Thinking Of Changing To 'bigger, Hardier' Fish.

[Wills]

Seems like you are on the right track with the above posts but just one point to remember - nearly all profiles for cichlids will term them as semi aggressive or aggressive but this is just the case with these fish compared to tetras etc. Cichlids should be thought of as intelligent or territorial rather than aggressive because they are usually not just nasty animals that will bite chunks out.

Housing larger cichlids are a different ball game to the smaller fish and the community will be set up around the cichlids as the center.

With regards the Blue Acara - its actually their close relative the Green Acara which is Central American, their northern habitat is actually part of their classification as a species.

With the high ph in your tank I would go for Central American cichlids that dont get too big. I put this in a post for Mark a few days ago but a similar mix would work for you Heryithcys Deppi, Cryptoheros Nanoletus (yellow convict), Theraps Coerleus and Thorichtys Aures (spelling on most lol sorry) But yeah I just think that a group of those as singletons would look a nice mix against some general community fish like the schools and catfish - this is not an exhastive list by any means but just some of my favs

Wills

 

[elisew]

Thanks Wills.

I completely get your point about certain fish being labelled as aggressive when they're actually probably not, that's why I'd rather go by other peoples personal experiences rather than a bit of standard text about them.
I do have a specific concern, something I didn't think about earlier....I'm due to have a couple of starlight plecs delivered tomorrow and I'm not sure if they and the bn plecs and my clown plec would fit into a change of stock??
Obviously the cost of restocking will play a part in any change but it'd be a real bummer if 'brand new' fish won't work with whatever change I may make.

I'm going to have a good read up about all the fish suggested and will hopefully be able to match tank mates and the requirements with what fish I'd actually like.
I don't know why but I'm still getting the feeling of being drawn more towards the Africans, maybe because colour wise they strike me as being more......well, striking

Looks like I have a fair bit of reading and research to do either way

 

[hamfist]

Another option is to get a single flowerhorn. If you're looking for colour, affectionate temperament and a family pet, they can't be beat. They also are pretty sturdy, and love hard, alkaline water. You "might" be able to keep with a couple of cats, especially if they are already established. Although then again it might not tolerate anything else.
I have a great one for sale actually, cheap, and I see you are not far from me ......

 

[stevereade]

If its your Apisto's and Ram's dying, how hard is your water?

 

[maxy]

We,ve had African cichlids and found them really boring.They spent most of thier time in the rock work and when they did come out they swam round the tank so fast they made you dizzy. We changed to new world and they,re so much more interactive with you. When you walk past the tank theyre up to the glass like a shot. And yes jewel cichlids are the most aggressive fish we ever had.

 

[elisew]

If its your Apisto's and Ram's dying, how hard is your water?

I haven`t had much luck with the Apistos and Rams previously, the ph was 7.6, GH and KH I wasn`t sure about as I didn`t have a test but bought one since I`ve made slow changes with RO and tap water mix and they seem to be doing much better.
In the last week I`ve lost a lot of my Corys and I`m just at the point where I`m beginning to wonder why I`m bothering to be honest. I do regular testing and wc`s but can`t understand why my fish keep dying off
I even took a water sample over to MA to confirm my stats and bought another new test kit just incase mine was out of date but all results are good.
I can go for a week or two without losing any fish but all of a sudden in the space of a couple of days I can lose 3 or 4 despite doing wc`s when I find a dead one to keep the nitrates down

I think I`m just at that point where I either make a complete change or I`ll end up giving up all together. I`ve spent an absolute fortune on the tank and fish and really feel fed up with it all at the moment to be honest.

Thanks for the replies peeps, I`m going to do lots of research before I make a decision on which way I`ll go with it all

 

[hamfist]

Elise, I went through a similar thing to you a while ago. I live near Southampton, so I'm pretty sure our water is fairly similar (pH 7.6 ish, and hard). I had tried for a long time to get lots of SA species, amongst others, to thrive in my water. Some did, but most did not. Lots of unexplained deaths and general failure to thrive, despite fastidious care and decades of fishkeeping under my belt (most of it in other areas of the country though).
In the end I decided that I didn't want to spend time stressing about it, and decided that I would focus completely on species that were known to like hard, alkaline water (or at least ones that were well known to be extremely tolerant of it). Since then I've been keeping CA cichlids and haven't looked back. They all seem to thrive and with careful choice, a community is definately achievable, if that's what you want. Alternatively there are a good selection of large, intelligent fish that could be kept as singletons, or even as a pair in your tank.

