Ca/sa cichlid community tank

Jacolby

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Aug 11, 2013
182
0
0
Louisiana
I have a 250 gallon tank, and was wondering what cichlids can I keep in there long term and don't have to worry about them killing each other later on.
 

Murrayt

Gambusia
MFK Member
Apr 3, 2014
180
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18
California
Depends on what sort of Cichlids you want. You first must decide between 4 Categories: Peaceful, Moderate, Aggressive, Very Aggressive.

Once you have decided on this, we can help assist your further. You have A LOT of options in a 250 regardless of which path you choose, but to go by what you said "don't have to worry about them killing each other later on." I would look at and research some of the following: Uaru's, Discus, Firemouths, Acaras, Angelfish, Oscars... etc.
 

brich999

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Jul 3, 2010
4,312
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Pretty sure you need to narrow it down more for any decent recommendations. I bet there are over 10000000000000000000 combinations of sa/ca cichlids you could keep in a 250g without them killing eachother. Im not saying everything is compatible but a thread this vague accomplishes nothing that the search function couldnt
 

Jacolby

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Aug 11, 2013
182
0
0
Louisiana
Depends on what sort of Cichlids you want. You first must decide between 4 Categories: Peaceful, Moderate, Aggressive, Very Aggressive.

Once you have decided on this, we can help assist your further. You have A LOT of options in a 250 regardless of which path you choose, but to go by what you said "don't have to worry about them killing each other later on." I would look at and research some of the following: Uaru's, Discus, Firemouths, Acaras, Angelfish, Oscars... etc.
I'm thinking very aggressive! !!
 

JasonsPlecosCichlids

Goliath Tigerfish
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Jan 23, 2010
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jasonsplecoscichlids.com
If I were you, I would pick and choose what you want to work out. Any combo can work if you give it time. 250 isn't too bad of a size for a lot of cichlids. You can get away with a lot, I mean you won't be able to toss in an Umbee or Dovii with one of them taking out all your fish, unless your tank is HUGE, but if you stick to fish between 5-15", you won't have much of a problem. You may have to trade in a few fish, such as if you got an Oscar that didn't like any other fish, simply trade it in for another Oscar hoping it will work and it usually does. Besides the Umbee and Dovii, I haven't had a combo that didn't work yet. If my tanks were big enough, over 1000 gallons then I'd try an Umbee in with my other fish but I would still be worried. I think there is a member on here with a big Umbee in a community tank, someone told me about but haven't seen it yet.

You also need to watch out for cichlids with huge mouths such as Jags. I have a Jag that tried to eat a 5-6" Salvini, he didn't eat it but got stuck in his mouth and I had to do surgery, the Sal didn't make it but the Jag is still in my tank. So with that said, I moved my fish around that he was able to swallow or at least get inside his mouth. There are other fish such as Oscar's, etc. that get big but have a small mouth. So you could mix smaller fish in with them.

Anyways, do a little research in what you want, how big they get in aquariums, etc. You will make it work eventually.
 

Jacolby

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Aug 11, 2013
182
0
0
Louisiana
If I were you, I would pick and choose what you want to work out. Any combo can work if you give it time. 250 isn't too bad of a size for a lot of cichlids. You can get away with a lot, I mean you won't be able to toss in an Umbee or Dovii with one of them taking out all your fish, unless your tank is HUGE, but if you stick to fish between 5-15", you won't have much of a problem. You may have to trade in a few fish, such as if you got an Oscar that didn't like any other fish, simply trade it in for another Oscar hoping it will work and it usually does. Besides the Umbee and Dovii, I haven't had a combo that didn't work yet. If my tanks were big enough, over 1000 gallons then I'd try an Umbee in with my other fish but I would still be worried. I think there is a member on here with a big Umbee in a community tank, someone told me about but haven't seen it yet.

You also need to watch out for cichlids with huge mouths such as Jags. I have a Jag that tried to eat a 5-6" Salvini, he didn't eat it but got stuck in his mouth and I had to do surgery, the Sal didn't make it but the Jag is still in my tank. So with that said, I moved my fish around that he was able to swallow or at least get inside his mouth. There are other fish such as Oscar's, etc. that get big but have a small mouth. So you could mix smaller fish in with them.

Anyways, do a little research in what you want, how big they get in aquariums, etc. You will make it work eventually.
Thanks I appreciate all the info
 

pops

Alligator Gar
MFK Member
Nov 24, 2013
6,247
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2 dovii. not get bigger or meaner than that, just a mated pair of dovii. nothing else. other than that few options as stated.
 

pops

Alligator Gar
MFK Member
Nov 24, 2013
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my dream tank a dovii tank. 300g dovii tank.
 

ragin_cajun

Silver Tier VIP
MFK Member
Sep 8, 2013
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South Louisiana
Paratheraps -- Get em at 4-6 inches, or smaller if you don't mind waiting, get 4 of each species, overstock it just a little bit while the fish are young, and try to select for fish that aren't overly psychotic. Breidohri, Bifa, Syn's, Argentea, Zonatus, Fenestratus, etc.

Or, you could go with Jags, Trimacs, Hoga/Barred Midas/Amarillo type. I think a tank with those fish would qualify as "very aggressive". In fact, if you went this route, and had some fish that didn't quite work out in your tank, I'd take a look at 'em and take em off your hands if they look good. I live right by you, and I'm gonna have plenty of tank space pretty soon.

In fact, I have a surplus of Argentea now, about 3-4 inches long, I'll be looking to get rid of 2 or 3 of them in a month or so. I've had them for 7 months now, they grow real slow.
 

Jacolby

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Aug 11, 2013
182
0
0
Louisiana
Paratheraps -- Get em at 4-6 inches, or smaller if you don't mind waiting, get 4 of each species, overstock it just a little bit while the fish are young, and try to select for fish that aren't overly psychotic. Breidohri, Bifa, Syn's, Argentea, Zonatus, Fenestratus, etc.

Or, you could go with Jags, Trimacs, Hoga/Barred Midas/Amarillo type. I think a tank with those fish would qualify as "very aggressive". In fact, if you went this route, and had some fish that didn't quite work out in your tank, I'd take a look at 'em and take em off your hands if they look good. I live right by you, and I'm gonna have plenty of tank space pretty soon.

In fact, I have a surplus of Argentea now, about 3-4 inches long, I'll be looking to get rid of 2 or 3 of them in a month or so. I've had them for 7 months now, they grow real slow.
Yea i like high aggressive cichlids I just recently got rid of my dovii at tropical fish bowl. I have Africans in the 250 now but most of them died since I been offshore so I was just thinking about going back to ca/sa
 
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