Changing my tank to mostly CA/SA Cichlids

[Andri Pogo]

I did a thread a few weeks ago searching for 1-2 cichlids to put in my "monster" community tank:
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=153713

Now me and my girlfriend have decided to focus on the cihlids but keep some of the others with them.
The fish i have in the 200g tank are:
1x Hydrocynus Vittatus ~7"
1x Paroon shark / Pangasius sanitwongsei ~10"
1x Clown Knife / Chitala chitala ~14"
1x Black Ghost Knife / Apteronotus albifrons ~10"
2x Lima Shovelnose / Sorubim Lima ~10"
2x Polypterus Palmas palmas ~10"
2x Polypterus Palmas polli ~10"
2x Polypterus Palmas polli ~10"
2x Polypterus Senegalus ~8"
2x Polypterus Ornatipinnis 8-10"
3x Ropefish / Erpetoichthys calabaricus ~12"
1x Angelfish
3x Plecos

I want to keep the fish in RED and sell all the others.

So i have a few questions for the more experienced.

1. I do want to keep my BlackGhost but i dont think he is strong enough to go with the cichlids ? He is 10" and is defending his spot in the tank.

2. I dont think its a good idea to keep breeding pairs if i want to keep the other fish alive?
Am i right and should we focus on single male per species?
If pairs could work, we do have a beautiful breeding Jaguar pair that would look good in the tank but then again im worried that they would go on a killing spree when spawning.

3. How do all-male ca/sa cichlid tanks work?

4. Is it better to get the cichlids rather small then big and let them grow up in the tank so they get better along when bigger?

5. We wrote down a few species we find beautiful and would consider keeping, How do you think these fish would work with the highlighted fish and with each other?
-Jaguar
-Jack Dempsey
-Red spotted Severum (available at a LFS @ ~4")
-Nanolopsis tetracanthus (available at a LFS @ 2")
-Cichlasoma cyanoguttatus
-Paratilapia Polleni (african but we like it, available at a LFS @ 2")
-Hericthys carpintis

 

[The Amazonian]

Great Looking Tank!

 

[frazzlerock5]

I think that those fish should work. I would advise against mixing Africans with CA/SA because the water parameters are so different, although it's not crucial to do so because many do it. Severums are pretty mild for cichlids so I would recommend getting one that's a good bit larger than all the other cichlids.

All-male should be fine... A pair of jaguars MIGHT work, but there's no guarantee. If they feel like there is any threat to their fry in the tank then they most certainly will kill it.

Cichlids definitely do better with each other when you get them small and let them grow up together. Sounds like a beautiful list of fish though. Good luck and be sure to post some pictures.

 

[tezr]

I think that those fish should work. I would advise against mixing Africans with CA/SA because the water parameters are so different, although it's not crucial to do so because many do it. Severums are pretty mild for cichlids so I would recommend getting one that's a good bit larger than all the other cichlids.

All-male should be fine... A pair of jaguars MIGHT work, but there's no guarantee. If they feel like there is any threat to their fry in the tank then they most certainly will kill it.

Cichlids definitely do better with each other when you get them small and let them grow up together. Sounds like a beautiful list of fish though. Good luck and be sure to post some pictures.

The Paratilapia is a riverine species not rift lake so it will do fine with the same water as all but the black water needing SA cichlids. Ca cichlids live in hard water as well. The severum might be the weak link in your list if you could sub in a Urau it might be better as they can hold their own a little better. Also watch the tetracanthus as it grows as they can become aggressive but this is up to the individual fish.

 

[sbrady5pts]

IMO You usually do not have too much of a problem mixing cichlids with "oddball" type fish Typically the cichlids are aggressive towards other cichlids. I would still not recommend a pair though. And none of the cichlids you are interested in are ridiculously aggresive. As long as you provide plenty of hiding you should be fine, as far as starting them out small i prefer to do that but it will be a problem to grow them out in the same tank as the fish that are already in there. BUt IMO they do tend to get along better if they growout together. GOod luck

 

[Andri Pogo]

thanks for all your input

I have 8 Jack dempsey´s & 2 Tetracanthus growing up together and i wanted to pick some good ones out to put in the 200G when time comes...

But i made a quick decision tonight when i was cleaning my Jaguar tank.
I moved the pair to the 200G
They are between 6-8" and very beautiful IMO... so beautiful that i would give them the whole tank if i didnt have the other fish..
But ill see how they act towards the other, i have moved the angelfish to the empty jag tank and will move some more tomorrow.
Then i will just arrange the tankmates with them in mind...
Since the tank is pretty big for the jags at the moment dont you think i could add some more cichlids, the others would just keep away from the Jags when/if they start spawning again?

Pics of the Jags since im talking about them

this is what they looked like 5months ago:

Too bad american cichlid cant be in big groups like Africans can.. that would be interesting