compatibility in question

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
N

NCStateFisher

Polypterus
MFK Member
Sep 27, 2010
3,814
123
96
NC
Hey guys, i've recently set up a 75 gallon tank (cycling with seachem stability) and i have a GT, JD, HiFin pleco, and a school of giant danios, and was wondering if I could potentially add a rainbow shark to the mix.

The first tropical fish I ever had came in july, (had always kept natives, i knew nothing about them, I've come a long way since then don't hate on me too bad for this lol) I had bought an opaline gourami (still have him and moved to my 45) a blue gourami and a rainbow shark for a 10 gallon. After about 2 and a half months, the opaline killed the blue gourami one night and the rainbow shark had eaten the dead fish to the bone when i woke up. He died the next day, I believe he literally ate himself to death (water params were fine, he was acting healthy before that)

It was my girlfriend's favorite fish, and I was wondering if it would be possible to house one of these guys in my bigger tank without my cichlids killing him. Both cichlids are currently 2.5-3" long and the rainbow sharks typically available at my petsmart are about 1.5-2".

So what do u guys think? WW3 or relative peace as long as there are plenty of places to hide?
 
Potential problems will arise once both your cichlids reach adult size.
 
Personally I would just leave it as it is. You have pretty aggressive cichlids. You may have some trouble like lupin said.
 
yeah, im kinda playing that one by ear at the moment.. i wanted just the GT and then had a couple people tell me that it would be okay, so im kinda just watching their behavior and trying to think up a plan of action for if/when they do become too destructive with each other
 
Hey Lupin, if i were to replace the JD with a firemouth do you think there would still be problems? I let a couple people tell me that the GT and JD would be okay but i would rather correct the problem early if there are going to be problems and i know a lot of people refer to you as one of the more knowledgeable members of the site
 
My male JD bullies my Firemouths a little bit, but they swim freely in the tank. Firemouths are the most docile cichlid I've kept so far. I think you'd be better switching out the GT for Firemouth than the JD if you're looking to lower the agression level a bit.
 
really? cuz so far the GT has shown little to no aggression it's been the JD that has been the aggressor (nothing major just a bit of chasing)
 
Haven't kept GT yet, so I can't speak from experience. I've heard they didn't get the 'terror' name for nothing though. ;) I just know my JD's and Firemouths get along pretty well. The tank is fairly laid back most of the time.

JD's haven't managed to hatch fry yet though, that might change things when it happens. They'll be going on their 3rd attempt in the next week or so probably.
 
well good luck with the breeding i hope it works out :P i went ahead and took the JD back just to avoid potential headaches, he's definitely the healthiest looking fish in their tank so hopefully he'll go to a good home
 
My Dempseys are more aggressive then my Green Terrors..still a Dempsey and a GT in a 75 can work, but I wouldn't advise it and would watch the tank very closely for aggression problems. Wouldn't add anything else, because the bioload is already pretty high, especially thanks to the pleco which I assume is a Gibbiceps.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom