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CaptainBarnicles said:

If you're not getting corydoras then dwarf cichlids are fine

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jaylach said:

That is and isn't true. I have two South American smiling dwarf cichlids that go by the common name of smiling dwarfs (Laetacara araguaiae). They are supposed to be peaceful yet I started out with four and one became dominate and killed two others. This same 'peaceful' cichlid also killed my four panda garras. The lesser of the two remaining cichlids survives but is totally submissive and always hiding in my plants. I have to first feed the dominate then feed the submissive in another area of the tank.

I've had cichlids for many years like from the 1980's and love them but they are, by nature, predators and will kill anything that they see as a territory threat. To do well they need a large tank so they can set up territories. In my current case I was stupid putting any kind of cichlid in my little 20 gallon cube. I actually knew this but was hung up on my love for cichlids and screwed up. Right now my tank just holds my two remaining dwarf cichlids and my rope fish. Even with the rope fish being about 7.5 inches in length the dominate cichlid tried to attack. While a rope is a passive hunter it won't be messed with and kicked butt. Now, when the rope comes out, the 'boss' cichlid is not to be seen.

So, OK, I have a 7.5 inch fish in a 20 gallon cube. Most would consider this wrong as I experienced when I first stated that I was doing this over a year ago yet the fish is happy and fine. The thing is that it is called a rope fish for a reason as it is about 7.5 inches long yet only probably less than a half inch in diameter. They look like an eel or snake but are a true fish even though they DO have rudimentary lungs.

I guess that all I'm really trying to say is to be VERY careful about cichlids. While I have kept multiple varieties of cichlids in a tank as small as 30 gallons it was a case when it was a new tank and they were all babies of around half an inch so they grew up together and could set up their areas.

Don't screw up like I did and put cichlids in anything but a large tank. I'm currently looking to re-home my dwarf cichlids so I can go back to having panda garra.

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CaptainBarnicles said:

We'd been looking at Apistogramma pretty sure they'd be fine with cardinals and rummynose

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jaylach said:

Hope that you are right.... It is just cichlids are like pit bulls. They can be totally friendly or fiends.

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CaptainBarnicles said:

Do you have some suggestions for James? I feel the guy is totally confused and overwhelmed here and is struggling to make a decision based on all the conflicting advice he's getting. It appears he feels despite his soft water that he's limited to what he can have due to compatibility. He already has 2 schools and would prefer not to have corys because of the high numbers he has to keep them in. He wants bright colours and just a small number so as not to overwhelm his new tank....could you add a suggestion?

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777james777 said:

I have just had a look on maidenheads and they actually look quite organised with the fish they have.
There’s two with 5 miles of me and you can search which fish is stocked at which store.

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Essjay said:

That's the tan male, silver beige female variety

However, I notice that Pier sell them only as pairs. You might be able to persuade them to sell you more females but they may not. If they won't, try Maidenhead Aquatics.

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