Central American Tetra's

[lloyd]

Hi im dwindling with the idea of setting up a 250ltr central american tank.

i plan to keep a pair of firemouth cichlids and instead of adding more cichlids i would like to have a shoal of decent sized tetra's. (congo tetra kind of size)

if any body could name me some american characins it would be big help. ideally the more colourful the better.

i also plan to keep a very small group of live bearing fish, maybe pike top minnows.or some fully freshwater mollys.

thanks in advance

 

[Wills]

Hi great idea for a tank and one I have wanted to do for a while my self

With Tetras not a massive amount of options that are easy to find, from what I managed to find the easiest species to get are Red Eye Tetras - which though not exclusive to CA countries they are found there and their relatives are also. Buenos Aires Tetras are also easy to find but hearing mixed stories about them being nippy or not?

For live bearers - just a question on personal choice, why go for Mollies? In the classifieds section there is a guy selling really rare and nice livebearers maybe one of them would suit? A lot of people choose wild type Swordtails to go with CA cichlids which are nice looking.

Found out recently that Hoplosternum punctatus are found in Panama which would be good in the tank. There are other species that occasionally pop up but not easy to find. I would try and pick a member called MartinS brain as he knows his cats

Also lastly on the cichlids - are you 100% set on a breeding pair - it will only cause issues with the tank mates than not. And also question two - why go with such a common cichlid like Firemouths if your looking for a regular breeding pair in a specific tank? Why not try to track down something a little rarer? For better chances of resale of the fry?

Wills

 

[lloyd]

Hi great idea for a tank and one I have wanted to do for a while my self

With Tetras not a massive amount of options that are easy to find, from what I managed to find the easiest species to get are Red Eye Tetras - which though not exclusive to CA countries they are found there and their relatives are also. Buenos Aires Tetras are also easy to find but hearing mixed stories about them being nippy or not?

For live bearers - just a question on personal choice, why go for Mollies? In the classifieds section there is a guy selling really rare and nice livebearers maybe one of them would suit? A lot of people choose wild type Swordtails to go with CA cichlids which are nice looking.

Found out recently that Hoplosternum punctatus are found in Panama which would be good in the tank. There are other species that occasionally pop up but not easy to find. I would try and pick a member called MartinS brain as he knows his cats

Also lastly on the cichlids - are you 100% set on a breeding pair - it will only cause issues with the tank mates than not. And also question two - why go with such a common cichlid like Firemouths if your looking for a regular breeding pair in a specific tank? Why not try to track down something a little rarer? For better chances of resale of the fry?

Wills

Iv not really set my heart on mollies to be honest. i just think a group of live bearers would add a nice dimension wild type swordtales would be nice.
the reason i im thinking about firemouths is quite simply because i like the size they reach and colours they get. i have always prefered asian fishes so havent really spent much time looking into central american cichlids to be honest. in the quick research i have done i cant find any truly colourful show peice ca cichlids that match firemouth for colour and reach a size of 6 inches max. in the back of my mind i proably dont want to settle for fms to be honest, i think i will look into it in more detail.
what are you suggestioning about numbers if not a breeding pair?
i was going to settle on bueno ares tetra's as i have kept them before without problems but red eye tetra's are a good fish that i havent thought of

 

[Wills]

If your going down the pairing route - there are a lot of Firemouth relatives that are quite similar but have higher demand and in some cases better colouration and more chance of getting a wild pair - Ellioti, Aureus, Mixteco, Passioness and a few other species. You could also look into Convict relatives like Honduran Red Points, Sajica, Cutteri or Nanoluteus - my choice would be the Nanoluteus as they are the least common and beautiful colours.

Other species to consider would be Rainbow Cichlids or Neets There are others but Im forgetting them. Maybe JDs or EBJDs would work?

If you went down the singleton route - keep just Males to prevent pairing and you could go with 4 of the above really - you may even get away with two pairs of the fish if you create decor cleverly at each end.

