Non-Aggressive Chichlids?

TylerOSU

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May 2, 2011
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Can someone give me a list of all the non-aggressive chichlids? I may want to get alot of chichlids for my tank but I dont want to have just chichlids.
 
Even "peaceful" cichlids are cichlids and can be aggressive. It highly depends on the individuals and the stock that is kept with them.

"Peaceful" cichlids:
Rams
Apistos
Kribs
Keyholes
Curviceps
Rainbow cichlids
Firemouths (for the most part)
Angelfish
 
wait, angelfish are cichlids?? I did not know this. However I can testify that many...well, ok, some...angelfish can be mean nasty bossy aggressive harrass-the-heck-out-of-anybody-around SOBs. And eat anything they can catch, and can catch about anything on account of being wicked fast for something their size and shape.

just sayin'. I love angels but some individuals can be so bad you can't keep them with anything else. Trust them like you would a rattlesnake.
 
While I agree it is highly variable...I have to disagree with some of those on the list.
I also agree that cichlids are cichlids...they are mean to each other...question is how much damage do they actually do.

Apistos...I have a apir that killed every other fish in the tank....
Angelfish....maybe fine if your lucky....if not can be extremely aggressive...just search this forum you will find many instances of agressive angelfish.

Chocolate cichlids are known for their nice personality. They also get big and very pretty.
 
Apistos can be mean but they can also make nice community fish ime. Depends on the individual. I know a lot of people have angels in a community and some have aggressive angels. I've never heard of an angel being extremely aggressive (like a jag or red devil tends to be). I think people who classify angels as really aggressive haven't dealt with cichlids that are truly extremely aggressive. The angel in my tank fits right in with my other mellow cichlids (nics, chocolates, cutteri, rainbow, sev). From his previous owner, he is evil towards other angels so I just won't add another angel to the tank.

I have also had aggressive rams. Chocolates are definitely pretty mellow, but I left them off the list since they will also eat any fish that fits into their big mouths and the OP didn't say what size tank they're working with. I guess you could add discus to the peaceful list too.
 
I really think the point is that there is probably no truly "peaceful" cichlid. They are cichlids and given the right dynamic can cause damage.
 
Generally speaking, the majority of aggression will come from breeding pairs. Keep that in mind when stocking...
 
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