For what it's worth, some of the the non-CA cichlid species that I found thrived in my Southampton water were severums, green terrors, neon tetras (surprising but true), Brochis splendens (a great alternative to cories), dwarf neon rainbows, bristlenose cats, platies and chocolate cichlid.

Rams did particularly poorly, as did bettas. Cories, I also fould difficult to get them thriving. Most of the SA tetras also seemed to do badly ... except the neons (which have maybe been bred in captivity for so long and thus the strains being far more tolerant of a huge variety of water conditions ?).

 

[elisew]

Thanks hamfist

After talking to others who live in this general area I definitely think it`s something to do with the water, hence why I forked out for the RO system (actually hubby did) but despite everything my fish just don`t seem hardy enough to survive long term. I can actually say that my fish don`t last any longer than approx 4 months before they pop their clogs, except for the clown pleco I have, he was bought in Derbyshire almost 2 years ago. It`s really frustrating because I love my community tank and it`s cost a fair bit of money to get this far but it feels like everything I do is completely in vain
The neons are doing ok surprisingly, I haven`t lost one of them in quite a while.....in fact come to think of it my rummys, danios and neons are the only fish that don`t seem to have dwindled in numbers over the last few months. The single platy and 2 mollies are still alive and they came from one of my tanks when I first joined this forum so I`m mystified to be honest what`s going on

To be completely honest I attempted a pair of the Redhump Eartheaters as a centrepiece fish a little while ago (1 died after a week though) and they weren`t what I considered 'nice to look at fish' so I`m a bit all over the place as to CA and SA cichlids because I`m not sure I even like the look of some of them

I have no doubt my dithering over whether to go for SA, CA or African will drive you all mad but I`d like to make the right decision without regretting it

 

[meguro]

http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=QE1PsK4qqsw (not my video)

u know u want new world cichlids over old world

 

[elisew]

http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=QE1PsK4qqsw (not my video)

u know u want new world cichlids over old world

Crikey, they look big!!

Nice and colourful but big?? I`d be more limited on numbers to have 'bigger' fish such as those than IF I opted for something like the yellow labs etc

 

[Carlovel1]

What about Festivum Cichlids?

 

[elisew]

What about Festivum Cichlids?

Thanks but I`ve just googled and have to say they don`t float my boat to be honest

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

I can definitely empathesize with your thinking, EliseW, as I have had a lot of fish heartache since the middle of summer, including losing both my beatiful Opsarius (avatar photo) within six hours of each other and two Humphead Glassfish within ten days of installing my Hydor Magnum 8 powerhead.

Smaller fish do open up the opportunity for nice groups in typical sized hobby tanks, but if things go wrong, they seem so fragile and the medication can easily overwhelm them if the infection does not get them first.

 

[kizno1]

If you dont like the normal looking cichlids what about something a bit different like Pike cichlids.

 

[elisew]

I can definitely empathesize with your thinking, EliseW, as I have had a lot of fish heartache since the middle of summer, including losing both my beatiful Opsarius (avatar photo) within six hours of each other and two Humphead Glassfish within ten days of installing my Hydor Magnum 8 powerhead.

Smaller fish do open up the opportunity for nice groups in typical sized hobby tanks, but if things go wrong, they seem so fragile and the medication can easily overwhelm them if the infection does not get them first.

Yeah I know things haven`t been easy for you Goat and I really do symathise with you.

The whole changing stock is something that I feel a bit in a tizzy about because although I love the fish I have, they`re just not 'doing it' for me any more

kizno, Thanks for the suggestion but the pikes don`t flick my switch either

God I wish I wasn`t so dithery and undecided