Wills

 

[lloyd]

If your going down the pairing route - there are a lot of Firemouth relatives that are quite similar but have higher demand and in some cases better colouration and more chance of getting a wild pair - Ellioti, Aureus, Mixteco, Passioness and a few other species. You could also look into Convict relatives like Honduran Red Points, Sajica, Cutteri or Nanoluteus - my choice would be the Nanoluteus as they are the least common and beautiful colours.

Other species to consider would be Rainbow Cichlids or Neets There are others but Im forgetting them. Maybe JDs or EBJDs would work?

If you went down the singleton route - keep just Males to prevent pairing and you could go with 4 of the above really - you may even get away with two pairs of the fish if you create decor cleverly at each end.

Wills
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il look into those. ive always loved rainbow cichlids and elliotis but i havent really heard of those other firemouth relatives. for some reason im not to keen as convict type cichlids, im not sure why.

you have me thinking about elliotis i love those. i used to keep 4 rainbow cichlids in a 3 foot tank, this tank will be a large 4 footer, do you think i could keep a pair of elliotis and a pair or group of rainbows? i cant see why i should work. then i gould add lots of surface veg like java fern on branches and then have wild swordtails as well. what do you think?

 

[lloyd]

Those Nanoluteus look really nice. whats there temperament like?

 

[Wills]

I know what you mean about the Convict relatives I am wary of them though I have had HRP and seen others successfully keeping the other relatives - the Convicts do seem to be the worst of the bunch though.

From what I have read the Nanolutus are quite peaceful and also one of the smallest species in the familiy. Hard to find though

A pair of Ellioti and Rainbows sounds good to me

Wills

 

[lloyd]

ithink thats what i'll settle on but before i buy some rainbows i will look around for some Nanolutus. thanks for you help. i think il bybass the tetra's now lol and just go for the two cichlid species and a group of swordtails

what is the fish in your pic?

thanks for the help btw

 

[Wills]

ithink thats what i'll settle on but before i buy some rainbows i will look around for some Nanolutus. thanks for you help. i think il bybass the tetra's now lol and just go for the two cichlid species and a group of swordtails

what is the fish in your pic?

thanks for the help btw

No probs

That was Elsie my female Nicaraguan She died a few months ago, she was 2. Still trying to find a replacement but not so easy

Tank sounds good Should be a nice level of activity

Wills

 

[lloyd]

thats a shame she looks like a very nice fish. am i right in thinking the females are much more impressive than the males?

 

[Liam2368]

your tank sounds nice but i would avoid elliotis or firemouths, i have a pair of elliotis and they are trouble causers to say the least. The rainbows sound good and something like a single specimen Amphilophus rostratum or Archocentrus centrarchus from the same region as the rainbows would be fantastic.

 

[lloyd]

Cheers for the reply but im not really a fan of Archocentrus centrarchus compared with elliotis and i think the Amphilophus rostratum get a bit to big for what i want. i really like the elliotis, i wouldnt mind keeping a pair then just have some shoaling fish like red eye tetras or columbians if it doesnt work out with the rainbow cichlids/Nanolutus. if i get them and they dont get on i can always put the rainbows in a smaller tank

 

[Liam2368]

Ok, do you not fancy thorichthys Aureus http/www.tropicalfishfinder.co.uk/stores_productsinfo.asp?store=54&prod=2897 http/www.evaquatics.co.uk/store/index.php?route=product/product&path=20_59&product_id=209 quite a bit prettier than elliotis imo also there nigh on impossible t9 sex as juvis one day i can distinctly tell which sex is which with mine then the next day they look identical, i bought 5 juvis and got my pair that way.

 

[lloyd]

aureus's look very nice as well, im not sure which i prefer. what is there temperament like. you kind of forget how many different stunning cmcs there are. i can see me investing in a few over the forseeable future

 

[Liam2368]

if your keeping a pair with characins and bottom feeders and. no other cichlids then that will be fine. As i have said mine are trouble causers only with cichlids of similar size accept when they have laid eggs then they are typical cichlids chading everything but they are all bark and no bite but if my rotkeil severum or nicaraguan decide to lip lock with one of the elliotis i can see the elliotis getting hurt, i believe they have weak jaws.