Cleithracara Maronii - Keyhole Cichlid

[spinnin_tom]

hey guys, reptile forums was useless for this one, so i've registered here. hopefully you guys can help ?

i'm in the process of redoing my aquarium.
i have one keyhole cichlid and he's lonely lol.

i'm selling my brown acara, glass cats, collared cat and african knife fish (bad stock in theory, it's worked for me though)

i currently have some nasty stupid blue gravel, which i hate.

keyholes live in slow moving streams, so i'm thinking have a gentle running, which i already have of course. i'm also thinking of staining the water with mopane roots and there's a leaf which does the same, i can't remember which species of tree it's from though lol.

other things like branches would be for him to live in and around.

i also have a ancistrus which is perfectly healthy and has been for all his life. my question now, is what species' will live with a few keyhole cichlids and my ancistrus, and possibly a mystus ??

so i would like any extra info on stocking fish from the same area (Guyana) and pictures of your south american, brown water setups.
thanks
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[spinnin_tom]

anybody ?

 

[Wills]

Hi welcome to the forum Sounds like a nice tank and the tannins will look very authentic tank.

If you are centering it around the Keyhole Cichlids you will want to make it a French Guyana biotope A quick google finds these common fish as coming from there

Corydoras aeneus - Bronze corydoras
Corydoras melanistius - Blue spotted corydoras
Hemigrammus ocellifer - Head-and-taillight tetra
Hyphessobrycon eques - Jewel tetra
Nannostomus beckfordi - Golden pencilfish

Took that from a post on an other forum but quite a nice list of easy to find fish

This is a good list of fish from that region and it lists a few bristlenose species as coming from there as well which is good

http/www.fishbase.org/Country/CountryChecklist.php?c_code=254&vhabitat=fresh&csub_code=

Some of the fish on there are not suitable for this tank and others are not found in the hobby but you will find some good ideas in there as well

Wills

 

[onidrase]

What size is your tank?

Keyholes are very timid and shy cichlids, with little or no aggressive behavior. You can probably add a few more keyholes depending on the size of your tank, and you'll want some schooling fish that are not too boisterous to make them feel safe.

 

[spinnin_tom]

hey guys, thanks for the welcome

the tank is only 60 litres, so i was thinking only having two keyholes and give them a lot of room.

the bronze cory thing sounds good; i think tetras are a no no, seeing as 2 keyholes, 4? corydoras and an ancistrus would stock this tank.

again, thanks wills and onidrase

i regret selling my oddball tank now

 

[Wills]

wow I have to admit I thought this tank was bigger given the previous inhabitants. I wouldnt keep keyholes in that kind of tank males do get quite big and chunky would probably say 90 liters minimum but 125 would be much much better.

Also got to admit the bristlenose really needs bigger again they are a big 4 inch fish so wouldnt really work long term in there.

Wills

 

[spinnin_tom]

yeah the likes of the acara etc was a short term thing whilst as something went wrong with a larger tank i had

and keyholes are never that big ?

i've been told they get a fraction the size in captivity, as their wild counterparts

 

[minnnt]

Keyholes are capable of reaching 5", sometimes 6. A better choice would possibly be a pair of apisto's and some smaller tetra's. You could still do the tannin stained blackwater setup.

 

[spinnin_tom]

wow, 5 inches is huge.
my wee keyhole is around 3 inches and around 4 years old. he was in a 4 foot tank until i had to sell/move the fish o:
i can't see him growing much more.

minnt- are Apistogramms not very commonplace in the uk trade? i've seen/found none in kent

 

[snake007]

wow, 5 inches is huge.
my wee keyhole is around 3 inches and around 4 years old. he was in a 4 foot tank until i had to sell/move the fish o:
i can't see him growing much more.

minnt- are Apistogramms not very commonplace in the uk trade? i've seen/found none in kent

Their very common in my lfs, you just have to look around a bit.
If you can travel up to nottingham and go to wharf, it will be worth it from what I hear

If not, travel down to enfield and go to wildwoods, wonderful stock they have!

 

[spinnin_tom]

both of those places are too far lol, thanks though, snake.
i can get them ordered in at my local swallow aquatics. i like them for fish, plus they're not too far away.

any ideas on a price i'm expecting ? i asked for a quote, but that was yesterday

 

[minnnt]

Apisto's? My LFS (Wharf) usually sells them for £18 a pair. They did have some small Cacatuoides in for a tenner though.

Another LFS sells them for £12.

 

[spinnin_tom]

yeah, Apistogramma
i've seen then before, but never when i want to buy some lol, and never in the local shops.
i think i may be set on the little acara species though now