Small Cichlid With Most Personality?

[numbah84]

Sup yall I have a 55 gallon with a Texas and 6 silver dollars right now, however the Texas is very shy and always hides when I'm around as do the silver dollars. So I want to get a Cichlid or Cichlids with a little more personality and aggression. What would yall reccomend for something that will come up to the glass and get excited about food and such?


I love the A. labiatus personality though obviously that isn't an option, also a. Ocellatus but that too gets too large

 

[Buphy]

Texans are generally pretty aggressive. My first thought is, how much/how often do you feed them?

 

[welsher7]

How long have you had the texas and SDs?

 

[fug202]

I suspect that if you add more cichlids you will see some excitement, either by your Texas (annoyed by the intrusion), or by the newcomers as they establish themselves. A 55 gallon tank is on the small side for a school of silver dollars and a mature Texas, so if you add more cichlids you may be asking for trouble when they reach sexual maturity. Nevertheless, if you are set on adding more cichlids I would recommend a small group of Firemouths or perhaps some Honduran Red Points. They can handle themselves (unless your Texas goes ballistic at some point, which is entirely possible), are fun to watch, and don't get too large. I'd avoid getting any of the larger, more aggressive cichlid species as I doubt it would work out in the long run given the size of your tank.

 

[numbah84]

Texans are generally pretty aggressive. My first thought is, how much/how often do you feed them?

About everyday/every other day, Texan gets hikari pellets and sd's get flakes/lettuce. Texan only stops being shy when the brine shrimp or blood worms go in.

How long have you had the texas and SDs?

They've been in the 55 alone for about a year now. Previously with a female pet smart fh

 

[numbah84]

I suspect that if you add more cichlids you will see some excitement, either by your Texas (annoyed by the intrusion), or by the newcomers as they establish themselves. A 55 gallon tank is on the small side for a school of silver dollars and a mature Texas, so if you add more cichlids you may be asking for trouble when they reach sexual maturity. Nevertheless, if you are set on adding more cichlids I would recommend a small group of Firemouths or perhaps some Honduran Red Points. They can handle themselves (unless your Texas goes ballistic at some point, which is entirely possible), are fun to watch, and don't get too large. I'd avoid getting any of the larger, more aggressive cichlid species as I doubt it would work out in the long run given the size of your tank.

Yeah I know I'm already pretty stocked, I was thinking possibly taking out the Texas and replacing him, he is already cramped in the 55 so I wouldn't want to add more cichlids.

 

[FriedFlowerHornFillet]

If your texas is your avatar I'd hold on to him. He looks really nice and personality wise they can be late bloomers.
You could always go with some loaches, maybe a redtail or rainbow shark?

 

[numbah84]

Hmmm, I do like bottom feeders and no one picks on the little bristlenose that's in there. Do you think even more fish would help with his shyness?

 

[FriedFlowerHornFillet]

It might have more to do with maturity than tankmates. My carpintis was shy but he came out of his shell eventually. Now he's the most aggressive fish I own. The trick is finding fish that can evade them once they start gearing up to brawl. My red tail shark hangs out next to the cichlids all the time. When they eat and make a mess he jumps on that pre chewed nastiness. Commensalism is awesome! I thought I'd regret adding him but he turned out to be a good buy. The way they swim seems to make it really hard for anything to catch them. They change directions really fast

 

[ShadowP]

If your texas is your avatar I'd hold on to him. He looks really nice and personality wise they can be late bloomers.
You could always go with some loaches, maybe a redtail or rainbow shark?

Fat chance on that... good luck finding fully grown ones for any chace of survival... my EBJD were always well fed... came home one day and EBJD at the front of the tank begging for food as if nothing ever happened...he was 5 inches long and had never bothered any other fish. Tail of 3.5" rainbow shark still hanging out his mouth.