I have a 75 gallon tank that I eventually would like to turn into a Central or South American cichlid tank. The only cichlid species I have kept is angelfish so am pretty new to this aspect of fishkeeping. I would like to have a small community so none of the big tank buster cichlids (eight inches or under is my preferred range). As far as aggression I'd prefer not to keep something that needs to be kept completely by itself or only in pairs (like red devils or jaguars). I also don't have space for lots of tanks nor do I have friends in the hobby where I can give away fry or rehome fish. Please give me your tried and true combinations.
75 gallon stocking ideas
- Thread starter SCM_2123
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What types of tetras? Those species will hybridize even if they are of separate genera?
Do the geos generally breed? I don't have a place to take fry if fish breed.
At some point it would be likely. Cichlids will breed if you keep both sexes. Its just what they do. Saying you don't want a single fish on it's own, AND not wanting a group of them to breed is gonna be quite difficult to accomplish.
Would you consider and all male display of african Lake Malawi cichlids? You could do a nice mix of male peacock &/or smaller hap species, 8-12 fish in a 75gal
I like African cichlids but getting guaranteed males online is expensive. $35 a fish (or more) is a steep price. At what size can you generally tell the sex of peacocks? What about Central and South Americans mixed together?At some point it would be likely. Cichlids will breed if you keep both sexes. Its just what they do. Saying you don't want a single fish on it's own, AND not wanting a group of them to breed is gonna be quite difficult to accomplish.
Would you consider and all male display of african Lake Malawi cichlids? You could do a nice mix of male peacock &/or smaller hap species, 8-12 fish in a 75gal
Do you have a reputable LFS nearby? You could try FB marketplace & CL as well. $35 is pretty cheap for a guaranteed male actually, but we all have budgetary restrictions. If you keep an eye out something will come up. I once ascertained a group of 17 all male malawi's for $200. It was a 2 hour drive, but well worth the trip. All the best on your quest!
I know they can cost more but getting a tank full at those prices is damn expensive. Plus if you have something like a bacterial bloom and they all die that's a lot of money. Unfortunately no local fish store in my town. Just chains. The Africans are either sold as assorted Africans or peacocks. The peacocks are MAYBE 3 inches long.
I had this setup running in a 55gal for a year and a half untill sadly a seam popped and it dropped all its water on the floor.
Get a pair from the Amatitlania family such as Honduran red points, nanolutae, etc. Get six or so to start. Let nature run its course until you get a pair. Give away the extras (you can even give them to big box pet stores like Petsmart will take them)
The key to this setup is having fish that will consume the fry. That way you get to have the joy of watching them bare and begin to raise the fry.
You will want at least one bushynose pleco, a small group of small catfish such as pictus or pothole. Next you want a group of Roseline sharks. Yes a bit spendy at 15 to 20 a fish but worth it. Highly active and feeding machines. One ot two will get the parents attention while the rest of the pack gobble up fry. Lastly get a nice sized group of tetras. Taller bodied one such as bleeding hearts, Buenos Aries, Columbian, etc.
This combo of fish should make it to where no fry ever make it to adulthood. You will have a nice active tank and be able to witness cichlids be cichlids from courtship thru breeding.
Get a pair from the Amatitlania family such as Honduran red points, nanolutae, etc. Get six or so to start. Let nature run its course until you get a pair. Give away the extras (you can even give them to big box pet stores like Petsmart will take them)
The key to this setup is having fish that will consume the fry. That way you get to have the joy of watching them bare and begin to raise the fry.
You will want at least one bushynose pleco, a small group of small catfish such as pictus or pothole. Next you want a group of Roseline sharks. Yes a bit spendy at 15 to 20 a fish but worth it. Highly active and feeding machines. One ot two will get the parents attention while the rest of the pack gobble up fry. Lastly get a nice sized group of tetras. Taller bodied one such as bleeding hearts, Buenos Aries, Columbian, etc.
This combo of fish should make it to where no fry ever make it to adulthood. You will have a nice active tank and be able to witness cichlids be cichlids from courtship thru breeding.
The most common problem with mixing South and Central American cichlids together, is that the water parameters are so different.
The average pH of the Amazon river is 6.7, and water is soft, and in some river a pH of below 5 is not uncommon (Rio Negro, and Rio Oriniico are examples
The average pH in Central American waters is 8 and water is hard. in some area, up tp pH 9.
The difference is over 100 fold
And those differences manifest themselves in a fises resistance to disease, and immunity to bacteria.
A fish that has evolved over millenia in soft low pH water will resist diseases common to that water.
Put that same fish into hard high pH water, and while it may not, or won't immediately go belly up....
over time, it can become infected with debilitating diseases such as HITH or bloat and become scarred up, and live an unhealthy life.
And/or vica versa.
With certain short lived fish like many aquarium tetras, or live bearers it won't be problematic because many don't live past 3 years of age anyway.
But many cichlid will easily make it 8 to 10 years, and those debilitating factors don't start to manifest util they are 2 or 3 yoa.
Another factor not taken into consideration by many aquarists, is that in S America many cichlids come from large mixed cichlid communities, and have evolved to share them.
In Central America there are far few cichlid species, so many are loners, where 1 or 2 species may share an entire river,
and if territories overlap, come into conflict.
There are similar disparities between those cichlids from east and west of the Andes.
Cichlids from the Amazon often live in large varied communities, but west of the Andes....
where may be only 2 species of cichlid that share and entire riverine habitat (mush like in Central America) care must be taken to provide territorial them with appropriate space.
The average pH of the Amazon river is 6.7, and water is soft, and in some river a pH of below 5 is not uncommon (Rio Negro, and Rio Oriniico are examples
The average pH in Central American waters is 8 and water is hard. in some area, up tp pH 9.
The difference is over 100 fold
And those differences manifest themselves in a fises resistance to disease, and immunity to bacteria.
A fish that has evolved over millenia in soft low pH water will resist diseases common to that water.
Put that same fish into hard high pH water, and while it may not, or won't immediately go belly up....
over time, it can become infected with debilitating diseases such as HITH or bloat and become scarred up, and live an unhealthy life.
And/or vica versa.
With certain short lived fish like many aquarium tetras, or live bearers it won't be problematic because many don't live past 3 years of age anyway.
But many cichlid will easily make it 8 to 10 years, and those debilitating factors don't start to manifest util they are 2 or 3 yoa.
Another factor not taken into consideration by many aquarists, is that in S America many cichlids come from large mixed cichlid communities, and have evolved to share them.
In Central America there are far few cichlid species, so many are loners, where 1 or 2 species may share an entire river,
and if territories overlap, come into conflict.
There are similar disparities between those cichlids from east and west of the Andes.
Cichlids from the Amazon often live in large varied communities, but west of the Andes....
where may be only 2 species of cichlid that share and entire riverine habitat (mush like in Central America) care must be taken to provide territorial them with appropriate space.
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