Costa Rica themed tank.

[duanes]

As a lone specimen, in a community cichlid tank, I've always heard they get hyper dominant, and highly aggressive. As a shoal mine were non-aggressive. I kept the group of about a dozen in a heavily planted tank, with lots of current ( I believe strong flow helps to curb aggression in many cichlid species).
I also think its better to get a large group, as young and allow them to grow up together to form a hierarchy.

 

[Gourami Swami]

Hi Dan,
sounds like a really great setup. I agree about the convict, I tried one with other crypto/ama species in the first versoin of my panamensis tank, and he was a jerk who had to be removed. I would substitute for another fish especially since you want to do multispinosa, which can't really hang with the mean guys in my experience.
Will be watching to see how this turns out!

 

[Thyroyalgeek]

You could do a wolf cichlid! They always go nice with everything. So gentle, and meek, Haha. In all seriousness though, what about some cubers snappers? Don't know much about 'em, but they might be able to coexist with cichlids. Don't know where you'd get you're hands on one some though.

 

[duanes]

We get cubar snapper here in Panama all the time, but think of them more as lunch or dinner.

they work well barbecued in banana leaves

 

[NW Cichlid Keith]

So my male biffa decided he wouldn't live with anything including swordtails so I sold him to someone local to me.
I am now thinking about future stock of my 800 L tank, thoughts so far are
6 Herotilapia multispinosa
5 Hypsophrys nicaraguensis aiming for 1 male 4 females.
1 male Amatitlania nigrofasciata
I have 12 swordtails left and will look at adding a few more.
Can any body see anything wrong with the planned stock.

I'm going to miss your big pink guy :-( But can definitely appreciate wanting the community - good luck. The nigrofasciata will likely try to breed w/ one of the nic females. I've given up on keeping them in my tank - just almost always causing conflict.

 

[Thyroyalgeek]

We get cubar snapper here in Panama all the time, but think of them more as lunch or dinner.
View attachment 1295400
they work well barbecued in banana leaves
View attachment 1295401

knew they were large, but not THAT big.......

 

[duanes]

The one I'm holding in the pic is only slightly larger than medium size, but it'll easily feed 4 people.

 

[Thyroyalgeek]

Woo boy.

 

[justarn]

Wow duanes you look like a bond villan

 

[justarn]

Can't believe you sold piglet Dan..... That fish was beyond epic.