Dwarf Cichlid species

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Matt181

Gambusia
MFK Member
Mar 16, 2007
461
2
18
Hertford, UK
Hi all, was wondering if i could pick your brains as after a lot of research i cannot seem to find some answers

im going to set up a meter long amazon biotope planted tank (101cm (long) 30cm (depth) and 46cm high) i think that makes it about a 29 USG? (im from England so am not sure on USG but i know its over 100 litres)

i wanted to put in

a shoal or 2 of different species of tetras (buenos aires, cardinals or rosey tetra)

a small shoal of corydoras (species undecided yet)

a small group of oto's

potentailly a small group of hatchets

and i wanted to put in 2 harems or pairs of dwarf cichlids into the tank however i am not sure on which species would be best as apparantly some become agressive than others, especially when breeding. i wanted to keep all of the smaller tetras and otos in the tank alive hence the smallest and most peaceful dwarf cichlid would be best.

so what one should i choose?

i plan to put loads of caves and roots ect to make obvious territories for the cichlids to reduce agression.

thanks for all the help in advance
Matt
 
Matt181;3743334; said:
Hi all, was wondering if i could pick your brains as after a lot of research i cannot seem to find some answers

im going to set up a meter long amazon biotope planted tank (101cm (long) 30cm (depth) and 46cm high) i think that makes it about a 29 USG? (im from England so am not sure on USG but i know its over 100 litres)

i wanted to put in

a shoal or 2 of different species of tetras (buenos aires, cardinals or rosey tetra)

a small shoal of corydoras (species undecided yet)

a small group of oto's

potentailly a small group of hatchets

and i wanted to put in 2 harems or pairs of dwarf cichlids into the tank however i am not sure on which species would be best as apparantly some become agressive than others, especially when breeding. i wanted to keep all of the smaller tetras and otos in the tank alive hence the smallest and most peaceful dwarf cichlid would be best.

so what one should i choose?

i plan to put loads of caves and roots ect to make obvious territories for the cichlids to reduce agression.

thanks for all the help in advance
Matt
Click to expand...


being so close to each other the dwarf cichlids will be a tad agitated already i think the otos would be fine but smaller tetras may get harrassed or eaten.

You may be better off if you keep only a single pair or go for faster larger tetras mabye bleeding heart and bigger in size.


as for ciclids you could try Bolivian Rams or Convicts.
 
thankyou for the reply,
rams is kind of along the lines of what i was thinking, what about any of the new world ones? would aspitogrammas be ok?

Thanks
Matt
 
i assume one trio would be the maximum i could put in there?
a trio and pair of different species would fight i assume?

thanks for the feedback
Matt
 
The footprint seems to be a touch over 3'x1' ... you might be able to do two differant pairs/harems of dwarves, but it will be iffy. For instance, you could do a pair of blue rams with a 1m/2f harem of Apistogramma hoignei with a school of cardinal tetras. If you are doing two differant dwarf cichlids groups, skip the cories ... you would have to aquascape very carefully as well, providing lots of driftwood and such.

I often will do 2 pairs in a 90cm by 45cm footprint, but wouldn't try that with a 90 or even 100cm by 30cm footprint though. If you pick the right apisto though, you might be able to have 2 males each with their own harem in there, like Apistogramma borelli ... it all depends on which one you like.
 
If you go with apistos, you wouldn't have to worry about them harassing tetras. A nice shoal of cardinals would look great with apistos. Your tank is about 35 gallons btw
 
many thanks for all the information guys, really is much appreciated :)

oh rite, so its the depth that is the problem really? i hate the foot depth, it seems to be rather limiting but hey a free tank is a free tank! juts out of interest why would i have to skip corys if i did 2 pairs of dwarves? i was going to heavily aquascape the tank to help provide different areas for the cichlids. oh its 35, thankyou very much, it'd be so much easier if the world all used the same measurements!

i think aspitos it is then, its kinda what i had my eye on on the first hand. so is it best to decide which ones i like then work out what work as a combination?

Thanks
Matt
 
Dwarf cichlids stick pretty close to the bottom of the tank, so with multiple harem, they would likely harass cories pretty badly. That would be the main problem. There just wouldn't be room for multiple apisto territories and a place for the cories to hang out.
 
andyjs covered the cory question fairly well. And yes, it would be best to pick out which apisto you want or can get a hold of at a LFS and go from there. Given there are over 100 apistos species, they vary alot in temp requirements and agression. Some prefer the high heat that cardinal and rummynose tetras enjoy, while others are perfect for the cooler water phantom tetras.
 
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