Need advice from any Cichlidophiles out there.

by **zambize** » Mon Mar 23, 2009 6:17 am

I am looking for a small schooling fish to add some pop to my 55 gallon. I am new to cichlids, but I know that they'll make lunch out of most small fish. Any advice? I have the following in the tank:

1 Jewel Cichlid
1 Yellow Lab Cichlid
1 Acei Cichlid (how do you pronounce that?)
3 Pearl Gourami
3 Emerald Green Corydoras
1 Orange Spotted Plecostomus
8 White Cloud Minnows (moving them, I assume they'll be lunch when my cichlids grow up)

My water quality is good, but my water is very hard and the pH is around 8.0.

I'd like to have a school of about 13-15 flashy schooling fish that are active and remain in a school most of the time. Fewer if the fish are larger, I suppose. Is this possible with cichlids or is it just a bad idea?

Zambize

by **a70m1c** » Mon Mar 23, 2009 6:57 am

tough one hey!
I cant think of plenty of cichlids that would be suitable....untill they spawn!

for your tank..do not but another jewel fish. you dont want these guy spawning.....bye bye minows, corys and gouramis!

get some more electric yellows

by **zambize** » Mon Mar 23, 2009 7:02 am

Thanks, but I'm not really looking for any more cichlids, or any more larger fish in general, just some smaller schooling fish that won't be lunch when my cichlids grow up. Ideas?

Z

by **Burgerking7679** » Tue Mar 24, 2009 12:24 am

Giant Danios are all I can really think of, you don't have a very aggressive stock list so you should be good.. Australian Rainbows are another option but I've never been that successful with them, I blame my hard water(ph 8.2ish).

by **zambize** » Tue Mar 24, 2009 2:46 am

Hmmmm, I have very hard water, too. About the same as yours. It sure is a pain, huh?

by **dizzcat** » Tue Mar 24, 2009 4:16 am

If you do the Yellow Lab and Acei, you will have dead cories and dead Gourami, VERY soon. They are too aggressive for this setup even at a small size of an inch. These are African Mbuna and cannot be kept with easy going fish like those 2. Not sure about the jewel. Their profiles may say mildly aggressive, but that is compared to other Africans, NOT regular community fish.

If you stick with Africans you can do groups. 1 male to 4-6 females. The Acei (Aw-see-eye) actually do school. I have heard people put Tiger Barbs in with theirs. I am thinking of doing that myself, always wanted some, but they are too aggressive for a community tank. You can get another group too. With Mbuna you have to crowd them to keep the aggression down.

Out of my tanks, that is the one I watch the most, the one people love the most due to them being constantly active and their awesome colors.

Need advice from any Cichlidophiles out there.

6 posts