Opinions on options

[beau1990]

Rainbow cichlids are African so keep that in mind when considering water parameters

 

[FINWIN]

Pulled the trigger. Blue acara and rainbow cichlid ordered! They'll be going in qt as growouts. Will post in Tank Pics thread when they arrive. ?

 

[Shark75]

Clown loaches probably would do well but you would have to buy them at a decent size and that would be expensive. Tinfoil Barbs are the best dither fish for Oscars and other large cichlids imo. Of course, they get big but they would be a great, active addition. Just have to keep up on the water changes and make sure you're filtration is adequate.

 

[duanes]

Rainbow cichlids are African so keep that in mind when considering water parameters

This is the problem with common names.
What I know as rainbow cichlids are Herotilapia multispinossa, a Central American ciclid from Costa Rica, and the great lakes of Nicaragua.
Water conditions there are generally neutral to hard, with pH minimally 7, up to almost 9.
They are relatively peaceful compared to most Cenreal Americans.
I kept mine in alkaline water, pH upper 7s.
they spawned many times. In nature they can be found on inundated flood plains during the rainy season.
As fry

Adult

 

[Shark75]

I thought the person who posted that was talking about Australian Rainbows myself. Aren't Rainbow Cichlids pretty shy and stay about 4 inches? Probably not a good idea with a full grown Oscar.

 

[duanes]

I thought the person who posted that was talking about Australian Rainbows myself. Aren't Rainbow Cichlids pretty shy and stay about 4 inches? Probably not a good idea with a full grown Oscar.

Yes, they do max out at around 4"-5", and if it were me, I wouldn't keep them with oscars.
One of the reasons they are thought to disperse and spawn on flood plains, is they aren't able to handle competition from the other more robust endemic cichlids, and these shallow areas are free of that type pressure and threat.

 

[FINWIN]

I know its a risky size with an Oscar...got the juvie Rainbow yesterday and will post more on it once the juvie acara arrives (either today or tomorrow). Supposedly the rainbows can max to 6" in the wild according to my research. This little one I have is a real firecracker, and I'll be posting pics soon.

Advertised as 3.5", not hardly. 2.5" with a rock in its pocket. So dinky is gonna be in grow out for a bit.

Ph not an issue here, water varies from 7.6 to 7.8.

duanes , have you ever seen the rainbows that large (6")? I'm hoping to get this one nice and chunky.