I need a recomendation

[Hebdizzle]

of a ciclid that grows..... 4 inches max, is non-agressive, and non-carniverous. Oh and one that isnt too rare :):p is that even possible?

thanks

[Ronne]

I'd definitely go with a Bolivian Ram. They are peaceful, nice to look at and have great personalities. Usually quite common too.

[superstein61]

Non-carniverous? You mean you only want a herbivore?

Just curious, what other inhabitants will be in the tank?

I would have suggested some variety of a Apistogramma - but they are not solely heribvores

[Hebdizzle]

ok i didn't mean herbivores.... but ones that will also eat mainly flakes... (so omnivorous). In my 30 gallon I have

1 2" goldfish
2 1.5" black mollies
2 2" black tetras
2 2.5" red fire dwarf gouramis

all fake plants.....

[superstein61]

OK, I would definitely go with Apistogrammas - the Cacutoides are one of my faorites - but some others are also very colorful. And they will stay under your 4 inch limit

here are a few of my Triple Red Cacutoides:

http://www.speakeasy.org/~jfd61/fish/202triple%20red.jpg

http://www.speakeasy.org/~jfd61/fish/202triple%20reda.jpg

Also Checkerboard Cichlids are pretty interesting as well - but harder to find:

http://www.speakeasy.org/~jfd61/fish/202checkerboard2.jpg

Oh, just a basic FYI - while most fish will eat your basic flake food, it really is better for their long term health to feed them a varied diet - and mix in some other foods. I would suggest frozen bloodworms (or if you don't want frozen, get the freeze-dried ones)

[firetank]

anomalochromis thomasi - african butterfly cichlid
cleithracara maronii- keyhole cichlid
laetecara curviceps - flag cichlid
any apistogramma

mist cichlids are aggressive to a degree, to keep it to a min i suggest not getting male\female mixed

hth

[O-man21]

Kribs would be really nice in there..they're an Apistogramma species.
Pelvicachromis pulcher to be exact. Apistos can get nasty when breeding though.

[firetank]

apistos are South American,
Kribs are African.......

id say they fall under the remit of being "too aggresive" aswell

:D

[Faramir]

Superstein - ever tried putting some oak leaves in the tank with the checkerboards? In their natural environment they turn leaves over looking for food - it is quite something to watch!

[O-man21]

they are?? I've read and I think heard on this forum that kribs are apistos too.

[firetank]

http://www.apistogramma.com/oct212002.htm

try here..
maybe they were originally class as apistos, i think rams were originally the re-classified......

[Billy Bob]

Apistos, technically means all the fish under the Apistogramma genus, the first name in the genus species name, so Pelvicachromis pulcher isn't an Apisto. Like, betas and corys, all beta species are in the genus Beta and all corys are in the genus Corydoras, same idea with Apsitogramma. Like firetank said, all Apistos are South American.

[superstein61]

Originally posted by Faramir
Superstein - ever tried putting some oak leaves in the tank with the checkerboards? In their natural environment they turn leaves over looking for food - it is quite something to watch!

faramir - no, I never tried that - I will try it - although I probably will have to wait til fall to snag some dried leaves off my oak tree

[Faramir]

Kribs are not, and have never been considered, Apistos. They live on the wrong continent. Kribs are more closely related to, say, Mbuna, than they are to Apistos. It's been 60 million years or more since a freshwater fish could get from America to Africa.