Cichlid Question

[FishLover14]

Are their any non-aggressive Lake Malawi Cichlids! I have looked and looked and cant find any-Are their any I am beggineg to wonder. I am going to buy a 29gal tank sometime soon and want to have sort of a cichlid/community aquaruim with say 3 cichlids and a few hardy community fish! Are their any cichlids that are unaggressive enough to go into a small tank.

TIA

 

[kukerdan]

i have plenty of cichlids in my community tanks, they are in there with tinfoil barbs, rosy barbs, cory cats, loaches, gourami, goldfish, etc. look at my signiture for what types i have. As long as you dont start the tank with the cichlids, then you shouldnt have a problem, i had a single buenos ares tetra that chased and bit a firemouth cichlid 3 / 4 times its size, its all about whos tank it is, or whos the bigger fish. provide alot of hiding spots.

the electric yellows, the striped yellows, and the firemouths are all great community fish, get a smaller sized fish and youll be fine

 

[FishLover14]

WOW! i was looking at your profile. It is amazing that you can keep an Aurctus with a goldifisssh!!! What kinds would you reccomednd...Maybe an elcetric yellow?

Thanks!

 

[kukerdan]

the little electric yellow and a small auratus are really nice. They like tubes, i have a system of pipes i add to occasionally (decorative fish store ornaments) and they love to explore it, and pop out of it from all angles. The gold fish is from the county fair, (lol) and hes pretty damn huge, at least 15 times the weight of the auratus. And that goldfish (curly) eats non stop. The firemouths are a good choice too, the one i have (had two but a catfish i had ate it) is about the size of the goldfish, him curly, and my tinfoil barb are the three 'big' fish in the tank. The firemouth will threaten and chase the two other big fish when its feeding time, but he never attacks anything, just a peck to get the food first. The zebra ( i think hes a zebra, his name is chip cause he looks like hes covered in chocolate chips) is a fast grower, and a nice fish. Just make sure you have an established tank first, with your normals, and the cichlids will not cause trouble

 

[FishLover14]

So by your normal fish first and then 4 weeks later by yourcichlids?

Thanks so much....

Do you have a Melanochromis Aurtcus or just an aurctus?

 

[kukerdan]

the little yellow one with black stripes, its the first fish on the bar on the top

http://www.aquariumfish.net/catalog_pages/cichlids_african/african_cichlids_table.htm

yeah, let your other fish establish dominance, loaches, barbs, tetras, etc. all good stuff

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Try this website-
http://www.ohiexchange.com/armke/list.htm

They have a large list of fish to choose from and give a description of which ones are community. It may take a while to go through them all but they have beautiful pictures and estimated costs.

 

[FishLover14]

Kukerdan i am amazed that you can keep an aurctus with any of those fish. That is phonomenal i have heard of them killing fish twice their size!! Thanks for the excellent advice both of you!

Happy New Year!

 

[BASSNMAN]

What ph and hardness do you have. I have been told that Maliwa chiclids need high ph and hard water. Many of your fish are central american. There are lots of central american chiclids including dwarfs, that might be better for your community tank.

 

[FishLover14]

I dont have the tank yet-am going to get it hopefully iwhtin the month but i am going to get some fish that like a high ph and hardness level-and i actually prefer the Lake Malawi Mbuna to the central american dwarfs.

Happy New Year!

 

[kukerdan]

well my auratus is a baby, 1" and hes pretty well tempered, i dont think theres a single fish in the tank he could kill, the only smaller fish then him is my yo yo,
i had another auratus, but my night goby ate it

 

[kukerdan]

like i said earlier, you have to add the cichlids in when they are relitivly small, so they grow up with the other fish

 

[Menagerie]

well my auratus is a baby, 1" and hes pretty well tempered, i dont think theres a single fish in the tank he could kill

you have to add the cichlids in when they are relitivly small, so they grow up with the other fish

Voice of reason and experience here: This is not a good idea. kukerdan is talking about juvie cichlids that have not hit sexual maturity, at which time the hormones that cause aggressiveness will show. Furthermore, goldfish should not be kept with tropical fish.

 

[FishLover14]

Hmmmmmm.......That is a good point Menagrie.Kukerdan are any of your cichlids at sexual maturity?

I may go ahead and try a electirc yellow they are so pretty and some websites i have seen say they are one of the most peacful rift lake cichlids!

Thanks everyone!

 

[kukerdan]

my yellow ans zebra are decent size, and i have 1 goldfish, and have no problems, i have had him for 6 months

 

[xray]

I would have to agree with Menagerie. Melanochromis aratus are one of the most agressive of the Malawi cichlids. Zebras are not far behind them. Kukerdan if you are not having problems yet, you will.
FishLover14 even the electric yellows will get agressive. I just had to pull out one that beat up by another one. Lets not talk about water parameters. Cichlids require high Ph (about 8.0) not too many troppical fish would enjoy this. Oh they might survive but it would not be good for them. Or you could keep the Ph low and your cichlids would survive but again it would not be good for them. IMHO it is not a good idea.

on a side note Kukerdan, what is a purple peacock cichlid. I'd love to see it.

 

[kukerdan]

i am not going to have any problems, because these fish are the smallest in my tank, and i have quite a large firemouth to keep them in check

 

[oscarbreeder]

Alot of those fish need different water parameters and may stay alive together but it is not best for the fish.

Trust me you WILL have problems at some point.

 

[AlonelyCody]

I agree i have had my Electric Yellow Hap in my community/ semi aggressive tank and he did fine, the reason i moved him was because he was getting picked on and close to death in my cichlid tank, he was the smallest one in the tank and wasn't allowed to eat. i moved him for about to months and he tripled in size. and he is back in my cichlid tank, and doing really well.

Last week had to move my Jacobfreibergi Peacock from my cichlid tank and put him in my community/semi aggressive tank. and he is doing a lot better in there he is starting to eat again and his fins are growing back hopeful in time he will bulk up and will be able to put back in the cichlid tank.

so those are two that i would recommend. from my experience, i havn't had any problems with them in my community/semi tank.

 

[AlonelyCody]

Alot of those fish need different water parameters and may stay alive together but it is not best for the fish.

Trust me you WILL have problems at some point.

that is a good point oscarbreeder. my cichlids are a lot happier since i put cichlid mix sand in the tank. which ups the ph and salinity to there natural habitat.