Recommend Me A Community Cichlid or Cichlid(s)

[laritheloud]

On 2/18/2022 at 9:07 PM, BlueLineAquaticsSC said:

I actually kept my Bolivia. Rams with Honey Gouramis, they did great together and I am looking forward to setting that combo up again one day. 

Gosh!!! My 29 gallon is pretty well-stocked so I don't think I'd feel right adding Rams to that setup, but man if it isn't tempting. My "issue" with that tank (if you could call it an issue) is that my Diamond Tetras looooooove to breed in there. I started with 6 and I now have 12 plus another surviving fry flitting around. I've had 'em a year. Self-sustaining tetra colony, I guess!

[Tarazzl]

On 2/18/2022 at 7:49 PM, Colu said:

Only when breeding can they get aggressive they are shy and should be kept in groups of 8 or more from what I have read

Will they be ok with danios, tetras and platies?  I have a few left, don't want to abandon them.🙏

[Colu]

On 2/19/2022 at 3:34 AM, tarazzl29 said:

Will they be ok with danios, tetras and platies?  I have a few left, don't want to abandon them.🙏

They should all be fine to keep with butterfly cichlids

[laritheloud]

I'm leaning back into Keyhole Cichlids, Kribensis, or African Butterfly Cichlids.... Heavily researching the needs of all of these fish and potential compatibility issues has me second-guessing everything. I'm still in love with Festivums, but I hear mixed things about their compatibility with gouramis. All of these fish are regularly at my LFS, at least, along with some laetacara species and EBAs. I'll see where I end up.

[Siett88]

I have four keyhole cichlids in a 55 gal and they are painfully shy, to the point of crashing into sides of the tank, and I think if I didn't have a lid, a few would have jumped out, just by me opening the door to the fish room. Beautiful fish, and after I sit still they'll come out do cichlid things, but still. As juveniles, they'd be out and about, swimming with the rainbows in their tank, but as adults not so much. For a featured tank in a prominent part of the house (which your tank definitely should be) I'd go with something else.  Food for thought.

Edited February 20, 2022 by Siett88

[Jawjagrrl]

I'm planning out my side by side 55s now with a (mostly) SA theme. I don't have any fish for these yet so have more options but have also been researching a centerpiece cichlid. The festivum had a lot of appeal, but I'm now more focused on geophagus- specifically red head tapajos. They are peaceful and spend more time in the lower parts which would be good with your gouramis. Pretty sure I saw them with gouramis at Prime Time Aquatics channel. I can't get over how beautiful they are and would max out around 6". 

 

[laritheloud]

On 2/20/2022 at 10:40 AM, Siett88 said:

I have four keyhole cichlids in a 55 gal and they are painfully shy, to the point of crashing into sides of the tank, and I think if I didn't have a lid, a few would have jumped out, just by me opening the door to the fish room. Beautiful fish, and after I sit still they'll come out do cichlid things, but still. As juveniles, they'd be out and about, swimming with the rainbows in their tank, but as adults not so much. For a featured tank in a prominent part of the house (which your tank definitely should be) I'd go with something else.  Food for thought.

Thank you for your experience! That's a shame that they are so shy. I've heard that they're quite adorable little fish. I still have plenty of time to think about it, and I'm still not totally sure which way I'll go. I have this habit of looking/reading around the internet too much instead of going with my gut and trying things out. Sometimes Too Risk Averse is a bad thing... and my husband gently reminded me that it would be totally fine for us to get another tank (and we'll make it work) if a fish doesn't work out in the 55 gallon. AND most of our fish can live out their lives in the 20, save for any bigger fish. So it's not the end if one fish doesn't get along even if I feel like it would be.

@JawjagrrlI have looked at Geophagus Red Head Tapajos and I'm trying to decide if I feel okay with a singleton when they are a gregarious species. They are utterly gorgeous fish, and I hear they are very slow-growing. I know they tear up the sand (because they're eartheaters) but I genuinely want to put the happiness and harmony of my fish above the look of my plants.

[Jawjagrrl]

On 2/20/2022 at 11:01 AM, laritheloud said:

 

@JawjagrrlI have looked at Geophagus Red Head Tapajos and I'm trying to decide if I feel okay with a singleton when they are a gregarious species. They are utterly gorgeous fish, and I hear they are very slow-growing. I know they tear up the sand (because they're eartheaters) but I genuinely want to put the happiness and harmony of my fish above the look of my plants.

At the risk of adding to paralysis by analysis 😉 I've gotten some good info on various SA/CA from the cichlid Bros channel (better than it sounds, believe me). I didn't know the acaras were such good candidates until watching a tankmates for tapajos video he had up. He also showed growth rate from 1" babies over 2 years, and they are still not done getting their full fin extensions, so it would be fun to watch them achieve greatness. I do wonder about plants - your tank is gorgeous btw - but since I haven't invested in a lot of new plants yet I can be flexible. We do have two tanks and my thought was to have some of the bigger fish on one side and use the other for peaceful large fish like silver dollars with small tetras that would get eaten by large feature fish. My husband loves angels, I love the tapajos, and I'm trying to figure out if I can make both work in a 55 and still have the numbers to keep them happy. Ultimately I am the nerm and is supportive of what makes me happy, but I can tell he really wants some angels.