cichlids in a community tank

R

richandzhaoyan

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Mar 22, 2003
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Hi fish gods,
OK, the 50g tank has been up ad running for 6 months now and bar a couple of teething problems things are ticking along nicely, thanks in no small part to some very helpful and reassuring advice on this forum.
My question today is about cichlids. I don't have any at present but am thinkng of introducing some to my community. Is this a good idea. The tank is pretty well stocked now, built up over the six months. I have 5 danios, 5 guppies, three platie, 5 glass catfish (who have finally come out of hiding and are a joy to watch at feeding times), 2 yo-yos, one bristlenose (yes, the one who bumped off his potential lover!) and one royal twig catfish who I am very proud of. They are all seemingly very content bar the odd scrap at feeding time.
My water quality is very good and it has a high ph and hardness which I believe is good for a large range of cichlids. Oh and the tank is planted and contains bogwood, plenty of caves and rocks.
I think the tank would be well suited for a small family of dwarf cichlids but would like to know how they would co-habit with the rest of the group. Any thoughts on this would as allways be much appreciated.
Cheers and happy fishkeeping to you all.
 
hmmm maybe a krib

my brother kept a krib with some platies, swordtails, mollies, and cory cats for a while and it was ok. this was in a 30 gal.

i have seen brichardi's with some tropical fish, but i cannot remember what kind at this time.
 
It sounds like your tank is pretty full right now. I would not recommend any more fish at this time. If room becomes available you could try a brichardi or a krib as previously suggested or an African butterfly cichlid (Anomalochromis thomasi). The problem is that you have hard water and most of the dwarves like soft water. The reason that I suggest one is because if the cichlids breed they get somewhat aggressive.
 
Personally, I think you could get away with a pair of Keyhole cichlids in there. Or, if you water really is hard and high pH, a pair of Neolamprologus brevis (and a few snail/escargot shells for them to live in) would work well.

Hard water cichlids tend to be Central Americans (which are really rather aggressive in general), Malawians or Tanganyikans (again aggressive, especially if kept as a pair and breeding) or a few select riverine cichlids from African and SA (Keyholes, Bolivian Rams, Kribs, Analachromis thomasi, Dwarf Egyptian Mouthbrooders - but all of these might become aggressive during breeding).
 
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