Newbie needs help with South American Chichlids

[nikonf]

Hi this is my first post so please be gentle.
I am looking for suggestions from experts regarding fish selection.
I have a 45 gallon tank running for one week on a Fluval 305.
Which chiclids would you suggest?
I am intrigued by the Green Terror and other colorful fish.
Thank you very much,
Mike

[petluvr]

Please make sure the tank is fully cycled before adding any fish.

[ChrisK]

Depending on the footprint of that 45 (not familiar with that size tank) you should be able to keep one green terror in there (4 foot tank minimum IMO). Angels would be cool in there too.

[stevezx2002]

A 45 gallon is only 36x12x23 which is a little small for a GT, but you could do a Blue Acara, they are in the same family as the GT but they stay smaller. Or you could do a community tank with German Blue Rams or and Angelfish since it is a tall tank.

[nano cichlids]

Like stevez said blue acara a little harder to come by but just ask your LFS to order them for you. They resemble green terror have a mild temperament and are beautiful I'd eve say go for a pair and maybe you'll get a spawn or two. Good luck!

[Ballyhoo]

The tank needs to cycle for much longer than a week before adding any fish

[67chevelle]

Convict,salvini,blue acara,would all work. Or you could do some dwarfs,or angles.

[Pittbull]

A Firemouth setup

[clgkag]

Nanoluteus

[nano cichlids]

Clgkag nanos are great cichlids for small tanks they make very good community cichlids aswell people say they get aggressive but I've never had that problem. Nanoluteus is actauly where I got my username from they were my fav cichlid to breed. They are somewhat uncommon though

[clgkag]

Yeah, I have two pair in a planted tank. Love them to death and great color, especially when breeding.

[nikonf]

Like stevez said blue acara a little harder to come by but just ask your LFS to order them for you. They resemble green terror have a mild temperament and are beautiful I'd eve say go for a pair and maybe you'll get a spawn or two. Good luck!
Is the green terror too difficult to have with a community of other SA chichlids and 2 parrot fish? Are they very mean in temperment?
Which are compatible when they are less than 3 inches in size.
I went to a local FS and the "expert" was telling me to mix Africans with SA. I think that would be trouble!

[MonteSS]

Pair of Rainbow Cichlids.

...Bill

[stevezx2002]

Is the green terror too difficult to have with a community of other SA chichlids and 2 parrot fish? Are they very mean in temperment?
Which are compatible when they are less than 3 inches in size.
I went to a local FS and the "expert" was telling me to mix Africans with SA. I think that would be trouble!


Gt's very agressive as they mature and get too large for a 45 gallon tank, in my opinon you would be stocked with just the 2 blood parrots which will be 7-10" each when full grown. Alot of fish will be compatible when they are less than 3", but that will change as they grow and most SA cichlids grow fast.

[nano cichlids]

Is the green terror too difficult to have with a community of other SA chichlids and 2 parrot fish? Are they very mean in temperment?
Which are compatible when they are less than 3 inches in size.
I went to a local FS and the "expert" was telling me to mix Africans with SA. I think that would be trouble!

As green terror mature they get very aggressive. Once mine hit breeding size 2.5in-3in he went psycho and attacks everything and anything that comes near his tank. Never mix Africans with SA or CA just causes more problems.

[nikonf]

A Firemouth setup
Hi Pittbull,
I got a couplr of Jack Dempseys, a pair of parrots, a green terror and a pair of firemouths. All 2.5 to 3 inches. Everything was fine and now once of the firemouths is terrorizing all the others. I built rock gaves and he wont let any of the fish go into any of them. Any way to resolve this? Do I have to get a tank divider?
This is a shame because the firemouths are brilliant colors.
Thanks very much,
Mike

[Ballyhoo]

Hi Pittbull,
I got a couplr of Jack Dempseys, a pair of parrots, a green terror and a pair of firemouths. All 2.5 to 3 inches. Everything was fine and now once of the firemouths is terrorizing all the others. I built rock gaves and he wont let any of the fish go into any of them. Any way to resolve this? Do I have to get a tank divider?
This is a shame because the firemouths are brilliant colors.
Thanks very much,
Mike

Way too many aggressive fish, they will have to be rehomed or moved to separate tanks. If not they will continue to fight until your tank becomes a blood bath.

