Can Anybody Help On These Cichlids

[kym_sharpe_3]

my boyfriend has a 3ft tank which he is settign up a south amercian cichlid community tank.

he knows thebasic of the fish from books we have but he wants to be 100% sure with putting these fish together, if they will get on and if the tank is big enough for these fish.

agassiz dwarf cichlid
yellow dwarf ore umbrella
macmasters dwarf cichlid
checkerboard cichlid
cockatoo
rams

my boyfriend knows alot about the rams and the cockatoo, and like i said the basic information on the others but he wants to be 100% sure of the compitabilty with the ones he doesnt know alot about how they will be with the other cichlids.

so any information on the above fish and their behaviour would be greatly welcomed. we want to get it right before we start!
cheers my fishies!

 

[matt295]

dont know much but i am pretty sure that the males of most of those species are territorial. not 100% sure though. also i think they need some hiding spots, preferably caves.

 

[kym_sharpe_3]

dont know much but i am pretty sure that the males of most of those species are territorial. not 100% sure though. also i think they need some hiding spots, preferably caves.

the ram cichlids aren't territoral I don't think cus I have had two ram cichlids b4, the cockatoo cichlids are apparently not vicious when breeding.
those two I know a decent amount about, but you could be right.
I don't know much about the rest, but I'm wanting to achieve a south american dwarf cichlid community. Those two species(ram, cockatoo) are definitely south american community.

I'm sure those two species can be kept in general community too. Plus, I'm trying to adapt all the fish to the same requirements, like bog wood, plants, soft acid water, same temperature.
thanks for the advice

 

[thegnu]

amazingly enough, although they are all dwarf cichlids, they are not from the same "inner family groups" so although there will be some showing off to each other it will be with less intent

 

[severum boy]

agassiz dwarf cichlid
yellow dwarf ore umbrella
macmasters dwarf cichlid
checkerboard cichlid
cockatoo
rams

Have you got a scientific name for the yellow dwarf ore umbrella cichlid?
All of the Apistogrammas are bottom dwelling, so will compete with one another for space. Checkerboards are primaraly surface dwelling and so will not compeat. I would restrict stocking to: 4 Checkerboards, 2 males from either Apistogramma or Microgeophagus along with 4 females (for instance, one male Macmasters with 2 females, and a male Ram and two females). As all of the cichlids compeat for the same breeding areas, and are the same size, they will most likely kill each other if you have to many in one tank.
Also add some dither fish like pencil fish or most tetras as well as a small plec and some smaller cats.

 

[ArauraDiscus]

Your putting a cockatoo in a fish tank? Thats like a 1,000 dollar bird right? lol What kind of fish is a cokatoo now?

 

[stang1]

It's a Cockatoo Dwarf Cichlid (Apistogramma Cacatuoides).

 

[severum boy]

Your putting a cockatoo in a fish tank? Thats like a 1,000 dollar bird right? lol What kind of fish is a cokatoo now?

Lol, classic.

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

dont know much but i am pretty sure that the males of most of those species are territorial. not 100% sure though. also i think they need some hiding spots, preferably caves.

Of couse there territorial! It really doesn't matter what type of Cichlid it is, they are all going to be territorial to some extent. Period.

 

[kym_sharpe_3]

agassiz dwarf cichlid
yellow dwarf ore umbrella
macmasters dwarf cichlid
checkerboard cichlid
cockatoo
rams

Have you got a scientific name for the yellow dwarf ore umbrella cichlid?
All of the Apistogrammas are bottom dwelling, so will compete with one another for space. Checkerboards are primaraly surface dwelling and so will not compeat. I would restrict stocking to: 4 Checkerboards, 2 males from either Apistogramma or Microgeophagus along with 4 females (for instance, one male Macmasters with 2 females, and a male Ram and two females). As all of the cichlids compeat for the same breeding areas, and are the same size, they will most likely kill each other if you have to many in one tank.
Also add some dither fish like pencil fish or most tetras as well as a small plec and some smaller cats.

Apistogramma borellii scientific name for the dwarf umbrella

you do have a valid point about the bottom dwelling cichlids and although they are all apparently peaceful cichlids they will show aggresion cus its in a cichlids nature to.
I have one cichlid at the moment, but it's not south american it's afican cus my gf wanted me to buy her(Krib cichlid)
I feel that the rams and cockatoos wud b fine together, cus I've seen them and how they behave together.
we'll see
thanks for the good advice anyway
"Kym's boyfriendis who is writing this lol not kym" incidentally

amazingly enough, although they are all dwarf cichlids, they are not from the same "inner family groups" so although there will be some showing off to each other it will be with less intent

so, u'r saying, there will be slight aggresion, but not the intent to hurt each other
they're all bottom dwellers, which the other dude pointed out that might be an issue really
thanks