Least Aggressive Cichlid?

[ApistoNut]

If your cichlids start to breed then they will get aggressive no matter what because they will risk there life for there young but if yke ou dont have a breeding pair then it all depends on the fish itself.

I would say just experiment and see how it goes, its like saying a man is aggressive but his next door neighbour isnt but there both human?? Kind of a theory to cichlids

 

[Wills]

If your cichlids start to breed then they will get aggressive no matter what because they will risk there life for there young but if yke ou dont have a breeding pair then it all depends on the fish itself.

I would say just experiment and see how it goes, its like saying a man is aggressive but his next door neighbour isnt but there both human?? Kind of a theory to cichlids

Kind of true but you can pre judge things - at extremes some kind of Parachromis, like a Jaguar or a Dovvi is totally different to something like a Nannacara. Its quite a broad spectrum of fish that are being dealt with here so it really depends more than just personality - though having said all of that I do agree that there is a middle ground between comparable cichlids, for example its not stupid to compare some of the common ones like Severums, Oscars, Firemouths, Texas and Jack Dempsies you can say that any of those can be calm as anything or totally physcotic and actually I bet if you put that list to people you would not get a definitive answer as to what was the most aggressive or most peaceful as like you say they all have personalities.

Wills

 

[Ludwig Venter]

I have always and will always promote the Orange Chromide as being (one of ) if not the most docile cichlid around..... They are fantastic community fish to have.

 

[ColR1948]

I'm new to Cichlids, I keep reading if they pair up and start to breed they get more aggresive, is there something you can do to put them off breeding beside splitting them up of course.
I like to see a pair but I'm not bothered about them breeding or will nature take it's course any how?

At the moment I have Blue Rams, Golden Rams and Kribs, the only aggro I've seen so far is the terrotory thing where one will chase the other away, but last night I did witness 2 Blue Rams squaring up and nudging each other and mouth contact on the flanks and fin flaring.
In the end one of the Rams gave in but the other wanted to prove it's point a bit more then that got fed up after a while.

I would love to add some Dwarf Flags but not sure if it will work, I have a 360L
6 x Blue Rams
4 x Golden Rams (still small yet)
4 x Kribs
8 x Matae Cory

 

[star4]

Kribs get very aggressive if they have fry, they are african. Best way to avoid breeding is to have all the same sex fish, I cant comment on how aggressive rams are breeding as I have never bred those, but kribs yes, wicked parents . You can try heavily planting the tank, rams & kribs are not generally plant eaters, this will break up the line of sight and stop some of the aggression should they breed, or as soon as they lay eggs just remove the eggs, its guarding the eggs and fry which brings on the most aggression, removing the eggs removes most of the problem. Hope this helps

 

[magpie]

I just got a pair so maybe a bit biased, but the Dicrossus are the most peaceful Cichlids in my opinion. I would maybe pick Bolivian Rams second. But again it all does depend on the individuals, whatever else is in the tank, and your layout.


EDIT: Oops, didn't see that this was an old thread revived.

For the thread reviver / second poster, how long have you had your setup going? I don't think I personally would add any more cichlids to your tank, and would myself worry about what would happen to the other SA dwarves if/when the Kribs spawn. How about something for the top of your tank, like marbled hatchetfish (beautiful and unique looking) or I have some brown-tailed pencilfish that I adore - they swim at an angle so add visual interest and they remind me of seahorses a bit for some reason. http/www.seriouslyfish.com/species/nannostomus-eques/

Definitely agree on a heavily planted/wooded setup with lots of different territories and hiding spots.

 

[ColR1948]

I hope I've not highjacked this thread i meant to just add to it with a bit more discussion.
I have lots of caves and a few plants, so there are plenty of hiding places, the Kribs seem to prefere the back of the tank behind a bid rock and plants where as the Rams seem to stick top the front and there is the middle area where some venture and either get chased by one or the other.
The Cory go where they please and nobody bothers them, I've even seen them swim with the Rams as though they are joining the clan.

 

[magpie]

If no one spawns it might just all be fine, but I still wouldn't add anymore myself.

