What Else Can I Add With These Chichlids. Advise!

[Matthew Lee Newell]

Right, today i got a,

jack dempsey chichlid
convict chichlid
and a red finned shark

they are all getting on very well and they are peacefull at the moment.
they all seem to be bottom dwellers and hiding alot, other than the shark.......
but i need to no what other fish i can add to my tank, because i am aware that the chichlids can bother most other fish?

any suggestions? because my tank seems rather empty with just these 3......

thanks

 

[Matthew Lee Newell]

also if i was to keep just ciclids what other species would go with them?
i guess thats always an option.....

 

[Wills]

Just calculated your tank capacity from the measurements in your signature and it came back as 28 US gallons which is way to small for a jack dempsey it will outgrow that tank pretty fast i think. Although I think (though someone please correct me if im wrong) it should be ok for the convict? But still a bit on the small side for it, I think the same goes for the shark but not to the same extent. I can totally understand you wanting these fish because they are beautiful fish but im afraid your tank wont be able to house the JD for its full life span which is easy going to be 10+ years, so maybe swap him out for something a bit smaller in the long run.

Cichlids that are good for a 30ishg are things like Kribs, Keyholes, some of the Acara family possibly Firemouths and then you have the true dwarfs like apistos and rams though these two wont be able to compete with things like firemouths or breeding kribs (i think). Although if you wanted a busier tank you could always just go with a pair of cichlids then add in a couple of schools of things like barbs, tetras or some of the medium rainbow fish for a bit of different sizes - need to be careful with bottom dwellers with the red tailed shark as they can be a bit funny with territory on the bottom of the tank.

Wills

 

[Matthew Lee Newell]

Just calculated your tank capacity from the measurements in your signature and it came back as 28 US gallons which is way to small for a jack dempsey it will outgrow that tank pretty fast i think. Although I think (though someone please correct me if im wrong) it should be ok for the convict? But still a bit on the small side for it, I think the same goes for the shark but not to the same extent. I can totally understand you wanting these fish because they are beautiful fish but im afraid your tank wont be able to house the JD for its full life span which is easy going to be 10+ years, so maybe swap him out for something a bit smaller in the long run.

Cichlids that are good for a 30ishg are things like Kribs, Keyholes, some of the Acara family possibly Firemouths and then you have the true dwarfs like apistos and rams though these two wont be able to compete with things like firemouths or breeding kribs (i think). Although if you wanted a busier tank you could always just go with a pair of cichlids then add in a couple of schools of things like barbs, tetras or some of the medium rainbow fish for a bit of different sizes - need to be careful with bottom dwellers with the red tailed shark as they can be a bit funny with territory on the bottom of the tank.

Wills

thankyou for that wills.
i would really like to keep these fish in here as long as possible until i no they are too big, so as the tank currently is with the 3 fish i have, if i can add other fish what would be my options?
pleco?

cheers

 

[Wills]

I really really want to highlight the JD because it will get majorly aggressive its actually named after a boxer, in the wild they are well and truly a predator. But other fish for the tank plecs could be good but dont get a common because again sizes are far to big for the tank maybe something like rubber lips/bulldog, bristlenose, or maybe more colorful things like gold nugget. Just to check did you cycle your tank before adding these? But again if you get the JD out your options will open up a lot more. Wills

*edit - though again I wouldnt add anything till the JD is gone it could easy kill most fish, so not only is it a waste of a good animal but also potentially a waste of money

 

[afishdude]

Is the red finned shark a red tail black shark by chance?

 

[Matthew Lee Newell]

I really really want to highlight the JD because it will get majorly aggressive its actually named after a boxer, in the wild they are well and truly a predator. But other fish for the tank plecs could be good but dont get a common because again sizes are far to big for the tank maybe something like rubber lips/bulldog, bristlenose, or maybe more colorful things like gold nugget. Just to check did you cycle your tank before adding these? But again if you get the JD out your options will open up a lot more. Wills

*edit - though again I wouldnt add anything till the JD is gone it could easy kill most fish, so not only is it a waste of a good animal but also potentially a waste of money

Is the red finned shark a red tail black shark by chance?

all of the sharks finns are red......
and yes i did cycle my tank, so all is well....

 

[Wills]

cool both of those are good the red finned sharks are less aggressive than the red tailed so that will open more options about the bottom dwellers - and also really good that you cycled the tank