Newb cichlid question

[Murf.]

I wish I thought of this when I was at LFS I would have taken a picture, but you cichlid keepers probably know what I am talking about.
When you read about named Cichlids it often says they are aggressive and don't get along with much else.
At LFSs, I see tanks that are labeled "assorted cichlids". They will be filled with fish that are thin and long (2 - 3 inches) ranging in various colors - yellows and blues I remember.
What gives with these? What kind are these no-named cichlids? They apparently all get along together.
Would these get along in a community tank that has small variety of tetras, a dwarf gourami, sparkling gourami, and 2 Bolivian rams?
Thanks

 

[Byron]

I wish I thought of this when I was at LFS I would have taken a picture, but you cichlid keepers probably know what I am talking about.
When you read about named Cichlids it often says they are aggressive and don't get along with much else.
At LFSs, I see tanks that are labeled "assorted cichlids". They will be filled with fish that are thin and long (2 - 3 inches) ranging in various colors - yellows and blues I remember.
What gives with these? What kind are these no-named cichlids? They apparently all get along together.
Would these get along in a community tank that has small variety of tetras, a dwarf gourami, sparkling gourami, and 2 Bolivian rams?
Thanks

I would assume these are rift lake cichlids, not neotropical species (those from the new world tropics in SA and CA). They are all cichlids but they have very different requirements/traits/personalities, etc. The African rift lake species do number in the thousands in the rift lakes [see below], whereas the neotropical species each tend to be the only cichlid species in that particular habitat, with very few exceptions. This alone will result in very different behaviours, etc.

The cichlid fauna of the African rift lakes is a prime example of rapid evolution into morphologically diverse yet closely-related species, and forms an important source of data in the study of evolutionary speciation. [3] This speciation has occurred in the short (geologically-speaking) period of some 15,000 years, with variant forms in each of the rift lakes. [Irv Kornfeld & Peter Smith, “African Cichlid Fishes: Model Systems for Evolutionary Biology,” Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 31, November 2000, p. 163.]

To answer your question on community tanks, no. If they are African cichlids, they will not "get along" with many other fish, not to mention the water parameters are vastly different; the rift lake species must have moderately hard or harder water, while the South American species are all soft if not very soft water species, and the Central American sort of moderate. The environment of the two groups is vastly different in every aspect--in some ways, the only common factor is they all live in freshwater.

 

[Lajos_Detari]

I wish I thought of this when I was at LFS I would have taken a picture, but you cichlid keepers probably know what I am talking about.
When you read about named Cichlids it often says they are aggressive and don't get along with much else.
At LFSs, I see tanks that are labeled "assorted cichlids". They will be filled with fish that are thin and long (2 - 3 inches) ranging in various colors - yellows and blues I remember.
What gives with these? What kind are these no-named cichlids? They apparently all get along together.
Would these get along in a community tank that has small variety of tetras, a dwarf gourami, sparkling gourami, and 2 Bolivian rams?
Thanks

I think they are either the Mbuna Cichlids or Peacock Cichlids from Lake Malawi.
Byron had described their requirements.
They are very aggressive and can only be kept with their same kind.
I attached some photos from one of my LFS.

Some videos for you:

 

[P J]

Assorted cichlids usually means they are the progeny of a large tank of various cichlids, they are likely interbred, they still make good pets, but it’s nice to have specific species.

 

[Murf.]

Assorted cichlids usually means they are the progeny of a large tank of various cichlids, they are likely interbred, they still make good pets, but it’s nice to have specific species.

Are they still aggressive and not suitable for a community fresh water tank? I'm thinking a single one in a 29 gal.

 

[Byron]

Are they still aggressive and not suitable for a community fresh water tank? I'm thinking a single one in a 29 gal.

If the cichlid is one of the African rift lake species, then no, they are not community fish. Except in a community of rift lake cichlids. I detailed this in post #2 above.