What are your thoughts on mixing cichlids?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
I love the look of Fronts, if I was to keep them I would do a group in a large dedacated speces tank.

Personally I wouldn't mix Africas and new world cichlids weather it be Mbuna or Riverine. I don't even mix CA with SA but that's my pereferance, not too thrilled about keeping two river systems together either but, it is what it is and I only have so many tanks. Even if I'm sitting there watching the tank I'll be thinking, "crap I have Xingu, Oronoco and Amazon in the same tank, it's bogus".......lol. Good thing everybody isn't that anal about it. I have two veil tail Angels (silvers) my doughter got, nice looking fish but I wouln't put them in any of my SA tanks because the fins aren't natural. Everybody has ther own idea of what they're willing to keep and how they want to keep it.
 
It is MY tank, so I will do what I want with it, but the more I think about it and the more I learn about certain fish, it seems I would probably be irritated with all the "different" fish in one tank eventually, once I learn their origins and how they like to live/swim/interact with each other. I think in the long run I would realize there are two different tanks in the same tank. lol That is why I come to this site and ask questions. Sometimes you can't see the forest through the trees.
 
Fronts + Central American bruisers = dead fronts

Mixing some riverine Tilapia like buttikoferi or mariae could work. But mixing rift lake fish with new world is usally a disaster for one or both groups of fish.

Matt
 
If you want to do it go for it if you are happy isn't that all that matters just monitor aggro and adjust if you have too
 
trace said:
If you want to do it go for it if you are happy isn't that all that matters just monitor aggro and adjust if you have too
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+1. That's going to have to based on if you like the look. Personally, I do not like blood parrots. I see nothing aesthetic about them. When I look at them, I see a deformed, man-made, mutant fish. But they are popular, and many people like them. So, if you find them to be nice looking fish, you should go for it.

I didn't read through this whole thread, but given your choices of gar and arrowana, I'm assuming you have or are going to have a very large tank. Those are some cool... and BIG... fish! Good luck!

-Rich
 
i have a couple of livingstonii's with my american cichlids, i have 2 red devils, 1 geophagus,1 festae(male) and 1 oscar, there is an aggression issue with the geophagus he cant stand the livingstoniis so i put more items in the tank, there are many many places for the fish to go in and out of, that slowed down the agression, he doesnt really mess with them to much anymore, my livingstoniis are big my male is close to 9 inches now he is really looking good. others say dont mix the africans with the americans, it workes for me but i wouldnt do it again if i had a choice, i love my stonii's i just cant get rid of them.....
 
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