Disrupted stock

[MetalRavioli]

Hello friends!

So, as I’ve said in my 90-gallon tank thread, I’m currently in the process of cycling a 90 gallon tank. (It’s almost complete I believe) I planned on stocking this tank with a Senegal bichir, a Leopard ctenopoma, a bristlenose Plecostomus, and 5 keyhole cichlids. I ordered the ctenopoma and keyhole cichlids through my LFS, and all was well. However, instead of 5 keyholes, the store received 8. They’re currently on hold until my tank is cycled, but I don’t want to leave the extra 3 behind, because I know keyholes like to be in groups.

Would adding 3 more keyhole cichlids be okay for the stock? I don’t want to overstock the tank, and also don’t want to stock the tank to the brim. I’m trying to keep the stock on the lower side, but would be okay with the extra guys if they’d be okay in the tank.

(P.S. How big do keyholes get again? I’ve heard they get to 4 inches from some sources, but from others I’ve heard they get from 2-3.)

 

[MetalRavioli]

Note: Bichir is coming from the store as well, the bristlenose is in one of my tanks at the moment.

 

[Rocksor]

Keyhole sizes depend on how long you keep them, water quality, and if you measure the total length of fish out of water instead of estimating while in the tank.

Get the 8, and keep the 1/2/3 pairs that you want, and return the rest to the LFS for store credit. Let the cichlids form their own pair, and the more you have, the more compatible pair you will end up with.

 

[MetalRavioli]

Keyhole sizes depend on how long you keep them, water quality, and if you measure the total length of fish out of water instead of estimating while in the tank.

Get the 8, and keep the 1/2/3 pairs that you want, and return the rest to the LFS for store credit. Let the cichlids form their own pair, and the more you have, the more compatible pair you will end up with.

Oh! I was not aware that they paired, i thought they just liked bigger groups. If I returned the 1-2 pair, would they be okay by themselves? I’m honestly considering keeping all of them because they’re all very cute, just a little worried about the stock.

 

[Rocksor]

The breeding pair would be okay with themselves. (no other pairs or keyholes)

 

[MetalRavioli]

The breeding pair would be okay with themselves. (no other pairs or keyholes)

This is very hard to decide on, because a big group of keyholes might be cool, as long as they’re friendly with each other, which I know they usually are. But on the other hand, I don’t want to risk overstocking

 

[SalviniCichlidFan]

In my experience, keyholes are very bad at handling stress. Just be cautious since you have some semi-aggressive fish in your tank. Another thing is that even though keyholes look colorful (yellowish color) in images on Google, the majority of the time Keyholes only have that whitish body color.

 

[MetalRavioli]

In my experience, keyholes are very bad at handling stress. Just be cautious since you have some semi-aggressive fish in your tank. Another thing is that even though keyholes look colorful (yellowish color) in images on Google, the majority of the time Keyholes only have that whitish body color.

Oh I know they’re different, I’ve seen Keyholes a handful of times in person. The keyholes are about small at the moment, as is the bichir. So they’ll be getting bigger together, so I’m hoping being raised with them will lessen the aggression towards them.

He doesn’t seem to be too aggressive towards the smaller fish that he’s in a tank with now, so I’m hoping he’ll take to the cichlids!

 

[The Masked Shadow]

Keyholes are a bland-looking fish compared to most cichlids. I would suggest the LC to be bigger than the others because they do grow very slowly. Furthermore, the Senegal should be smaller than the keyhole cichlids. It’s a good rule to have fish 2x as tall or as wide as a bichirs mouth.

 

[SalviniCichlidFan]

Keyholes are a bland-looking fish compared to most cichlids. I would suggest the LC to be bigger than the others because they do grow very slowly. Furthermore, the Senegal should be smaller than the keyhole cichlids. It’s a good rule to have fish 2x as tall or as wide as a bichirs mouth.

The Masked Shadow does make a great point. Senegal bichirs grow to around 1 feet long which is big enough to eat keyhole cichlids. I find keyhole cichlids to stay in the 2.5 inch mark which is in the range of food for Senegal bichirs.