What else can I put with my African Cichlids

[lfreue]

Hey all,
Well I'm a new fish tank owner. I just got a 72 gallon bow front from a friend of mine...anyway; the tank came with many African Cichlids, 2 red rainbows and 2 catfish.

The guy in the LFS was shocked that the red rainbows survived for so long. Same for the catfish.

To make a long story short, during the transfer from his home to mine, I lost 1 Cichlid and 1 catfish.

1 - Any suggestions as to what other fish I can add to my tank, what catfish can I get?
2 - Any suggestions on whether or not to add live plants and which ones?

I appreciate any and all input...thanks.

This is what my tank looks like now...
to the right midway up are the red rainbows
bottom right corner 1 catfish

 

[nickmcmechan]

live plants will be uprooted by the cichlids, so try artificial, maybe moss balls?

 

[Nolapete]

Anubias in pots would work. They won't eat those and they are african plants. Synodontis sp. catfish are african and would work.

 

[jm1212]

take out the rainbows

 

[magakitty]

more rocks and caves.... definately - and s. petricola cats. Yoyo loach would do well if given enough hiding places to feel secure. The more secure the fish feel the more you will see them

 

[magakitty]

and don't bother with most live plants. Anubias might work, but the cichlids make short work of most live plants - go artificial here

 

[Lupin]

more rocks and caves.... definately - and s. petricola cats. Yoyo loach would do well if given enough hiding places to feel secure. The more secure the fish feel the more you will see them

I really wouldn't suggest yoyo loaches for the African cichlids tank. They may be classified as semi-aggressive but their aggresion is nowhere near the Malawi cichlids' aggression level. There are plenty of bottom dwelling choices available wherein synodontis are just the best tankmates for them.

Definitely remove the rainbows as well. Try Javan ferns. They do not need substrate to anchor themselves.

 

[mostlycichlids]

There are plenty of bottom dwelling choices available wherein synodontis are just the best tankmates for them.

:iagree:

 

[lfreue]

Update, turns out I have a total of 5 rainbows in the tank. Is it really necessary to take these out, as I've been told they are living peacefully in this tank for over 3 yrs...?Any comments.

 

[silentskream]

i also have a similar question (not to take over the thread)
i'm not a fan of most sydontis catfish. what are some other options i have? i love columbian sharks, but i dont know if they can cohabitate?