Mixing Cichlids

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scott

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yes, for many reasons, although I am sure it has been done before and will be done again. It's just not the preferential treatment for the fish, so, yes its bad.
 

dcallen

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I totally agree with Optix. You want to keep them apart for sure. The results of doing this would be tragic.


HTH

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andruboz

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i think i have mixed them already.. jewel cichlids with nicaraguan cichlids.. have seen no trouble yet.. the nics are twice as big as the jewels.

another tank has firemouth and african knife and an african puffer[fahaka]. they seem to get along.

although jewels are african continent, i dont think they are lake malawi or tanganika. so i have no experience with that. i saw small africans beating a large oscar at my lfs.
 

nolemite

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The nicaraguense and firemouths are central american. Jewels are west african.

What size is the tank? The jewels (you didn't mention which species) have a reputation for being rougher in general than the nicaraguense. If the tank is big enough, then the mix could work.
 

jimbo

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Like I’ve said in a previous post; "I know some people mix all kind of cichlids, even from different parts of the world and sometimes even those species get along just fine."
But frankly, it's not my idea of keeping cichlids as for most hobbyists. Read up on compatibility and find out why it's a bad idea. At least you would know what to look for when problems occur. Here’s an example of just one of them.

Quote:
"Spawning aggression. Hemichromis bimaculatus, widely known as the Jewel cichlid, is a truly magnificent fish. However, when spawning in the limited space of an aquarium it becomes as deadly as it can get. Even the female may be killed on the spot if "she" doesn't accept the males courting. Certainly, getting 4 of them in a community tank will always result in big troubles. This species is simply incompatible because if its spawning behavior"
Quote:
"It should be noted that when spawning, some fishes "enlarge" their territory considerably. If the tank is not big enough, this may well mean that there is no space for the rest of your fish. A good example is the African river fish Hemichromis bimaculatus (known as the Jewel cichlid). When this fish is spawning all other fish in the tank become endangered species. It goes without saying that, the bigger the fish, the bigger the problem will be."

I guess it'll be totally up to you.

Jimmy
 
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