Will these get along?

[PunkRock050]

Im still deciding on what kind of fish to keep in my 55 gallon, so how does this group sound?

3 Electric Blue Haps
3-4 Assorted Cichlids (What are the kind that are green/brown with light green spots?)
2-3 Green Terrors
2 Jack Dempseys
Cant decide on Convicts or Severums
2 Plecs (not sure what kind yet, maybe bristle nose)

and my Pacu is in there...he will probably get beat on wont he?

Will these fish get along alright?

Also are they going to tear my tank to peices? Ive got alot of rocks and all my plants are potted...hopefully the pots will hold them in the substrate. I heard Jacks are good diggers.

 

[cichlidmaster]

They would get along alright in a 240 gallon tank!!!!!!!

Sorry to say it would be WW3 in a 55 gallon tank with all those fish!!

The electric blue haps are african and have no place in with S/C American species....

2-3 green terrors alone....maybe.

The 2 Dempseys for sure along with a pair of severums would work.

One plec in that size tank.

The 3-4 assorted cichlids can't comment on due to not knowing what they are!!!

The pacu...when full grown will not be able to turn around in a 55 gallon. Plan on a much bigger tank or finding it a new home.

Sorry to be so blunt and to the point, but there is no way that the fish you have listed will last more than a few months (if bought small) in a 55 gallon tank.

CM

 

[PunkRock050]

Alright, I talked to some other people too and I got the fish thing worked out. I told my parents I wanted some Cichlids for xmas, and I was joking too because I planned to buy some myself but they got me some for christmas. Now I have too many(I think). lol. Im going to get another 55 gallon tank soon, so I will put some in that.

All of them besides the peacocks are assorted so I will just name the colors.

3 green spotted
3 electric blue
2 black/yellow striped
1 bumblebee
3 black/blue striped

Yeah and before that I got 3 Peacock Cichlids...so now I have a bunch of fish. How long will they be OK in this tank until I need to move some to another one? They get along find

 

[cichlidmaster]

Honestly speaking....We would need to know the species before commenting on whether or not these fish would get along and for how long!!

If possible either post some pics or do a search of some cichlid sites and try to find out what they are.

CM

 

[PunkRock050]

Well im not wondering if theyre going to get along or not (which they should, i talked to about 3 different people from 2 different LFS's about it)

I was wondering more along the lines of if this was too many fish for the tank? I have found the names of 2 species. Theyre are Auratus and blue zebras

*and cobalt blue zebras

 

[cichlidmaster]

Alright then...some info for you.....

bumblebee...is this the fish you have...

If so, it's good you only have one. They are aggressive and with the other fish you have would be interesting to see who came out the victor!!

Melanochromis auratus....(I am guessing these are the black/yellow striped)
Male

Female

One word describes these fish....NASTY!!!!They are very aggressive not only with tankmate, but their own kind as well. Very brutal on females during spawning.

Maylandia callainos - cobalt blue zebra...

Not to aggressive. May not fair to well with the auratus.

Their are many "blue zebra" varieties so I hesitate to try and give info on the particular one you may have. Would this fall under the "black/blue striped" fish you mentioned in previous post? If so, it could be one of the many variations on RTBB zebra. RTBB = Red Top/ Black Bar zebra.

The electric blue could be a few different fish...pics below...

This is the common "electric blue johanni" Is this your electric blue?

Or could it be this...

If it's the second pic...these will not do well with any of the fish you have.

Now in respect to how long they will "get along" until you need to move some...this depends on the individual species.

How big are these fish currently? This will determine how long to keep them together as well.

I wish you luck with the mix of fish you have and hope this little bit of info helped.

CM

I'm sorry, i forgot to mention the "peacocks". You have them in with these as well correct? They will not last long once the others claim territories and began to choose mates to spawn.

I am curious if the LFS that advised you on the compatibility of these "mixed" species also told you the peacocks would be fine with these Mbuna?

By the way "Mbuna" is the name given to the species of fish you have. They also have different dietary requirements than the peacocks preferring a vegtable type diet (spirulina). Hope the LFS also filled you in on dietary neds of your fish.

CM

 

[WhiskeyDawg]

Ok, most of teh ones you listed before were SA and CA cichlids, and th eones your parents got you were all African cichlids, unless teh peacocks you are talking about are peacock bass. South american fish and African need very different water parameters and therefore cannot do well living together. You beter have you tank arranged so that there are lots of different territories. If not your fish will fight a lot, too teh death in many cases. Your plants will get shredded most likely. Maybe not though, all depends on teh personality of your fish. For your Pacu, if you really want to do what is best for your fish I would either get a 125g or go trade it in. In teh 125g you could put a couple oscars and maybe some convicts or a jack. Good luck.

 

[PunkRock050]

The "electric blue" ones turned out to be the cobalt blue zebras. I think my Peacocks are called "Grant's Peacock". They never said anything about the diet. I just got some Cichlid pellets and they seem to be eating those just fine. The fish are very small right now. Would it be possible to keep the Peacocks in my semi aggressive tank with the tiger barbs and bala sharks? Im trying to keep lots of hiding places in the big tank to help cut down on agression so I have lots of rocks and caves.

The pacu wont be joining them. Im sad to say that he kinda commited fishacide a couple days ago. Remember how I said he had emoitonal problems and freaked out alot? Well, he was doing fine until I turned the light on one morning...he flipped out and smashed into a couple of rocks, everely bruising himself up and he was swimming realy funny. I put him in a bag with some water into the freezer like I read on here and had to put him down. I felt bad.

 

[WhiskeyDawg]

Sorry about your pacu. I have always wanted to keep them but they get too freakin big. I think your tiger barbs would get killed if you put you cichlids in with them. Depending on how big your sharks are, they may be ok.