Cichlids....hmm

[balasharkfreak]

As beautiful as cichlids are, i just cant get past how aggressive they are.

If I do decide to get cichlids, would they be compatible with community fish like tetras, barbs, sharks, loaches? Im thinkig not but would like your expert opinions.. If I want cichlids, should I have a cichlid only tank?



thanks again,
dan

[GDominy]

Well.. that depends.. what kind of Cichlids are you interested in?

[Wasserpest]

There are many many many cichlids, with very different degrees of agressiveness towards themselves, other fish, plants, or your aquascape. You might have heard of "Rams" for example, which fit perfectly in a planted community tank, while Oscars for example would be unsuited for that.

You might want to read a book about them, search on the web, or even join a forum that deals with cichlids to get up to speed on them and decide which would be the right one for you.

[balasharkfreak]

Honestly, I dont know much about them. Id research before I did decide to get them of course. Id like to get passive/non-aggressive cichlids if there is such a thing so there is compatibility with my community fish..

dan

[trenac]

I have a Golden Angel Veil Ram in a community tank that does very well with other fish and shrimp. Another plus is they stay small.

[louisxyz]

First of all; you can define Cichlids into two major group (I know it is over simplify, but it will do for starting point);

1) African Cichlids from lac Malawi and other lake, they mostly prefer alcaline and hard water and most time you see them in tank with a wall of rock as only aquascape, not many plant will fit those parameters.
2) South American Cichlids, now the fun begin; for the community tank, you have south american dwarf cichlids; Ram (blue (german) or Red (bolivian)-yellow - Gold), really peaceful but will be territorial whem spawning (like most cichlids) they need at least 1.5 sqare feet with cave and rock by couple. Apisto Cacatuoid and Agasizzi (spelling??) will also be the same as ram, but prefer to have a ratio of 2-3 female for each male and are easier to breed. Other apisto might be more agressive so they are not ideal companion for community tank. Both Ram and Apisto will need a 10 gallon minimum tank but better off with a larger to have 1 or two couple / harem. both species will be bottom dweller.

Other community south american cichlids are the angel and the discus, do a search on those, they might be interting if enough space is provide. Discus are more demanding.

Finally, you have the more agrssive and larger cichlids from south america; Piranha, Oscar, Jack Demsey, Red devil, etc. They would do better (or your other fish will do better) if they were kept alone or in a species tanks.

I'm repeating myself, i'm oversimplify thing here, but it will give you an overall idea. The krib (www.thekrib.com) might be a good source of info for dwarf cichlids.

Good luck

[steven]

Actually, pirahna are characins. They are very closely related to tetras, not cichlids. In my opinion you can even see it if you look carefully. They look like giant tetras!

Steven

[sugar]

Originally Posted by louisxyz

First of all; you can define Cichlids into two major group (I know it is over simplify, but it will do for starting point);

2) South American Cichlids, now the fun begin; for the community tank, you have south american dwarf cichlids; Ram (blue (german) or Red (bolivian)-yellow - Gold), really peaceful but will be territorial whem spawning (like most cichlids) they need at least 1.5 sqare feet with cave and rock by couple. Apisto Cacatuoid and Agasizzi (spelling??) will also be the same as ram, but prefer to have a ratio of 2-3 female for each male and are easier to breed. Other apisto might be more agressive so they are not ideal companion for community tank. Both Ram and Apisto will need a 10 gallon minimum tank but better off with a larger to have 1 or two couple / harem. both species will be bottom dweller.

All dwarf cichlids show a certain level of aggression, certainly when they are breeding. In a tank > 20 g this should not pose a problem
When you start putting several species of dwarf cichlids together you can run in to problems. In general, I would not recommand it. They tend to show aggression towards fish with the same appearance. Apistogramma panduro and Corydoras panda are not compatible (same black spots on body).
Choose before you pick your fish... If you don't have experience with them, choose one of the more common species, these fish are not that though. Once they start show signs of illness, it is often already too late

Finally, you have the more agrssive and larger cichlids from south america; Piranha, Oscar, Jack Demsey, Red devil, etc. They would do better (or your other fish will do better) if they were kept alone or in a species tanks.

Good luck

Piranha is no cichlid but belong sto the charicidae (fat-fin on back)

Those fish are even on their own no fish for a planted tank, because the favourite hobby of most of them is playing bulldozer: they will start moving everything in your tank, dig holes,...

sugar

[louisxyz]

Sorry about Piranha, you were right
About mixing different dwarf cichlids; you might even run into problem with the same species if you do not have enough ground surface. But when i was talking about mixing species, i specify Apisto Agassizi, cacatuoid, and ram. As far as i know and from past experience (myself and other people tank) it can be easily done if you provide enough cover and surface for each territory, and i'm not talking about 33 gallons, but 75 Gallons and more. For exemple, 1 ram couple and 1 apisto harem in 4' wide tank will work without problem. I know some people don't like those mix, and there are the same people that will only keep discus in empty tank (i'm not targetting sugar on this) but those fish will need mostly the same water parameter and will do well together. Myself, i really like the mix apisto/bolivian ram because you can see two different character aiming the same goal, rising to adulthood the fry.
Anyway it was my two cents and was provide as an very basic overview.