Different size Cichla together, who’s done it?

[TheWolfman]

So I’m looking for some insite from my fellow Cichla keepers who have kept different size bass together. I have a situation where my grow out tank sprun a slow drip and I need to move my f1 Xingu to another tank to brake it down. They will go in my 135 gall sump for the time being but, I’m thinking of moving my largest fry up from the sump to the main display to free up some space down there. He is about 10” to 12” and the fish in the display are about 15” to 17”. I know it can be hit or miss but I would ultimately like to have this fish In the big tank with his parents. He’s not that much smaller then my kel current is so I’m hoping it can work. I can monitor them and remove him if needed just looking for some members past experiences. Thanks

 

[Potato Patatto]

I have heard smaller peacocks under 6-7 inches don’t do well together if the size difference is off by a few inches I’m not too sure about the larger ones.

 

[Alexandboi]

I'm assuming it really depends on the individual fish, but I've mixed cichla of varying sizes fine... Had three 8" or so axul with some 18-20" tems and 15" or so brokopondo. The azul did get chased from time to time. But it never looked to me like the larger fish ever really tried to eat the smaller ones. I even had one tem accidentally put the first third of an azul in its mouth and spit it back out when it tried to eat some masaivore but the azul swam right into the tems mouth trying to eat the pellet first.

 

[dr exum]

i added my 8”/9” fogo to the larger group of 10”-12” - pretty close in size though - i added a pretty rowdy l14 at the same they were more interested in than the smaller fogo -

i suppose if they don’t fit in their mouth?

i suppose you could watch them after you add them and stand by to intervene - could add some decos or hides for them?

i’ve seen these size differences on the internet in much smaller tanks than yours....

how low is the leak? can you drop the water level below and externally patch with something?

that’s tough,

GL!

 

[TheWolfman]

i added my 8”/9” fogo to the larger group of 10”-12” - pretty close in size though - i added a pretty rowdy l14 at the same they were more interested in than the smaller fogo -

i suppose if they don’t fit in their mouth?

i suppose you could watch them after you add them and stand by to intervene - could add some decos or hides for them?

i’ve seen these size differences on the internet in much smaller tanks than yours....

how low is the leak? can you drop the water level below and externally patch with something?

that’s tough,

GL!

Yeah I’ve seen it too, but wanted to hear form some people that have tried it. The plan was to monitor them after adding if I did for sure. The leak is a very slow drip that a towel is able to keep up with currently but i don’t need it getting worse. It’s a old wood grain trim 75 so it’s time for a reseal. It’s just not really he best time in my life to do so. I have a 220 that also needs a reseal that I would love to setup again but just not the time to do so. That’s why I was thinking ok trying to move the fish up.

 

[dr exum]

that’s rough...

fire up the 220 ?

have you looked at offer up or CL for cheap / free tanks?

 

[Blakewater]

So heres what my thoughts have always been, and what my experiences have been:

Peacock bass under 6" are going through their juvi growth phase and during that period they just want food. They dont care what it is because they're always so hungry. During this time it seems they have no qualms about eating fellow bass.. sometimes even of the same size.

However, Cichla over 6" seem to care more about the company of other bass than an easy meal. At that point it seems like their hunger is a bit more under control and, if food is given at least once a day, they seem to prefer the company of a bigger school over another meal. It also might just be that as they get a bit bigger they just get lazy and knowing another meal is coming soon, dont want to deal with trying to chase down and swallow an odd shaped, spikey, fast moving fish if it isn't necessary. Regardless, personal experiences have showed me that I could keep bass at 5-7" with others over 16"+ without fear of having them eaten and I have done it multiple times with multiples species in the past.

That being said, sometimes the smaller bass will catch some aggression especially during feeding time and get bullied a bit so hiding spots like plants and wood are advised. In the end they have always ended up falling into the hierarchy for me though with the only change being specific target feeding at times.

 

[TheWolfman]

I want to thank everybody who commented on this thread. I was on the fence about adding the smaller fish, but was forced to add the largest of my from my sump to the main tank. My grow out tank went from a slow drip to a fast drip in front of my eyes after work today. I had no choice but to drain the tank immediately, and move the fish to my sump. They couldn’t care less about him. It’s great to see Dyson next to Hoover. He was actually larger then I thought. I’m considering moving my Xingu up next.

 

[Potato Patatto]

So which ones the small one? Lol

 

[TheWolfman]

A some more pictures to show size difference.