Community Cichlids?

[LolaLouie]

I'm pretty happy with my tank stock (see sig.) but would like a few larger fish along with my Angels and Dwarf Gourami.

I really like Rams but it seems they have very specific requirements.

Are there any community Cichlids that would be ok in a 50 gallon tank with a pH of 8??

Thanks

 

[Larissa]

I think Bolivian Rams would be fine. They are much more tolerant of a wider range of water parameters than blue rams. They get slighlty bigger and - some say - less colourful (but not in my opinion) and they have tons of personality. You could probably fit two pairs in your tank - keeping in mind they need a footprint of about ten square inches each for territory - or just a pair depending on your future stocking plans. HTH.
-Larissa

 

[natural blue nina]

I had the same dilemma recently. I went for Apistogramma Macmasteri, a breeding pair and they are beautiful!

I was expecting duller colours with a Ph of 8, but they are very vibrant.. the female yellow, and male orange and blue.....

They are very protective over their territory when there are eggs, but other than that I have had little aggression!

 

[luque]

maybe kribs, but may get aggressive if they pair up

 

[LolaLouie]

I have had a look at bolivian rams and they seem nice but i have never seen them in a shop.

I also liked kribs but they get quite big dont they?

 

[luque]

no not too big, they are dwarf chiclids
they grow about 4" females smaller, so 50 gallons shoud be ok, with your other fish, but you need hiding places for them, and live plants

 

[Larissa]

I have seen Bolivians at Pets at Home, but I don't know if you want to buy your fish there. The one close to me is not to bad for a chain store - it all depends on who manages the fish section I guess. You could look at a trio of apistos as well. If you supplied some caves for them they would be quite happy.

 

[scouse_andy]

I would also recommend Bolivian Rams for you. I have a mature pair in my community and they are very peaceful. They are never likely to breed succesfully because of the pH but this means they won't get too agressive.

I also have a trio of Keyhole cichlids in the same tank, they are still young but all doing very well at 7.8 pH, supposedly very peaceful fish.

You do realise that your angels are cichlids too don't you? and potentially more agressive than the dwarf cichlids mentioned.

 

[LolaLouie]

I do know that my angels are cichlids but got them young so am hoping they will be ok in the community tank. Also I would like to slowly turn my tank into a community cichlid tank so just want to know what goes. I think I'll get a pair of Bolivians if I can find them.

What happens if I get 2 of the same sex (as I know they're hard to sex)? Will they fight?

Thanks for the replies!

 

[Larissa]

Your tank should be big enough for each male to establish it's own territory if you end up with two. There may be a few squabbles but it rarely leads to any actuall dammage beeing done. It is difficult to sex bolivians but there are some things you can look at. The ends of the lyre-shapped tail on males are usually longer and females usually have visible ovispores (spelling?). There are a couple other tricks as well - I'm sure you can find them out there somewhere on the web. HTH.
-Larissa

 

[LolaLouie]

I just got my Bolivian Rams (from pets at home) I chose the 2 that looked most different from eachother hoping that they would be different sexes. They were together in the LFS so also hope maybe they're a pair. We'll have to see but at pH 8 I'm sure they wont breed. Thanks everyone!

 

[Larissa]

Congratulations! - I soooo wish my tank was big enough for some dwarf cichlids, but it just isn't. Anyway, good luck with your Bolivians. I'm sure they will become some of your favorite fish.

 

[luque]

nice do you have pics?

 

[scouse_andy]

Lovely fish.

They have loads of personality and are always out and about.

Enjoy them.

 

[Larissa]

Sorry to divert the thread slightly but Scouse_Andy, do you have any pics of your Neolamprologus Multifasciatus setup? I have been looking at doing something very similar. Also, I would love to see your new Bolivians too, LolaLouie (and good luck with your angel - fingers crossed)!