Need some expert advice on Keyholes

[GirlinWayside]

Dang, its about time. I have called every fish store within a 60 mile radius - I finally found one that will order some keyholes for me! Can you believe that not one fish store I talked to even carries cichlids?? Accept Petsmart of course and they left me on hold for over 15 mins so I hung up. Anyhow, all these stores claim that they cant sell cichlids! I find that really hard to beleive! Anyhow, they are going to order some for me. the only bad thing is they are only going to order the amount that I want. So hopefully they will be some nice fish.

Now, I need some help. Im not sure how many I should get - once again, I have a 55 gal tank. What other fish can be put with them?? I have been told that a school of cories will do good with them but I havent really found any information about that. Im open to all suggestions. Also, my tank has a medium size gravel - do I need to change this to a smaller gravel??

 

[GirlinWayside]

no one has any ideas for me here??

Ive been told since posting this that Festivum and Blue Acara will go nicely with keyholes..

 

[Ben]

Good choice on the Keyholes
I would first scrap off the idea of blue acaras as they might get a bit aggresive. I would do
3 or 4 Festivums - top level of the tank
3 or 4 Angels - mid level
3 or 4 Keyholes - bottom level
It would make one awesome tank
I would suggest getting sand as they prefer it and planting it and giving them loads of hiding spaces They feel more comfortable with hiding spaces/caves/plants etc
You could add cories, but if you want around 4-6 only get a pair of Keyholes as they occupy the bottom level of the tank aswell.

HTH

DD

 

[freddyk]

Keyholes are very mild cichlids and you need to be very careful when stocking them with other cichids. The best thing you can do if you want the most out of them is make it a species tank as keyholes as the only cichlids, and then stock with compatible community fish that would include cory's, tetra's, rasbora's, etc.

Fetivums really share the same level as Angels - these fish are too big to define a difference between bottom-middle or middle-top in a typical aquarium. Choose either - or, not both. I really don't see the space in a 55 gallon for 12 new world cichlids!

 

[xamdarb]

since they will only order the amount you want why not order like 3 to many and when you get there be like oh i figured out i cant get all of them and pic from the good ones

 

[digital_run]

FreedyK hit it when he said "mild"...They are peaceful and will suffer when kept with even semi-aggressive fish...They will also do better in an established tank with plenty of cover and rock-work. If you aren't certain how the keyholes will deal with a type of fish then i wouldn't risk it.

I keep my pair of Keyholes with a Severum and have yet to run into problems....The Three of them were raised together so i'm guessing that might have something to do with it.

Good Luck with them!!

Ðigital_

 

[Fry Lady]

Keyholes are awesome, shy and very peaceful fish. When I kept them, I'd keep about 6 at a time in a 30 gallon. You can easily mix in Tetra's from Black phantoms, to Diamonds to even Congo Tetras<---my all time favorite tetra. You can also mix in if you can find some Aquidens Curviceps, also peaceful.

As mentinoned Festivums and Angels are good tank mates. Don't be surprised if you get some to pair off, they are good little parents.

Goodluck, I think my oldest Keyhole lived to be 6 and it was a male. Females are easy to tell they get that fat little belly with eggs right before they spawn.

 

[jasonl]

I have kept my 4 keyholes in with a couple of serverums for about 4 months now with no problems. I also keep a large shoal of feeder guppies in with my keyholes and severums to add interest to the top level of the tank. They also love to chase the guppies around. These fish are not as shy as you might think. My little keyholes eat more of the guppies then the severums could think of.

 

[GirlinWayside]

well, Im still undecided.. the pet store that agreed to order them wants me to pay in advance and when I asked what happened if the fish sucked and she said thats the chance that I take. Sooooo, Im not ordering anything from them.. If I do get some, I will probably mix them with tetras or something else. They would be the only cichlid.

 

[freddyk]

I believe most places want you to pay in advance because they don't want to be stuck with them. IMO it's worth the risk, this type of fish hasn't really been overbred the way some of the more popular ones have and the chances are the fish would be fine. Make sure you give them the latin name as well, if you do order, that way you can be sure any mistake is on their part.

 

[aardvarkfromspace]

I have keyholes with a few different types of fish and have had no problems with them yet. Ideally, tetras and festivums would make good tankmates. I would be worried about angels, I've never met an angel that liked any of my other fish, and would assume angels would nip at keyholes.

 

[GirlinWayside]

now my next question, when I stock this tank should I get the keyholes first and add other fish later?? Also, I was thinking of getting 4 keyholes.. would 4 be alright in a 55 gal?? I have read that they are sorta territorial while breeding but I really havent been able to find alot of information on them accept from people who have owned them before. Ive decided that they will be the only cichlid in the tank. I will get other types of fish that are compatiable to fill in.

 

[sylvia]

These are my favourite cichlids - mainly because they are so peaceful. Even when breeding they aren't that bad. 4 should be fine in the 55 gallon with absolutely any peaceful fish - that won't fit into their mouth. Though keyholes are peaceful, often even shy, they WILL eat any fish that fits in their mouth - including, guppies, small tetras/rasboras etc or other fish fry. I would suggest some pearl gouramies to fill out the top layers of the tank - keyholes and pearls make a lovely combination + some kind of mid-dwelling schooling fish (maybe look into some kind of smallish, but not too small, rainbowfish - such as celebes for example). I also think a siamese algae eater or flying fox would make a nice addition but that's up to you. When it comes to what order to put fish in, add anything hardy and peaceful first. Also, try to put in the smallest fish first so they have a chance to grow out before you add anything that could eat them. From that point on it won't realy matter as the keyholes would be the only territorial (-ish) bottom-dwelling species in the tank by the sounds of it and they won't be territorial to begin with anyway (not until they are relatively mature or start breeding).

 

[freddyk]

Two pairs are a good number for the keyholes that will give them room to live without crowding them, but you may want to start with more so you get two solid pairs. Any shoaling fish that can't be eaten will work, including many tetra's and rasbora's.