Other Different Types Of Fish With Cichlids?

[didz04]

Hi everyone who reads this
I have a cichlid tank with all different types like malawi's the blue and yellow, yellow labs, an albino type cichlid, congo cichlid and convicts which are breeding and are at their second batch in 4 weeks. I even have a yellow belly slider turtle who doesn't at all harm any fish there, not even the babies.
I just wanted to know what other different types of fish can i keep with these lot and saying this meaning not cichlids, what i mean is different types of sharks or oddball or a type of goby. Will gobies be good like the purple spotted goby, i had these with lots of other different types of community fish and they were fine with them but when they did get attacked they attacked back and defended them selves.
So please don't be shy and give any responses please.
Thankyou

 

[Bebobb]

None, you shouldn't even mix new and old worlds. Turtles need land, so that is not a good idea either, you need to start clean, and don't trust you lfs.

 

[didz04]

None, you shouldn't even mix new and old worlds. Turtles need land, so that is not a good idea either, you need to start clean, and don't trust you lfs.

Well I did listen to my lfs however they are doing fine and even though i know that not all shop keepers know much about fish keeping, i was told by viscum that they are ok together and they are not doing bad. Also i have a floating docking rock that is pretty big for him to go out and even the bulb is hot enough for hi to bathe. We take the turtle out and leave him in the sun where he likes sitting down and chilling. Hand fed too.

 

[Forestpisces]

What size is your tank?

The turtle mat not be a good idea as most cichlids are quite aqqresive and terrororial and ascuffle between a turtle and a cichlid could be nasty.

 

[ALW]

What size is your tank?

The turtle mat not be a good idea as most cichlids are quite aqqresive and terrororial

I would be more worried about the Turtle eating the fish! Agreed with both.

 

[Bebobb]

Most new worlds prefer low pH, 6.5-7.0, most old worlds like a harder pH, 7.8-8.5. Therefore, either one will not thrive. What is your pH at the moment? African cichlids also need a different setup, they need rocks, sand, and dig up plants all the time.

 

[Jade107]

Maybe a pleco or some other kind of catfish or bottom feeder.

 

[didz04]

Maybe a pleco or some other kind of catfish or bottom feeder.

Hi, sorry for the late response. Yeah don't worry about the turtle and the fish as i have had him since really small in with the same cichlids as now and he has grown up with them and there has been no scuffle with the turtle starting it. At the start the cichlids were concerned about him but now they completely trust him as they swim by him and even follow him as he leads to food lol.
I have a 100 litre fish tank, 18" high, since they are small so they have their own territory in the tank, so they don't fight badly like i've seen on youtube. My setup has black sand and a black cover which really makes the fish colours stand out. I have lots of big round surfaced rocks piled up where they can get in, and i have 2 ornaments which one is a cave where my convict cichlids are breeding on at the moment. I heard that they like to dig so i bought sand and it helps when they are breeding and taking care of the babies.
I did have a pleco but they tend to make a lot of mess with their waste, however i heard that you can keep clown loach and yoyo loach with them, is that ok?
I guess the only concern i have is having the right ph which i need to check again. I know they say don't listen to shop keepers which i know that there are some of them that will do anything to make a sale, however the advice was from viscum as they are well known and doing really well, so i thought they might know what they are talking about. However they seem to be fine at the moment, of course when they do get bigger i will get a bigger tank for them as they are really nice fish to look at, but i just wanted something other than cichlids in the tank as well, to make the tank even more interesting.

 

[ALW]

What are the water stats [pH, gH, kH]?

 

[Davo86]

what are the full dimensions of the tank? 24 x 15 x 18 ?

Your tank is way to small for the stocking you have,

Do you know what turtle species you have? Musks are one of the smallest species and even those require a bare minimum of a 125L tank, the more common species like maps and sliders need around 400L +

100L is barely big enough for a pair of convicts on their own and definitly isn't suitable for any african cichlid from lake malawi

Also atm you want to stop worrying about the ph and start worrying about your nitrates, nitrites and ammonia because to have that stocking in a 100L tank you are going to be slowly killing them all for sure,

Also what filtration do you have?

bottom line though, adding more fish to this tank is the last thing you want to do

 

[didz04]

Hi, i am really sorry for the late response. I guess listening to the shop keeper isn't all that good idea. I am having thoughts now of starting again with a community tank in this 95 litre fish tank, the measurements are 32" length 12" width and 18" high, thats what i have my cichlids in right now. The decoration i have is black sand, cave, huge rocks built up for more hideouts, reall bushy plant brilliant for the fry hideout and a big red sandstone rock. The filter is called '4 fluval' NOT the fluval 4, the 4 fluval does around 900 litres per minute.
I guess from this topic i have heard that you can't keep the new and old world cichlids together. I can see why, as the convicts are always aggressive maybe because they are easy breeders and probably now on their 3rd batch lol as all the babies been eaten again.

