Ideas for a new cichlid...

[paul112]

Okay, I'm selling the mollies(tired of them ), peacock eel (where is he? ), clownstripe pleco (that aint no monster ) so that i can get one or two small cichlids. I'm thinking American as they seem more colourful. Please bear in mind that there will still be:
-One Keyhole cichlid
-One gibbiceps
-One unidentified pleco
left in the tank, so I dont want anything super-aggressive. Nothing over 6" either, the tank aint that big (and none of your monster-brain powers persuading me to get that little oscar in the lfs alright )
Thankyou,
Paul

 

[skillzdatkillz]

well what size is the tank?? Hard to help if we dont know.

 

[paul112]

I think the tank is somewhere in the 20 gallon range. The keyhole is only 1.5" and my plecos are small, but I have a 55gal (inhabited with a turtle) ready for when they get bigger, and when the turtle moves out.
Paul

 

[mvoils]

You could try a chocolate cichlid. they aren't very mean and they have awesome color morphs.

 

[chiquita]

A chocolate cichlid gets to 10 - 12" & thick & pretty tall. 20 gal is too small.
Dwarf cichlids only: apistogramma, nannacara, or a couple more keyholes which would probably look & act better in a group anyway.

 

[straitjacketstar]

Besides the keyhole, which can live in the ~20gl permanently, you could try another smaller cichlid that maxes out at around 4". Nothing that will be too aggressive for the keyhole.
A "flag cichlid" - Laetacara curviceps, "red breasted flag cichlid" - Laetacara dorsiger, "bolivian ram" - Mikrogeophagus altispinosa or Apistogramma species would make a suitable inhabitant.
You would be better off moving the plec sooner rather than later. Gibbies and other plec's in general produce a lot of waste and make upkeep a task. They're not exactly slow growers and become increasingly territorial with age. Even a 55gl will not permanently house a gibby without stunting it.

 

[paul112]

Trust me, the Gibby is better in that tank than in the turtle tank at his size. When he reaches 5", i'll try him with the turtle. Then when the turtle needs a 100gal, gibby moves with her. I will look into the rams. I also cannot find any more keyholes (although i'd love to breed)
Paul

 

[straitjacketstar]

I'm not telling you to put the fish with the turtle at all. I'm saying that moving that gibby out of the 25ish gal tank is better being done sooner rather than later. They are large waste producers and will outgrow small tanks quickly.
Gibbies average 18" and have been reported at 22 and 24". A 55gal tank that is only 12" wide is much too small for an adult gibby.

 

[paul112]

No, I'm saying the Gibby needs to grow a few extra inches before I can put him in with the turtle. Then he can live with the turtle and when i buy the turtle a new tank, Gibby will stay. And my 55gal is wide and long, not tall, its about 20" wide, 1m long.
Paul

 

[straitjacketstar]

Ok.
I never encourage keeping fish with turtles, especially fish that you actually like.
Don't get me wrong, I keep turtles - I'm just a more cautious person. I know it can definitely go either way. You turtle might not care about some plec that doesn't look all delicious, or it might get curious enough to find out it's edible. Don't think the plec's armor is enough to protect it.
Anyhoo, your fish, your turts, you do what you want. Just read carefully, I never said to move the fish in with the turtle, I never said to move it like...now, I said sooner rather than later, for fear of polluting the much smaller volume of water you intend on keeping more nitrate sensitive fish in with an eating and ****ting machine.