Does it matter if i mix south american with african

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To go a bit further. Some require different water conditions. Like pH for example. Some like to hide and need a lot of hiding places other don't care. Some are aggressive so not so much. Why would you wanna do this anyway? Africans are beautiful fish! Colorful etc... They are very active. I had convicts and after a while found them boring and re homed them and started a 75 gallon African Cichlid tank.

Research is your best friend.
 
To add to convicts point, Another big issue is food. A lot of African cichlids can't handle much protein while central and south Americans in most cases can. You have to be very careful.
 
CraigMac said:
To add to convicts point, Another big issue is food. A lot of African cichlids can't handle much protein while central and south Americans in most cases can. You have to be very careful.

x2 very very good point.
 
Yeah from what I've read it can be done but it's risky. At best, the fish will be fine but will not live in optimal conditions. For example, if you make the tank parameters and feed to what the central American cichlids thrive, your Africans will suffer. And vice versa. That's at best, at worst would be fatal illness etc.
 
I've housed africans with my oscar & had success but it depends on each fish & what you're trying to mix. Not everything works & its probably not worth the possible hassle. You can do one or the other & get dope fish either way.

What are you looking to get?
 
i had convicts with a jewel cichlid and it worked out with very little aggression between them. I bought these fish when i was alot younger and bought fish impulses. but after a couple years i got rid of the convicts. they had alot of personality and would eat out of my hand, but they got boring. so now i have africans and they are awesome:).
 
I had Africans with Africans and that didn't work out so well. So I'm down to try anything! When this is all over I'm gonna write a book!

Sorry. Back on topic. I wouldn't do it unless you do your research and know exactly what can go with what.
 
I have one rainbow cichlid with my Africans and you can tell he isn't too fond of the food. His appetite has cut down tremendously since he's been with them. It's been about 6 months now though and I've never had an issue. I think it's also because he is 6 months older than the rest of the tank and was much larger than the rest when I first got them as young juvies.
 
I mix them now and I would anytime, Sometimes though a certain fish will just want to fight and fight, when I started (years ago) I kept them seperate and when one would get beat up I would throw it into the other tank, I kept doing this till I moved all the fish into one tank. Right now I have all sorts of stuff in my large tank, they all get along pretty well. I just am breeding too many fish at this point so if someone is in utah and looking message me.
 
didysis said:
I mix them now and I would anytime, Sometimes though a certain fish will just want to fight and fight, when I started (years ago) I kept them seperate and when one would get beat up I would throw it into the other tank, I kept doing this till I moved all the fish into one tank. Right now I have all sorts of stuff in my large tank, they all get along pretty well. I just am breeding too many fish at this point so if someone is in utah and looking message me.

Yeah, it can definitely work. Especially if you have a huge tank.

My buddy knows nothing about fish and has had some of the craziest stock concoctions you could imagine. And its always peaceful!!!! However, I think he's the fish whisperer.... or the fish diddler LOL
 
Theoretically everyone that says is correct!! But it sometimes goes by a case by case basis I have all African cichlids and my EBJD gets along an thrives just fine with them All!!!! So it goes by case by case situation
 
I personally think it's a very bad idea if you are referring to rift lake cichlids. First, I can't imagine why you would want to mix them with SA/CA. They look completely different and it would just be a goofy looking tank. Next are the technical issues, such as diet considerations, aggression and water parameters.

I know it's technically possible to keep the fish alive, but this is far from a good setup. It's kind of sad to see people on here recommending this. I'm not one of them.
 
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