I have a 65-gallon, 3-foot long tank that as you can see is well-planted. I had one pair of Apistos and one pair of Laetacara. Everyone got along great until the Laetacara spawned, and then there was just so much chasing that I had to re-home the Laetacara. They never did any physical damage, but the chasing definitely stressed ME out and the Apistos. Others have had a similar grouping, with spawning, and it's been fine. So you just never really know with these guys. I myself am always more cautious in recommending cichlid mixing after my experience. It's not fun to be worried about your tank. Although watching a spawing pair is truly rewarding!

Edited to add: the Laetacara were wild and not tank-raised which I've read can also be a contributing factor.

 

[ColR1948]

OK so are saying not to add any more Cichlids or any more of other fish?

If it is a no no for Cichlids I did toy with adding some Kuhli Loach as I've read they go well with the Corydoras.

I must admit the Cory's do a great clean up job after feeding, they are fun to watch so I was thinking the Loaches will add to that plus may be a bit more colour, if it is a yes to the Loaches how many do you recon?

 

[magpie]

I meant no more cichlids.

I love kuhlis but in my opinion you already have too many things on the bottom to add them - pretty much all of your fish prefer the bottom 1/3 of the tank. I sympathize since my preferences also tend to rest with bottom-dwellers.

I would add a midle-top swimmer, or like I said, fully surface/top swimmer so that you have more variety and to limit the territory crowding. As mentioned in my other post, I personally love both the marbled hatchets (but you could go with the larger hatchets, too) or the brown-tailed pencils if they're available. If you don't like those we can suggest others for you.

 

[magpie]

One other thing - your Golden Rams are a strain of the Blues, and they both like warmer temps than your cories like. The cories like <75, Rams ideally are 80+. What temp is your tank at? If your Rams were tank-raised there should be less of an issue. I have no idea about the Kribs, since I've never had any.

 

[ColR1948]

Thank you for your replies.

My tank is around 75 I could raise it a couple of degrees I guess if you think that is wise, I would also guess the Rams are tank bread as in the LFS it sometimes says if a fish is wild caught.

I will look at so surface swimmers, I'll Google some and see your suggestions.

 

[magpie]

I'd say for the long-term health of the Rams, they'd be better at the very least 78, but I'm not a German Blue expert. I don't know which fish it is more important to if both are tank-raised - the Cories or the Rams. I know much less about Cories, so am not sure how adaptable they are.

Maybe someone else has a more knowledgeable opinion?

 

[ColR1948]

I googled some top swimmers and the Hatchets are coming out best, I like them, a few things that did go against them was I read they like to jump plus they also like floating plants.

Some said Danios but they dart about a bit and some said Rasboras, I had them once but wasn't too keen.

Not sure about Pencil Fish, they look a bit like Black Neons to me or is that just the pictures putting me off?

 

[magpie]

Are you against floating plants? Most fish like them - all of yours would probably, and they're easy. I've used Brazilian pennywort and water sprite. My hatchets have never jumped, but I don't leave the lid open, either, unless I'm cleaning or feeding.

The pencilfish I mean are these below, but you might not be able to find them everywhere - I'm not sure how common they are and my LFS tends to carry more unusual fish so I don't have a great concept of what's usually out there. They do have stripes like the black neons, but what's neat about them is their angled way of swimming. In a larger group (I have 12) they look pretty cool. Unique. But they are less showy than the hatchets. Everyone has different preferences - if you don't like them, it won't hurt my feelings. Just giving some ideas. Others will probably chip in, too.

Look at the 5th photo down to see them in a group. (Ignore the info on them on that page, it's not accurate. Mine don't touch any plants at all! They also at the bottom have other fish labeled as nannostomus eques - the first 7 or 8 are them.)
http/superfishcyprinidaewallpaper.blogspot.com/2012/07/nannostomus-eques.html


You could always go with a large group of cardinal tetras, though they're more middle swimmers. But they look great in big groups. I generally am not overly fond of danios. Some of the rasboras are cool, but I'm more of a tetra gal. But I also shoot for SA fish, too.