# Cichlid suggestins



## K20A2 (Aug 12, 2006)

Good fortune shines upon me once again my friends. This summer, after some work fixing it up my brother and I will be moving into a house of our own. 

With that being said, I'll now be able to set up my 75G tank that has been sitting in the corner of my room for quite a few months. Plans will be for a densely planted, hight light, ferts, and CO2 type set up. 

I'm thinking about a few different options when it comes to fish. My original idea was to do a school of cardinals and a school of rasboros (harlequin). With them a few angels and then some blue rams and apistos to occupy the bottom territory. 

I'll sidetrack for a sec and ask if anyone has any recommendations about keeping angels and apistos together? Bad idea or not? Ive yet to do my homework on it but it doesn't hurt to ask. 

My main question is in regard to my second idea with this tank. I wanted to keep a bigger and perhaps rarer pair of cichlids in the tank. Along with them maybe just a school of something chill and small, but not small enough to be a snack. I'm not talking big, as in oscar big or flowerhorn big but something maybe six inches or so. Just a pair and not really anything else, it would be their tank, besides the school of tetras swimming above. It doesn't have to be colorful and flashy, just something that will be a very interesting fish to take care of. 

Any suggestions?


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## gacp (Sep 11, 2006)

Laetacara spp., Bujurquina vitatta, Thorichthys spp., 'Amphilophus' nigrofasciatus, Herotilapia multispinosa, 'Amphilophus' nanoluteus, Gymnogeophatus spp. rhabtodus group, Etroplus maculatus, Crenicichla spp. nothophthalmus group, Pelvichachromis spp., Anomalochroimis thomasi... well, many may more


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## Nevermore (Mar 26, 2007)




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## ed seeley (Dec 1, 2006)

Chromidotilapia or Benitochromis. They're pair forming, bi-parental mouthbreeders. The pair swap the eggs and fry between their mouths when they brood! Awesome to watch - I miss my pair. But they will eat anything small tetra sized. Diamond and Emporer tetra sized are fine.
Or some of the larger Pelvicachromis like P.humilis might fit the bill?


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## DLOBREAKS (Nov 10, 2006)

Hiya,

I have 2 angels that i keep in a 20gal with a pair of apistos and i gotta say cichlids will be cichlids and they do occasionally fight over territory. My two angels are only 2.5-3 inches and it seems that the larger they get the more hatefull and territorial they grow. lol I will prob. not be able to house them all in the 20 'safely' for long. Maybe if the tank was a 30 or 40 gal i would so it may work out ok with a 75. my 2 cents

D


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## K20A2 (Aug 12, 2006)

Thank you all. I

Ive been doing some research over the past few days on the different species that you guys listed. So many good fish out there, but only so much tank space. 

Anyone keeping convicts? If so, what other fish have you successfully mixed in the same tank? As I said in the first post Id like to keep a school of something in there as well. Will convicts eat anything that is "bite size"?


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## JG06 (Nov 5, 2006)

Convicts are medium sized Central American cichlids. They are quite ferocious for their size, breed like flies, and can be fairly destructive. I kept a breeding pair in a ten gallon until the female killed the male. While I had them together in their species tank, they bred easily, made _way_ too many little convicts, and succeeded in uprooting/digging under all the rockwork I had in the tank.

Further, I tried to keep a loan convict with a tank full of Latin American cichlids and he clubbered the hell out of out the green terror and oscar I had in with him. In fact, the only way I could get all the inhabitants of that aquarium to live peacefully together was to ditch the convict.

In sum, I would recommend staying away from convicts in a planted tank. It has been my experience that they won't enjoy your ideas on aquascaping and won't play well with others - especially if they have the inevitable young 'uns around.


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## K20A2 (Aug 12, 2006)

JG06 said:


> In sum, I would recommend staying away from convicts in a planted tank. It has been my experience that they won't enjoy your ideas on aquascaping and won't play well with others - especially if they have the inevitable young 'uns around.


I'll heed your advice about the convicts. I'm going to do some homework on the eartheaters but I may just revert back to my original plan and stock with apistos and angels. I wanted to do something different but there is just something about angels and the SA dwarfs that draws me to them.


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## gacp (Sep 11, 2006)

Eartheathers all like to, well, not eat earth, but certainly to sift the substrate. So, fine sand and plenty of it is a must. Besides that, they do not dig too much... for cichlids  Smaller _Gymnogeophagus_ species are the best, IMHO.

I've dubbed convicts Kakalakebuntbarsche, the cockroach cichlid. They are amont my favs... but not for your tank.

I also would like to introduce you to one of the nicest cichlids, _Laetacara dorsigera_. Some people tell me they like to nibble plants sometimes, can't really tell yet. Otherwise, they are true jewels.

Of course, rams. Both kinds.

Herotilapia multispinosa is a supperb smallish cichlid---also a true herbivore :-(

Of course, a large breeding colony of apisto is worth seeing...


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## yoink (Aug 31, 2005)

I've got some Geophagus steindachneri in my 75 w/ a few angels and rams. They are pretty peaceful and very interesting to watch. They do sift the substrate, but don't bother plants. They are still pretty small right now, so some of that might change.


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## K20A2 (Aug 12, 2006)

gacp said:


> Of course, a large breeding colony of apisto is worth seeing...


This is something that I really want to see actually. I know with a 75 I could build a decent environment for a trio of caucatuoides to live comfortably in. I might actually be able to do the LFS a service and provide some quality fish for other people to enjoy if mine breed.

Your right about the _Laetacara dorsigera_, it is a very nice looking fish. The only thing that will probably turn me away from the eartheaters is the need to use sand. I really don't like using sand and would prefer to just stick with eco complete. Its more of a visual and maintenance thing for not wanting to use it.


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## K20A2 (Aug 12, 2006)

yoink said:


> I've got some Geophagus steindachneri in my 75 w/ a few angels and rams. They are pretty peaceful and very interesting to watch. They do sift the substrate, but don't bother plants. They are still pretty small right now, so some of that might change.


Very cool looking fish, and they get to the size that I wanted as well. Are you using sand?


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## gacp (Sep 11, 2006)

_'G.' steidachneri are pretty peaceful... They are still pretty small right now, so some of that might change._

It will :-/ They get to 10-15 cm, and become rather scrappy. Harem polygynists, at that. I'd stick to the rainbow eartheaters, _Gymnogeophagus_ spp. rhabdotus group.


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## yoink (Aug 31, 2005)

I use soilmaster select in that tank. It is small enough for them to pull up a good mouthful and churn it around. 

I will get another tank for them if they get too boisterous with the angels or rams. They guy I got them from had one in with discus and small tetras without any problems, but he also had one that would bully the hell out of some heckle discus he had them in with.


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## Mud Pie Mama (Jul 30, 2006)

Dicrossus filamentosa (checkerboard cichlids):

http://www.cichlid-forum.com:80/articles/d_filamentosus.php

...http://www.aquariumfish.com/aquariumfish/detail.aspx?aid=1101&cid=3780&search=

I've got six in a 75g., unfortunately all male. However they are very interesting to watch and seem to have differing personalities. A few will always come to keep an eye on me when I'm viewing the tank. And, if I'm actually feeding they'll come together as a group and even try to catch pellets mid water; much more than my apistos or rams who only seem to feed at the bottom. One of the above links mentions a dimly lit tank, however mine are in a high light tank. With the dense planting that comes with high light and CO2 injection they seem to be doing quite well. I do have driftwood with nooks and crannies and they do swim in and out and have their favorite spots.


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