Interesting Cichlids

[Timmy_Bee]

I am not looking for anything straight away. im still morning the loss of my EBJD, but i thought i would put out a few feelers and see what fish people might suggest.

My idea is to have 2 Sevs, maybe some Apiso's (dont know much about these, but i like what i have seen) and one larger cichlid. roughly 8-10". I might keep some of my barbs if they are compatible, but this is very much a 'think tank' and nothing is sure.

My tank is a 240L, but this idea of mine might be for something bigger (but not by much)
I still like the look of the Texas but have never seen one in person or heard of any LFS's getting them in.

Any suggestions?

 

[Timmy_Bee]

Demon fish too big?

 

[mattlee]

to be honest a 10 inch fish in a 240L isnt a good idea.

im guessing that you have a roma or similar tank these tanks arent very wide and wont give a 10 inch fish the room to turn especially when bogwood/decor etc is in the tank.

my oscar is 12 inches and 2 inches isnt really that much and i wouldnt dream of adding him into anything less than a 5x2x2 its just not fair on the fish

as you already have 2 sevs i would say that might be just about enough.... i just sold my gold sev and he was about 7-8 inches and probably would have grown another inch or 2 who knows!

texas are very aggressive fish. i added a 6-7 inch specimin that was quite calm in its old tank containing several other texas but as soon as i added it to mine it went nuts and attacked averything that moved. i added another to try to calm it down with no luck i then had 2 texas attacking eberything as well as each other. they were swiftly moved on before inflicting too much damage. a severum stands no chance in with a texas

picture the severums as adults at 8+ inches and work around them. they should be fine with barbs as long as they arent too small, the only issue i can think of is temperature as many barbs prefer cooler water and south american cichlids prefer temps at 26-28 C. 2 adult sevs and a group of smaller active fish would look great and is similar to what i am doing with my oscar.... i have removed all of the other big cichlids and decided that i want to target the tank at the oscar but have added a group of arilius barbs to keep the tank alive and it looks far better than one of several species of cichlid in my eyes.

maybe a 3rd sev could be added but if 2 pair up then the third could be in trouble in a small tank like 240L as there are not many places to escape from the pair.

 

[Skins]

What about a Blue acara T_B.

Keith.

 

[Timmy_Bee]

Mattlee - agreed. I would only get a bigger fish, knowing that i will upsize my tank. The tank in question is a Rio 240. I cant remeber exactly but i think its depth is aprox 16" or so?
Also, good to know about the texas

Skins - Blue Acara is on my 'google list'. more info needed, but its a possible! Am i right in thinking a Geen Terror is a similar fish to this as well? Is it as agressive as the name suggests?

 

[kaivalagi]

Blue Acara and Green Terror are from the same sub species but the Green Terror get's much bigger and much nastier...not for your tank that one

A blue Acara could work well, I have a Port Acara and he's a fairly non-aggressive fish although he does like strutting his stuff:


(clickable thumbnails)


Will you be getting a bigger tank at some point?

 

[hamfist]

If you are definatley upgrading the 240, then a chocolate cichlid, or satanoperca leucosticta/jurupari or Geo.steindachneri are all pretty peaceful, yet interesting and good sized cichlids that go well with sevs. All are full of character too !
You could even fit a male steinie in the 240 with a couple of sevs, as they are one of the smaller species of eartheaters, and unlike many other species of eartheater, they are happy not being in groups.

 

[Timmy_Bee]

Nothing is definate but thanks for your suggestions.

Am not a huge fan of nuchal humps, so maybe that earth eater isn't for me.
As for the Port Acara - i've always wondered why its called 'port'... None the less, a nice fish