I don't consider myself a purist in the fish keeping hobby. As long as I can keep water conditions perfect, the fish comfortable without over stocking, and the fighting to an absolute minimum, I'm happy. I'm sure my fish are too, since they've all colored up so nicely. Keeping Cichlids and natives together can be a challenge. Obviously you are limited to the natives you can keep because cichlids need warm water. Another concern is aggression, I had previously tried keeping a Green Terror with some Pseeds. The slightly smaller GT was shredded. In this long post, I'll share my experiences on keeping these two species together.
Natives:
Obviously fish needing colder water will not work, most sunfish and LMB will work. I have 2 Pumpkinseeds and a LMB(being grown out, will be moved to a pond). Assuming you have no aggression problems with your natives, and you have an adequate tank size than its probably okay to proceed.
Cichlids
Anything that can match the size (or even get just a hair larger, since natives can be pretty nasty) should work. I haven't tried breeding cichlids with natives in the tank, but thats probably a bad idea.
Size:
My "trial run" with the GT taught me that I need to match sizes with the existing natives. I opted for a Oscar, who at the time of purchase was still smaller than the pseeds. At first I introduced the Oscar, which got attacked, but I separated the Oscar, and put it in a 20 long to grow a bit bigger. After the Oscar grew 1 inch, I re-introduced it, and have had no problems. The Oscars mouth is much larger than the Pseeds, and this seems to deter the pseeds from picking fights. Size wise, the Oscar is the smallest fish in the tank, but not by much.
Food
Everyone in this tank eats Massivore+ algae wafers, with the occasional treat. The Oscar is much more clumsy when eating, and often misses the pellet, which gets snatched up by a Native. A healthy and varied diet is a good diet.
Temperature:
My tank is at room temperature, which is 70.8°F, everyone seems fine, the Pseeds really color up in this temperature range. I run a dual overflow+ dual sump setup on my 120g, I get plenty of aeration, but you might need a airstone.
Your results may vary, since every fish is different. Ideally, you want to closely monitor the fish when you introduce it, that way you get no casualties. Make sure you are not over stocking/crowding.
Natives:
Obviously fish needing colder water will not work, most sunfish and LMB will work. I have 2 Pumpkinseeds and a LMB(being grown out, will be moved to a pond). Assuming you have no aggression problems with your natives, and you have an adequate tank size than its probably okay to proceed.
Cichlids
Anything that can match the size (or even get just a hair larger, since natives can be pretty nasty) should work. I haven't tried breeding cichlids with natives in the tank, but thats probably a bad idea.
Size:
My "trial run" with the GT taught me that I need to match sizes with the existing natives. I opted for a Oscar, who at the time of purchase was still smaller than the pseeds. At first I introduced the Oscar, which got attacked, but I separated the Oscar, and put it in a 20 long to grow a bit bigger. After the Oscar grew 1 inch, I re-introduced it, and have had no problems. The Oscars mouth is much larger than the Pseeds, and this seems to deter the pseeds from picking fights. Size wise, the Oscar is the smallest fish in the tank, but not by much.
Food
Everyone in this tank eats Massivore+ algae wafers, with the occasional treat. The Oscar is much more clumsy when eating, and often misses the pellet, which gets snatched up by a Native. A healthy and varied diet is a good diet.
Temperature:
My tank is at room temperature, which is 70.8°F, everyone seems fine, the Pseeds really color up in this temperature range. I run a dual overflow+ dual sump setup on my 120g, I get plenty of aeration, but you might need a airstone.
Your results may vary, since every fish is different. Ideally, you want to closely monitor the fish when you introduce it, that way you get no casualties. Make sure you are not over stocking/crowding.