[Star_Rider]

Hi Pittbull,
I got a couplr of Jack Dempseys, a pair of parrots, a green terror and a pair of firemouths. All 2.5 to 3 inches. Everything was fine and now once of the firemouths is terrorizing all the others. I built rock gaves and he wont let any of the fish go into any of them. Any way to resolve this? Do I have to get a tank divider?
This is a shame because the firemouths are brilliant colors.
Thanks very much,
Mike
I hope these aren't all in the 45g

[BettaFishMommy]

Hi Pittbull,
I got a couplr of Jack Dempseys, a pair of parrots, a green terror and a pair of firemouths. All 2.5 to 3 inches. Everything was fine and now once of the firemouths is terrorizing all the others. I built rock gaves and he wont let any of the fish go into any of them. Any way to resolve this? Do I have to get a tank divider?
This is a shame because the firemouths are brilliant colors.
Thanks very much,
Mike

(BFM bites tongue before posting)

we've mentioned to you that a green terror would get too large for the tank.

parrot fish have no way to defend themselves and you have put them in with aggressive fish.

way too many fish for a 45 gal and they are incompatible.

we said that the tank had to cycle, and we did not hear anything back from you that it had or that you had questions regarding this very important and vital step in keeping a tank.

choose to keep either the 2 parrot fish OR the firemouths. take everything else back to the store asap. read up on 'fishy cycling'. be prepared to do large water changes every day.

[nikonf]

Sorry, people but they are all in the 45 gallon tank. The "expert" at the store told me they were all compatible (I am sure.......just to complete the sale). I did read up on the cycle process before getting the tank and did not put any fish in for a few weeks. Water testing is fine. Just bought another 55 gallon and I am getting a 29 gallon. How would you stock the tanks?
I guess I was far too trusting of the salesman.
Thanks again,
Mike

[BettaFishMommy]

ahhh, "experts". if i had a dime for every time i'd heard that......

but seriously, we gave you advice based on our experiences and knowledge. told you what would work in your tank and what wouldn't. i would hope that we here on AC have more experience than 'the expert'.

i highly recommend running only one tank right now, since you are new to the hobby and you are going to be dealing with fish-in cycling. having 3 large-ish tanks that all need at least one large water change daily (and maybe more!) isn't a task i'd wish on any newbie. you could be likely to burn out on the hobby pretty fast that way.

"did not put any fish in for a few weeks" is not cycling the tank. you need to add an ammonia source so that the nitrifying bacteria can colonize. your tank is not cycled and you will need to keep ammonia and nitrite levels at or as close to zero as possible to ensure that the fish in the tank don't get sick, or worse, die.

"water testing is fine" - what type of tests do you have? strips or liquid drop kit? did you test for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate? what are the results (in ppm numbers)?

[GEV83]

I yi yi this is some trouble you got yourself into. I could relate though. I wish the so called "experts" would just be honest and say they dont know rather then say put the Umbee, Jack Dempsey and some Jewel Ciichlids together and they should be fine.

If you need answers or advice come to us not the LFS. Alot of us have alot of experience in the fish hobby. No most of us wont call ourselves experts but hobbiest. But its a hobby we love. So listen to us before a sales men who is just trying to take your cash. They worry about getting money we worry about caring for fish properly.

My suggestion would be take the BP (Blood Parrots) and GT (Green Terror) back keep the firemouths. Get yourself an API Liquid Test Kit since those stick test kits are not very accurate. Do the proper water changes daily for the firemouths. Youll be doing this for about 3 weeks to a month.

The other 2 tanks the 55gal and 29gal need to be cycled properly. If you toss the fish just in there then youll need to do water changes on 3 tanks daily just to keep them healthy which as BFM stated will burn you out of the hobby. There are alot of good articles on cycling tanks online with the use of ammonia.

Wish ya the best of luck. Dont forget to take those fish back. Tell the "expert" they werent compatible and you want your money back if he says no thats when you ask for management. =-)

[Pittbull]

Sorry but i am going to have to agree with what everyone else has said here a 45gal really isn't that big for the fish you have placed in there keep the Firemouths or get a 125gal

[GEV83]

Try checking Craigslist for something near you to get a cheap second hand tank.