My other option i am considering is to get rid of the 2 convict cihlids and upgrade to a bigger tank. What size tank would be suitable for these cichlids, considering that they are only smaller than 3 inches which is the biggest fish their. I will be going to the lfs to check the ph of the water tomorrow and will try to get a picture of the tank so you can see the fish and setup there.
It was my brother who put the cichlids in a 2 foot tank which was the advice of the lfs who said was fine and best to keep 15 cichlids so there will be fewer domination and fights. However i am glad that i have asked on here, because it was only a few days ago that i set them up in the 95 litre tank. After i put them in they all seemed happy and very active in there which obviously is a good sign, the malawis that used to fight with each other in the 2 ft tank, now are really close and swim together in the current. I don't know if one is male or female but one is albino and the other is yellow.
The turtle i have in there is called the 'Yellow belly slider' this was also said by the lfs that it is ok with the cichlids and i did research and seen that they are fine when they are small with these fish and they get on really well with them if they have been with fish since small. He never bothers any of them, however it is only the convicts that try to attack him and push him away as they have chose their spawning sight in the tank, and even then the turtle doesn't attack. He is about the same size in length of the biggest fish.
Is it ok to keep these size cichlids in the tank for the time being in the 95 litre tank, as i am busy to look for a tank and place them in another tank, which also would be stressing for the fish to change over again twice in 2 weeks.
Thanks for your help everyone, and please reply back very soon.

 

[Davo86]

Ok, well for a yellow bellied turtle you will need a minimum of a 250Litre tank for when it is fully grown,
(females can reach upto 13" although Males are a few inches smaller.)

As well as your ph, which is relatively unimportant you will need to get them to test for ammonia, nitrate and nitrite, which can kill fish and turtles if too much is present longterm, and tbh with only a 4Fluval i'm afraid it is likely that these will be present.

Is it possible for you to list everything that is in the tank? that way we can calculate a suitable tank size for them all, (even though with this mix at least two tanks may be required)

 

[didz04]

Ok, well for a yellow bellied turtle you will need a minimum of a 250Litre tank for when it is fully grown,
(females can reach upto 13" although Males are a few inches smaller.)

As well as your ph, which is relatively unimportant you will need to get them to test for ammonia, nitrate and nitrite, which can kill fish and turtles if too much is present longterm, and tbh with only a 4Fluval i'm afraid it is likely that these will be present.

Is it possible for you to list everything that is in the tank? that way we can calculate a suitable tank size for them all, (even though with this mix at least two tanks may be required)

Hi, the fish i have in there at the moment, quantity and approx size which are:
- 1 - Yellow Lab - 2"
- 2 - Convict Cichlids - 2-3"
- 1 - Blue Johanni Cichlid - 2.5"
- 1 - Kenyi Cichlid - 2.2"
- 1 - Yellow Malawi Mbuna Cichlid - 3"
- 1 - Snow White Cichlid - 3"
- 1 - Congo Cichlid - 3.5"
- 1 - Yellow Belly Slider - 3.5"

The other stuff i have in there are:
- Heater
- Filter (4 fluval)
- Floating rock
- 7 Big Rocks
- 1 Big Red Sandstone Rock
- Cave
- smaal ornament
- Thermometre
- Bushy plant

This is basically everything that is inside the tank. I will try to put on pictures as soon as possible.
I have checked my PH at lfs and is around 7.3, how can i higher the PH?
I checked my nitrate and nitrite and he said that the water went slightly red/pink which he said best to do frequant small water changes and also reccommended some solution for it.

 

[xx-miss-limber-xx]

The water shouldnt go red/pink at all. I have my own testing kit at home which I rely on more than the LFS as they always used to say pink is ok... when it really isnt. Nitrites are sooo toxic to fish, and even if they dont die from it, they wont be very healthy and thrive. I have the API testeer kit, its meant to be one of the best I was told. It tests for Nitrites, Nitrates, PH and Ammonia. The tester kit has lasted me about 6 months and still has some left, although the Nitrites bottles are getting low on testing liquid, and I test regularly. It was about £25 (not exactly cheap - but definatly worth it)

With the stocking you have, you will have to test your water regularly. Im not an expert by all means but with that many fish in a 100l tank you are going to need to do frequent water changes and gravel vacuming due to the ammonia they create.

Take care x

 

[didz04]

The water shouldnt go red/pink at all. I have my own testing kit at home which I rely on more than the LFS as they always used to say pink is ok... when it really isnt. Nitrites are sooo toxic to fish, and even if they dont die from it, they wont be very healthy and thrive. I have the API testeer kit, its meant to be one of the best I was told. It tests for Nitrites, Nitrates, PH and Ammonia. The tester kit has lasted me about 6 months and still has some left, although the Nitrites bottles are getting low on testing liquid, and I test regularly. It was about £25 (not exactly cheap - but definatly worth it)

With the stocking you have, you will have to test your water regularly. Im not an expert by all means but with that many fish in a 100l tank you are going to need to do frequent water changes and gravel vacuming due to the ammonia they create.

Take care x

Hi, thanks for the reply, i think i need a testing kit really in that case. I'm seriously start to think not to trust any shop keeper now lol. On the black sand i see their waste but is mainly from the convicts which i have seen.
Thanks 4 reply & ure help.