Aggressive cichlids as tank mates?

[duanes]

Because I live in Panama, and collect here, I also snorkel with the fish I collect, to try to get a good idea of the actual composition of species in their natural habitat.
One of the things I find interesting is the ratio of non-cichlids to cichlids.
where ever I have snorkeled, for every 1 or 2 cichlids, there are perhaps 50 to 100 tetras, some Plecos, and a few gobies, so in lieu of typical cichlid dominated tanks, I am looking at what is a true biotope, and so only a few cichlids in a large space, surrounded by lots of dithers seems to be the answer.
Below is a river (the Utive) where I have caught Andinoacara.
Note the number of cichlids to tetras in the habitat. If you blink, you could miss the 1 Andinoacra in the last minute.
Cichlid (Chogorro), in the Rio Utive, Panama

 

[Lucifer0411]

Because I live in Panama, and collect here, I also snorkel with the fish I collect, to try to get a good idea of the actual composition of species in their natural habitat.
One of the things I find interesting is the ratio of non-cichlids to cichlids.
where ever I have snorkeled, for every 1 or 2 cichlids, there are perhaps 50 to 100 tetras, some Plecos, and a few gobies, so in lieu of typical cichlid dominated tanks, I am looking at whart is a true biotope, and so only a few cichlids in a large space, surrounded by lots of dithers seems to be the answer.
Below is a river (the Utive) where I have caught Andinoacara.
Note the number of cichlids to tetras in the habitat. If you blink, you could miss the 1 Andinoacra in the last minute.
Cichlid (Chogorro), in the Rio Utive, Panama

Actually that would be a great tank but the problem seems to be finding the school of tetras that don't soon become a snack in the confined space we call a tank. As in the type of tetras that may work. Oh the link on the video didn't appear to work - well not for me anyways. It just went to something called Youtube creator studio but a blank page.

 

[DocBrock]

That makes a lot of sense. So my next question....if I were to set up a smaller tank, say 36" to 48" tank...could I place babies of several species of aggressive cichlids in the same tank and as they grow rehome them or move them to tanks? or do they try to kill eachother off the rip? That sounds like a good idea in theory, but I'm not sure.

Also, side note....I make a pretty good living as a health care provider, but whew hahah! How does one go about setting up a 10' tank? I could find the space, but with the prices of large tanks I see on google, there's no way I could afford one as a hobbyist. Am I missing something?

 

[Lucifer0411]

That makes a lot of sense. So my next question....if I were to set up a smaller tank, say 36" to 48" tank...could I place babies of several species of aggressive cichlids in the same tank and as they grow rehome them or move them to tanks? or do they try to kill eachother off the rip? That sounds like a good idea in theory, but I'm not sure.

Also, side note....I make a pretty good living as a health care provider, but whew hahah! How does one go about setting up a 10' tank? I could find the space, but with the prices of large tanks I see on google, there's no way I could afford one as a hobbyist. Am I missing something?

For a while you could. I've done exactly that for over a year but in a 10 ft tank so there was lots more room for them to move about. and get out of each others way. Not so much for a 4ft tank. Unless you get the odd one that is aggressive very early most wont get too aggressive in the juvenile stage.

The 10ft tank was my 2nd tank in the hobby lol. 3 months before that I didn't know one end of the tank from the other! I'm in Aus and got it off a local market place for $550AUD - which included an FX5 & FX6. Pretty good deal I thought at the time. The guy had it in his wall in the living room. He bought the house with it in it and wasn't really a fish person so just wanted to get rid of it. Only problem with that tank its 2ft front to back, would rather a deeper tank but you take what you can get right.

 

[duanes]

That makes a lot of sense. So my next question....if I were to set up a smaller tank, say 36" to 48" tank...could I place babies of several species of aggressive cichlids in the same tank and as they grow rehome them or move them to tanks? or do they try to kill eachother off the rip? That sounds like a good idea in theory,

As juvies most cichlids instinctually find safety in numbers.
I have grown out many together when young, in 50 gal tanks, that don't/won't go together. as adults, or even semi-adults


But at a certain point, its like a flash goes off and the blood bath begins.
When growing out cichlid juvies, is the only time, I veer from my own strict biotope anal rules.
I sometimes find as juvies they ignore each other more, when coming from unfamiliar biomes, and accept diverse shoals, like the 1st shot above, where African Lepidiolamprologus grew out with Mexican Nosferatu (Herichthys) bartoni. They do both come from similar hard water parameters though
Or like the 3rd pic, where Indian Etropus, grew out with Malagasy Paratilapia.

 

[EricTheRed]

That is why you see tropical fish stores with tanks full of baby cichlids including Dovii, Festae, Umbies, Jags, and Red Devils “hanging out” with each other. In reality they anre instinctively schooling as protection against adult fish. This gives new hobbyists the wrong idea that they can also cram these cichlids together in their home aquariums. Of course as these cichlids grow and mature in the hobbyists homes, each cichlid wants their own relatively large territory, but there is not sufficient space in the confines of the typical aquarium. Murderous violence and mayhem inevitably arises…The wise (experienced) hobbyist plans in advance with a realistic fish stocking plan.

 

[jjohnwm]

What they ^ said.

An additional problem is when aquarists buy a bunch of tiny cichlids, with plans to "grow them out" and then move them on to other larger tanks in the future when they have grown. Often, those larger tanks exist only in the imagination of these aquarists; they are merely vague pie-in-the-sky plans to be acted upon "eventually", or when their parents give them permission, or when their wives look the other way, or after they move into the new house they plan to build.

The problem is that "eventually" doesn't come years later; those little cichlids are going to be big cichlids, with big attitudes, in a year or so, and then suddenly fins start to get torn, injuries start to appear and corpses start to float. Not only that, but weekly water changes which once served to maintain good water quality no longer suffice; as the biomass of all those growing cichlids increases, so does the need to change more water, more often.

Honestly, it's gotten to the point where the term "grow-out tank" makes me cringe. IMHO, that term should be applied strictly to a tank that is sitting right next to the full-size tank that will be required when they are full-size fish. Otherwise, it's just a "soon to be out-grown tank".

 

[Tommy247]

I have 3 cichlids in my tank and 2 are paired up and producing eggs and the other one hides constantly to avoid being attacked in fact I couldn't find it for a month I thought it was dead possibly eaten and then one day it just appeared from nowhere