Angels, Silver Dollars & bichir in African cichlid tank?

DU55 · Feb 28, 2008

Wow - what a great forum this is! I'm overwhelmed by the amount of info.

I have a 55 gallon tank with 1 small pleco and 7 african cichlids, mostly peacocks. Besides the water conditioner, I've added "Kent Cichlid Buffer" and "Kent Cichlid Chemistry." I was told this makes it appropriate for african cichlids, but I assumed that it wouldn't be good for freshwater fish like angels, etc. The cichlids are lively, social and breeding like crazy, so I know they like it.

I just read in a thread that you can mix silver dollars, angels and african cichlids with senegal bichirs. Is this true? I have a senegal bichir, an angel and 2 silver dollars in a 20-gal fw - I would LOVE to move them to the larger tank with the others, and then use the 20 to raise some cichlid fry. I also have an empty 75 that the whole crew could eventually move to.

Would they all thrive in this type of water? Will they get along? The cichlids are ~4", and the others are larger.

Lupin · Feb 28, 2008

No, you cannot mix the African cichlids with the ones you mentioned. They were simply mentioned as few of those options that can be mixed with bichirs.

DU55 · Feb 28, 2008

Not so simple for me - sorry to be dense ... do you mean that you can mix one of the breeds listed in the bichir thread with bichirs, but not necessarily with each other?

Does that mean I can put the bichir in with the af cichlids? Thx for your help!

Oii · Feb 28, 2008

DU55 said:
Not so simple for me - sorry to be dense ... do you mean that you can mix one of the breeds listed in the bichir thread with bichirs, but not necessarily with each other?

Does that mean I can put the bichir in with the af cichlids? Thx for your help!

no it means you can put angels and silver dollars with a bichir.

DU55 · Feb 28, 2008

Ok, am I really asking such a dumb question? Or are you just messing with me?... This is a list posted on the bichir thread.

CICHLIDS *(see note)
Dicus-Symphysodon discus
Angelfish-Pterophyllum ssp.
Two-Spot Cichlid-Cichlasoma bimaculatum
Tilapia joka-Tilapia joka
Oscar-Astronotus ocellatus
Severum-Cichlasoma severum
Kribensis- Pelvicachromis pulcher
Sparkling Earth Eater-Satanoperca acuticeps
Blue acara-Aequidens pulchrus
Balzani's Earth Eater-Gymnogeophagus balzanii
Blood Parrot Cichlid-Hybrid no scientifc name
Blue-Eye Cichlid-Cichlasoma spilurum
Festivum-Mesonauta festivus
African Peacock Cichlid-Aulonocara nyassae
Balzani's Earth Eater-Gymnogeophagus balzanii
Bandit Cichlid-Aequidens geayi
Blockhead Cichlid-Steatocranus casuarius
Callolepis Cichlid-Cichlasoma callolepis
Freiberg's Peacock Cichlid-Aulonocara jacobfreibergi
Keyhole Cichlid-Cleithracara maronii
Port Acara-Aequidens portalegrensis
Uaru- Uaru amphicanthiodes

Is there a difference between putting a african peacock cichlid with a bichir vs. a bichir with an african peacock cichlid?

Thanks!

Star_Rider · Feb 28, 2008

generally not a good idea to mix african cichlids with SA/CA cichlids.

there may be exceptions to the rule but.....

some of the SA cichlids mentioned are considered peaceful and may become a target for the african peacock cichlid.
with bichirs it is a different story. you may be able to add these peaceful cichlids in with the birchir. the peacock may leave the bichir alone.

Coler · Feb 28, 2008

ok I think the q being asked at this point is can the bichir go with the Peacocks.

I say no - different water, different diets (big probs if the Africans eat the bichirs food). Also bichirs are pretty non-aggressive to fish not big enough to eat/not one of their own and I think the Africans will nibble his fins down to the bones and/or stress him to death.

wataugachicken · Feb 28, 2008

i wouldn't do it personally. a peaceful bichir like the senegal would probably get picked on, while one of the more aggressive species might defend themselves too well and take a bite out of one of the africans.

reptileguy2727 · Feb 28, 2008

Diet is not necessarily an issue. All my fish get New Life Spectrum and do much better on it than any other diet I haev ever tried. So NLS can make any dietary issues void.

My bichirs are in with silver dollars and peacocks. That is not an issue.

There really is not an issue with African and New World cichlids. It is more of an issue of aggression level, not where they are from.

Water quality and stability are more important than the exact parameters. SO even if the water is 7.2, if it is stable and the water quality is high there is not an issue.

The bichirs would probably eventually grab the long fins of the angels.

African cichlids are freshwater, even with special cichlid lake salt and buffers.

My other concern is the non-peacock Africans. What are they exactly?

What pH does your tap naturally hold at?

Coler · Feb 28, 2008

it is not controversial to say that a mix of bichirs, african peacocks and bichirs is not to be reccomended to someone who has not kept all three of those species successfully before.

equally, depending on the fish, a mix of peacocks and bichirs may not work out.


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Angels, Silver Dollars & bichir in African cichlid tank?

DU55

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Lupin

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DU55

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Oii

CA/SA CICHLID MAN

DU55

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Star_Rider

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Coler

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wataugachicken

The Dancing Banana

reptileguy2727

Not enough tanks, space, or time

Coler

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