What Cichlids

[I_AM_ME_WHO_ARE_YOU]

Hi Cichlid Master

Could you please let me know what Cichlids I could keep in my tank think that I spoke to you yesterday and you said to come back to you if I decided to get any Cichlids well i have been looking at them and there are some really nice kinds of Cichlids.

My tank is 24 x 12 x 15 and I have 1 siamese fighter and 4 corys in there at the mo but was just wondering if I could have Cichlids in there aswell.

Thanks for the help

Tara
xxx

 

[cichlidmaster]

Hi Tara,
After giving this some thought, I would think you could probably be able to keep a pair of "Dwarf" cichlids in with the fish you alredy have.

As I believe was already previously said the fighter could pose a potential problem.

I have an idea...If you could list some of the cichlids you were looking at and are interested in, then I could let you know if they would work or not.

If your really interested in a really cool species then have a look at Altolamprologus calvus or Altolamprologus compressiceps.

A tank of the volume yours is would house a pair of these nicely. Only drawback is I would recommend giving up the fighter.

I'll wait for you to list a few species you saw though.

 

[semper fi]

boy cichlidmaster if you were pure evil you would of suggested a red devil with the fighter. would of solved that problem. heehee

mags

 

[I_AM_ME_WHO_ARE_YOU]

News on the fighter.

He no longer poses a stocking problem due to the fact that I sadly found him floating this morning so he is now in the great fish tank in the sky.

Tara

 

[cichlidmaster]

So sorry to hear that, Tara.

Never good news to hear of the passing of ones fish

Have you given any more thought to what you maight like to keep in the tank?

Hope some of my suggestions helped.

 

[I_AM_ME_WHO_ARE_YOU]

Well as I had 2 tanks set up both had fighters in but the other fish were all small fish that get on well with each other i put them all in to the 1 tank and have now got a hypostomus plecustomus about 4 1/2" long and 4 Texas Cichlids in the other tank the pleco is absolutly fasonating to watch and Cichlids are cool aswell the sleep with the pleco lol

Tara

 

[Great Lakes]

How big are your Texans? I have heard they are beautiful fish, but never seen one.. B)

 

[I_AM_ME_WHO_ARE_YOU]

tHEY ARE ONLY ABOUT 2 -2 1/2 " LONG @ THE MO BUT CAN GET TO AROUND 6- 7 " I THINK

TARA

 

[cichlidmaster]

Hi Tara,
really sorry to always have bad news for you, but the Texas cichlids will have to go unless you plan on at least a 4 ft tank. These cichlids grow large 6-8" and can become very aggressive.

I would also limit the number of them to 1 or 2 in a 4ft tank. If going with a 6ft 4 would be ok, but keep in mind the odds of a pair forming are good. If this happened I would recommend giving the others up due to the aggression level attained when these fish are spawning.

The pleco (while some of my favorite fish) will also soon outgrow your current tank. Plecos are known as poo machines and require large frequent water changes to keep the tanks water quality at it's best.

In all honesty, I know how you feel. When I started in this great hobby many, many years ago, I started with a 3ft tank. After seeing an adult gold severum (which by the way I did own) I soon had 13 tanks going all of which were 55 gallons or bigger. The reason...I had to have room for all those BIG fish.

S/C American fish were and still are my first passion in this hobby. I also plan on stocking some in the near future. While there are species that would fit in your current tank, your interest seems to be leaning towards the "TANK BUSTERS" and understanably so.

I would consider (if $$$ and room allows for it) you consider investing in at least a 55 gallon tank as this will allow you a little more variety in what you can keep.

Hope this helped...(even a little )

 

[semper fi]

the tank busters are the coolest. they are fascinating to watch. like big gentle giants that are soooo graceful. love my big tank busters! but like cm said there are drawbacks to them. you do need the larger tanks for them. the biggest one for my tb's is a 180. when i build my dream house, we have made plans to have all the walls in the basement a huge tank. then me and my monsters can live long happy lives together!

another thing to watch with them is the amount of water they splash and the fact that they do try to lift the hoods off of tanks. got a dovi that will try this trick. wonder what he would do if he actually got it off?

maggie

 

[I_AM_ME_WHO_ARE_YOU]

Hi Maggie

My Pleco is already trying to lift the lid off his tank he keeps acting like a dolphin and jumping up at it its so funny to watch but im glad i got a lid on my tank lol

Tara
xxx

 

[semper fi]

haven't had much luck keeping plecos. little buggers kept getting eaten. so i got one that i kept in the wet/dry during the day and at night transfered to the tank to feed and clean the glass. now that he is big enough he stays in the community tank all the time. he is finally too big to fit in anyone's mouth. have never seen him try that trick though. he stays at the bottom mostly and is not very active. only when being chased by the pacu.

sounds like you got a really cool pleco! think i am jealous. maybe i can teach mine tricks? for awhile he was so used to me netting him all the time that anytime i put the net into the tank he just swam in!

maggie

 

[cryosi]

excuse me for wondering in and not knowing what a tank buster is, but can someone explain please? and a dovi? thanxs


plec's are cool!

 

[semper fi]

tank busters are the larger aggressive fish that can and often do break their tanks. or get to large to keep in a conventional aquarium. the pacu is one. mine is big enough that i am seriously considering donating him to the detroit zoo. they can and do get up to lengths of 36".

Herichthys dovii also called a dovii or a wolf cichlid is a very aggressive cichlid. this one is the nastiest fish that i have kept yet. they are known for being very aggressive. they are from central america and in the wild feed on red devil fry. they are very intolerant of tankmates including other dovii. they can reach lengths of up to 26".

when the dovii was first discovered and brought to america in the 50's no one knew that much about them. a california fish club ran a contest amoung the top breeders in their areas to see who could grow out the largest dovii. each breeder was given a juvie and a years time. at the end of the year the breeders were instructed to bring the dovii to be judged. the breeders brought in their dovii carefully packaged and displayed them for everyone to see. the largest one was 12" or so. then in came the last breeder who plopped down a cooler on the judges table. they opened up the cooler to find an 18" dovii. he was awarded the winner. they asked him what he did to grow out the dovii so large. he said that when the dovii was a few months old his tank broke. since he was older gentleman and on a fixed income, he could not afford to get a replacement. so he put the fish in the back of the toilet and heated the water to the right temperature for him. he also kept a cooler and whenever he went to the bathroom he feed the dovii a hot dog, which he kept in the cooler. so everytime he went to the bathroom the fish got a hot dog and a 100% water change.

dovi are very cool but aggressive fish. mine is at my inlaws currently cause he broke his tank trying to get at the fish in the next tank. he has been there a year and now my father in law won't give him up. he loves that fish. thinks it is comical. the fish loathes my mother in law. will ram the tank if she gets too close and as soon as she walks into the room will follow her. she can't feed him cause as soon as she lifts the lid he is jumping out trying to bite her.

maggie

 

[cryosi]

cool great story there...... the idea of keeping a dovi in the toilet.... different i guess! easy to keep for water changes lol