot more placid than Mbuna. And a male only tank will look stunning.

 

[roadmaster]

Kribensis is a rather peaceful cichlid from Africa but if it is colors that OP is interested in then , Mbuna species would maybe be the choice.

 

[bullit]

my old kribs were nuts

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Unless breeding, Steatocranus cichlids are very peaceful, but when they have fry they will kill anything that comes within a few inches of their youngsters (as one of my Pearl Danios and Yellowtails discovered, albeit the latter over the course of a week from a huge ulcerated injury). They even turned on my two extremely gentle Hypoptopoma ("giant otos") herbivores, at which point I had to rapidly rescue them.

 

[11gatorgal11]

Haps and Peacocks are a lot more placid than Mbuna. And a male only tank will look stunning.

Yes they do! I absolutely loved my 75g all male african cichlid tank.... and to me they weren't as aggressive as normal because there were no females to fight over...
If anyone chooses to go that route only one male per species. I had 2 yellow labs in the tank and one of them died, but everyone else was fine and the other yellow lab was fine as well....