I have a 125g with a healthy stock. I have a bichir, 2 catfish, 6 rainbow fish, and 7 cichlids (GT, EBJD, electric blue acara, firemouth, severum), altho 2 (2 different types of Chocolate cichlids) are in QT and I may not add both. Everyone is still young but I dont see any aggression in my tank other than the firemouth starting up with the acara occasionally. Severum is oddly #1 Gt is #2 but very peaceful, he actually usually breaks up the FM and acara.
I'm sure some will say I am full or will be with a Chocolate added, but I want a smaller yellow colored cichlid. I know I am just being picky now, but there aren't many yellow new world cichlids. The 3 I know of are Salvini's, Nicaraguan's, and Rainbow's. I love the Salvini's colors and patterns the most, but everything I have read said they are very aggressive for their size and should be kept with larger rather aggressive cichlids. Rainbows I have heard different things about, on forums I have read they might hide a lot and can be shy. But at my LFS my guy told me they are more on the aggressive side similar to a convict. He had 2 there and one was clearly bullying the other. As for Nics, from what I have heard and read I have mentally placed them aggression wise somewhere in between the Rainbow and the Salvini, am I right on that?
Now for Question: How aggressive are Salvini cichlids really? How aggressive are Nics usually? And how about Rainbow's? I appreciate all responses, but would love to hear primarily from experienced keepers of these fish. I would love to add a Salvini to this tank and have it actually work out just fine, but I dont want to lose half my stock to my last addition. Nicaraguans are a different kind of cichlid than what I have, both in coloring, body shape, and how they live. I just dont know much about them and how much of a risk I would be taking. The rainbows I know the least about, and would love as much info as I could get on them.
My goal is to keep the tank at the low to semi aggression level and not stress out the fish I already have. Everyone is a juvenile so I have a good shot at this working out in the long run, I dont want to mess it up on the last fish or because of an obsession to have a yellow cichlid. How bad are salvinis really? Do they just like to chase, do they like to fight, or do they actually kill larger fish regularly? With the Nic, could they actually pose a real threat to this tank? Or would their aggression be more of a 'get out of my corner' type thing? Any ideas on the rainbows? Of the 3 the rainbow is the easiest for me to just go buy. He ahs 2 rainbows and one salvini, but the salvini is significantly larger than everything in my tank, so he cant go in at that size. The rainbows are a little on the big side for my tank but what if I took the one that was getting bullied? Any advice or ideas would be much appreciated.
Also, if you happen to know of other yellow colored cichlids that aren't huge (over 12") or overly aggressive, please let me know so I can look into them.
PS. I will be adding a few more rainbow fish, and likely a mid-sized pleco (5-7", like a phantom or bushy nose) once the tank could use it.
And so everyone knows because I'm sure someone is going to mention or ask about filtration on a 125 with this much stock. I currently have 2 aqueon 75s which are rated for 90g moving 400GPH each, 1 tetra whisper ex rated for 70 gallons moving 340GPH, plus 1 penguin 150b rated for 50g moving 200GPH, giving us a total rating of 300gallons with a total GPH of 1,340 meaning on a 125gallon aquarium we are practically cycling the entire tank 11 times an hour (10.72 times per hour to be exact). I also do 40-60% water changes every 2 weeks and test my water every other water change. No Large rocks, coves, hiding spots to claim. The tank is almost all different types of driftwood branches and roots with 3 fake plants, one mid sized in the center and 2 large bamboo plants on the sides.
Thank you to everyone that responds, I will be sure to check back and post replies to everyone.
I'm sure some will say I am full or will be with a Chocolate added, but I want a smaller yellow colored cichlid. I know I am just being picky now, but there aren't many yellow new world cichlids. The 3 I know of are Salvini's, Nicaraguan's, and Rainbow's. I love the Salvini's colors and patterns the most, but everything I have read said they are very aggressive for their size and should be kept with larger rather aggressive cichlids. Rainbows I have heard different things about, on forums I have read they might hide a lot and can be shy. But at my LFS my guy told me they are more on the aggressive side similar to a convict. He had 2 there and one was clearly bullying the other. As for Nics, from what I have heard and read I have mentally placed them aggression wise somewhere in between the Rainbow and the Salvini, am I right on that?
Now for Question: How aggressive are Salvini cichlids really? How aggressive are Nics usually? And how about Rainbow's? I appreciate all responses, but would love to hear primarily from experienced keepers of these fish. I would love to add a Salvini to this tank and have it actually work out just fine, but I dont want to lose half my stock to my last addition. Nicaraguans are a different kind of cichlid than what I have, both in coloring, body shape, and how they live. I just dont know much about them and how much of a risk I would be taking. The rainbows I know the least about, and would love as much info as I could get on them.
My goal is to keep the tank at the low to semi aggression level and not stress out the fish I already have. Everyone is a juvenile so I have a good shot at this working out in the long run, I dont want to mess it up on the last fish or because of an obsession to have a yellow cichlid. How bad are salvinis really? Do they just like to chase, do they like to fight, or do they actually kill larger fish regularly? With the Nic, could they actually pose a real threat to this tank? Or would their aggression be more of a 'get out of my corner' type thing? Any ideas on the rainbows? Of the 3 the rainbow is the easiest for me to just go buy. He ahs 2 rainbows and one salvini, but the salvini is significantly larger than everything in my tank, so he cant go in at that size. The rainbows are a little on the big side for my tank but what if I took the one that was getting bullied? Any advice or ideas would be much appreciated.
Also, if you happen to know of other yellow colored cichlids that aren't huge (over 12") or overly aggressive, please let me know so I can look into them.
PS. I will be adding a few more rainbow fish, and likely a mid-sized pleco (5-7", like a phantom or bushy nose) once the tank could use it.
And so everyone knows because I'm sure someone is going to mention or ask about filtration on a 125 with this much stock. I currently have 2 aqueon 75s which are rated for 90g moving 400GPH each, 1 tetra whisper ex rated for 70 gallons moving 340GPH, plus 1 penguin 150b rated for 50g moving 200GPH, giving us a total rating of 300gallons with a total GPH of 1,340 meaning on a 125gallon aquarium we are practically cycling the entire tank 11 times an hour (10.72 times per hour to be exact). I also do 40-60% water changes every 2 weeks and test my water every other water change. No Large rocks, coves, hiding spots to claim. The tank is almost all different types of driftwood branches and roots with 3 fake plants, one mid sized in the center and 2 large bamboo plants on the sides.
Thank you to everyone that responds, I will be sure to check back and post replies to everyone.
