Cichlids under 7 inches

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HybridHerp

HybridHerp

Fire Eel
MFK Member
May 18, 2012
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New York
In my quest to make planted tanks with cichlids I think it'd be a good idea to be thinking about different species of cichlid in the hobby that might make good candidates.

I've noticed on my own that larger fish sometimes don't work even if they leave plants alone simply because the force of their swimming uproots certain plants. I'll add what fish I've had success with in a planted tank a bit later on.

I'm also making this list though because I'm going to have to be looking for more fish for my 75 since something was in the tap and the town didn't notify me...so I've lost all my cichlids aside from my EBA and one rainbow cichlid. RIP my other fish :cry:
 
There are a lot...

Salvinis, Angels, Acaras, Convicts, Keyholes, numerous different African Species...

What sort of compatibility/temperament are you looking at?
 
Mostly just anything that isn't hyper aggressive. I'm just wanting to make like, a general master list for myself. I'm used to aggression levels of things like rainbow cichlids, electric blue jack dempseys, and the like. Idk where for instance, salvinis fall in the mix. I know I am wanting to look at most if not all of the cryptoheros at some point, specifically HRP because they look pretty sweet. I've done angels before and could do them again, but they'd have to be nice looking and not psycho like the last ones I kept long term (the one bullied an adult oscar...wut). Idk how many different types of acaras are out there either, hence why I want to go by latin name and all if possible. Convicts and keyholes are classics.

Here is the list I have so far of things I've kept that worked with plants.

Aequidens sp. ‘Electric Blue’ (still not sure on what the max size of these guys is)
Rocio octofasciata – “Electric Blue Jack Dempsey” (unsure if normals and other varieties would work, I know EBJD behave slightly differently compared to normal JD's but I haven't wanted to chance it yet)
Herotilapia multispinosa – “Rainbow Cichlid” (they did eat wisteria at first but left everything else alone...and I keep a large plant variety that is less than common)
Acarichthys heckelii – “Threadfin Acara”
Blood Parrot (I suspect krillin parrots would fare well with plants as well)
Geophagus brasiliensis (although I would want to check again since I could see it not working as well)
Pterophyllum scalare
 
Sorry for the loss!
If you looking for very bright colors and a peaceful environment then have a look at some of the apistogramma!
My personal favorite is the apistogramma cacatuoides :)

If you looking for a more aggressive stock the I would suggest looking at salvini, firemouths, convicts, acares.. There are others but those are my favorites!

Although a planted tank with some apisto's would look beautiful!
 
Sajica, rainbows, apistogramma, convict(but sometimes uproot the plants), ellioti, keyholes, panamensis, blood parrots, etc
 
Honestly, there are numerous users on this forum who would happily provide you with the specifics of most if not all cichlids, but I think first it is important to understand the overall vision/goal of your aquarium in order to avoid flooding this thread. For instance, Salvini's tend to be aggressive, but they have worked in certain community tanks (along with a lot of other "aggressive" Cichlids). So it really depends on whether you are aiming for safe additions, (Discus, Angels, Acaras, etc) or if you are willing to try adding more aggressive species (Salvinis, Convicts, Green Terrors, etc). Basically, if your looking for safe additions, you are looking at a large array of "non aggressive" and "semi aggressive" cichlids. For me, to list the specifics of ALL Cichlid species under 7" would really not help stock your aquarium, rather complicate it.

For the purpose of getting this thread going though, here are a few "semi aggressive" under 7" options.
Thorichthys meeki - Firemouth
Cleithracara maronii - Keyhole
Aequidens pulcher - Blue Acara
Cichlasoma portalegrense - Port Acara
Papiliochromis ramirezi - Rams (Blue, Electric, Angel, Gold)
Microgeophagus altispinosa - Bolivian Rams
 
HybridHerp said:
Mostly just anything that isn't hyper aggressive. I'm just wanting to make like, a general master list for myself. I'm used to aggression levels of things like rainbow cichlids, electric blue jack dempseys, and the like. Idk where for instance, salvinis fall in the mix. I know I am wanting to look at most if not all of the cryptoheros at some point, specifically HRP because they look pretty sweet. I've done angels before and could do them again, but they'd have to be nice looking and not psycho like the last ones I kept long term (the one bullied an adult oscar...wut). Idk how many different types of acaras are out there either, hence why I want to go by latin name and all if possible. Convicts and keyholes are classics.

Here is the list I have so far of things I've kept that worked with plants.

Aequidens sp. ‘Electric Blue’ (still not sure on what the max size of these guys is)
Rocio octofasciata – “Electric Blue Jack Dempsey” (unsure if normals and other varieties would work, I know EBJD behave slightly differently compared to normal JD's but I haven't wanted to chance it yet)
Herotilapia multispinosa – “Rainbow Cichlid” (they did eat wisteria at first but left everything else alone...and I keep a large plant variety that is less than common)
Acarichthys heckelii – “Threadfin Acara”
Blood Parrot (I suspect krillin parrots would fare well with plants as well)
Geophagus brasiliensis (although I would want to check again since I could see it not working as well)
Pterophyllum scalare
Click to expand...

In my experience geo brasiliensis are very aggressive especially when full grow. They do get large.

Sent from my T-Mobile myTouch Q using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 
I'd be into the rams and all...but at this point in time I'm pretty sure my bichirs are still doing well and they are my babies. I got a del, a retro, a sen, and a rope still (unless I found out otherwise).

I guess I'm thinking semi-aggressive mainly, I'd love to find nice fire mouths or their relatives at some point. The tank is still planted and it doesn't look like this affected the plants.

I'm probably going to want another dempsey, either electric blue or the electric pink/whatever its called.

But regardless I'm trying to make a list of what would work in general with plants. One day I'd love to do some crazy stuff...I've seen planted oscar tanks, I could see a salvini working with plants, and there used to be that one Midas on here a few years ago kept in a heavily planted tank for years.

I'm not just wanting to stock my own tank, I'm wanting to re-define the planted tank rules. Everyone thought having the stock I had wasn't going to work, but it did (until stupid things out of my control anyways....I'm going to be sour for at least a few days) and I don't see any reason to stray from it for myself.
 
Crenicichla. Pikes do awesome with plants. From the tiny dwarf species to the big Lugubris brutes. I've done heavily planted tanks with 12+ inch pikes with awesome results. Try a nice saxitilis species. You will be pleasantly surprised.
 
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