Emerald/chocolate Cichlids - Suitable Tankmates?

[bumbleweasle]

Hello,

I'm Jayne, I have a fairly large tank (c. 80 imperial gallons).. at the moment it houses 2 emerald cichlids & an angel fish.. not many fish, really! I'm in the process of gradually adjusting the setup to match the Rio Negro biotope as closely as I can, so I've introduced some hardy plants, put a lot of rocks & a couple big bits of bogwood in the tank. At the weekend I'll be replacing the horrible chunky gravel that came with the tank, in favour of sand.

Anyway, assuming all goes well with the sand swap, at the end of next week I'd like to get some new tankmates for my l'il guys, & would ideally like to keep it themed around the rio negro. So far, I've managed to find out that the following fish can be found in that area...

Black Widow/Black Skirt Tetras
Rummy Nose Tetras
Cardinal Tetras
Sand Corys

I think the checkerboard cichlid might be from around there too but I'm still doing my homework at the moment!

I haven't managed to find much info about suitable tank mates for the cichlids, so I'm wondering if anyone has any experience keeping any of the above fish with them? My LFS has the Black Widows & the Rummy Noses, but they're always so tiny that I'm afraid the cichlids or the angel might want to eat them!! Also, if anyone else can suggest other potential tankmates that I haven't thought of yet, that would be great too.

Thanks,
J.x

 

[drobbyb]

That chocolate cichlid gets pretty big. I'd bet that he will eat anything that will fit in his mouth (tetras). Cory cats would probably be ok. Most New World cichlids know not to eat cory cats (they are poisonous I'm told.)

 

[bumbleweasle]

That chocolate cichlid gets pretty big. I'd bet that he will eat anything that will fit in his mouth (tetras). Cory cats would probably be ok. Most New World cichlids know not to eat cory cats (they are poisonous I'm told.)

Cheers.. I had already ruled out the cardinals.. I'd thought that adult rummy noses & black widows would be big enough to be OK, do you not think so? Good that I can get some corys though, I love 'em!

ANy other suggestions as to what to keep in there? The tank seems kinda quiet with just those guys in there!

Cheers
J.x

 

[oakes]

Your chocolates will grow to about 25cm (10").
Black widows might be ok given their high body shape, another large high-bodied tetra is the bleeding heart.
Cories might be ok, for a while at least, but if the chocolates turn out to be a pair and start breeding life could get pretty tough for them.
Bristlenose cats are tougher.
Other cichlids from the region are an option, not sure if they fit the biotope exactly but festivum, blue acaras or curviceps might suit. Dwarf cichlids like the checkerboard are too small.