wot to keep?

[nick.w]

hey i have 1 firemouth in a 30 gal wot kind of cichlids can i keep wit him?? is it to small for africans. wot are the best cichlids i can keep??

 

[thecichlidaddict]

Mixing Africans would be a bad idea, especially in that sized tank. 30 gallons does not offer a lot of options.

How about another firemouth of the opposite sex? You can also get some tough tetras like serpae or congos.

If you choose to use other cichlids, be careful with your choice, firemouths are not very aggressive.

 

[nick.w]

o ok well wot new world cichlids could i keep wit the firemouth??

 

[juanveldez]

ideally you would want a 55 gallon tank to add some other cichlids, but like TCA said you could add another firemouth of the opposite sex. and firemouths aren't very agressive as they tend to flare to disuade opponates raither than to do the usual new world cichlid tactic and jaw lock with them.

 

[nick.w]

yea but could i get some kribs or some dwarfs with that pair?? Wot could i get without a firemouth pair?

 

[thecichlidaddict]

Juanveldez is right, no other cichlids would be a good idea unless you give them a larger tank. The 55 gallon he is talking about is a foot longer and the extra space makes a difference. A group of tetras like I have mentioned could make a nice addition though, but make sure they are tough ones like congos, serpae, buenis aeres and columbian tetras.

A pair of dwarves may take a small enough territory that you can sqeeze both pairs in, but you also may have two nervous groups of cichlids always looking over their 'shoulders'. I'm a believer in giving fish enough space to do their thing in comfort, which is why I don't recommend it.

 

[nick.w]

O im sure ive seen advice saying u can have more than 1 cichlid in a 30 gal!!! its not exactly small!

 

[nick.w]

In my 30 gal could i keep a firemouth, a pair of kribs and 2 dwarf cichlids like a Apistogramma reitizgi (yellow dwarf cichlid) and a Apistogramma agassizi (Agassiz's dwarf cichllid)?? would that be ok it has many caves and such

 

[Morrgan]

Why try to squeeze in so many (semi)aggressive species in a tank that small? (And yes, 30 gallons is quite small when cichlids are concerned.) To me it sounds like asking for trouble and the fish are likely to suffer.

I suggest you pick one species and stick to that. If you want to keep the firemouth, get him/her a mate. Or, you could give away the firemouth and instead get one of the dwarf cichlid species. Then you can get one male and 2-3 females.

 

[juanveldez]

in a word nick you can do what ever grabs ya but if you really want to listen and learn from those people that know what they are doing because we have kept cichlids for many years don't add any other cichlids to that tank... I have seen a male firemouth in a 30 gallon tank with a small school of tiger barbs but that is up to you.

 

[Dwarfs]

Nick , If you are dead set on keeping these fish together , consider getting another 30 gal [ long tanks are best IMO ] and keep them end to end next to each other .Or buy a 55 , 60 ,or a 70 gallon tank . How would you feel If everywhere you went you had to run for your life or fear of being beaten , only you have nowhere to run . I hate to put it that way . But that is what you may be subjecting your fish to . IMO , It's not a question of over stocking as much as over crowding , I beleave there is a difference[ guilty of both in the past ]. 2 different species of fish the same size may not require the same amount of room to live in comfort , and add to that breeding pairs of fish ." THE CICHLID ADDICT " made a good point , you should try your best to make your fish feel safe and secure . not just keep them alive . By keeping the tanks near each other the fish may see each other thru the glass and act aggressivly as to defend it's terratory with out any physical confrontations .If it looks like it may still cause a problem , slide a piece of paper in between .