My first Cichlid tank (Need stocking help!)

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Kentaaa

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Mar 24, 2016
Messages
33
Location
Cape Coral, Florida
Hello!

As the title suggests, I am in the process of purchasing a new tank and will be setting it up in my office. I currently have in operation a 46g community and a 27g brackish Puffer tank. I have never owned a Cichlid tank in all of my years of fish keeping. This will be my first. I have been doing very extensive research during the past few weeks to make sure that I am well versed in the subject before taking on a tank full of fish I know nothing about. However, I feel as though that I have studied and learned just about everything that I can from articles/websites/books alone and the rest will come with time from hands on experience.

The biggest difficulty I am having is with planning out my stock. I did not realize until I conducted my research that Cichlids are grouped by region of their natural habitat. Luckily enough there are only a few different regions which makes stocking a little easier. What makes it the hardest for me personally is all of the different species, subspecies, hybrids, etc. that make up the Cichlidae family. There are so many that some don't even have "trade names" (Yellow Lab, Buffalo Head, Flowerhorn, etc.) they are just referred to by their scientific name and some have more than one trade name (Parrot, Red Parrot, Blood Parrot, Jellybean Cichlid) in which cases can be all the same or vary slightly.

Within the realm of peaceful community freshwater fish (although there are probably just as many variations of one species) one can say "Barb" for example and anyone who is semi-versed in fish keeping will know what fish you are speaking of, what they are compatible with, etc. Although there are many different types of Barbs, they all share very similar traits and care requirements. This is not the case for Cichlids however. If you were to walk into a LFS and say, "How do I care for a Cichlid" that would be as ambigious as asking "How do I care for a fish?". Yes there are many general rules of thumb that do apply for all, but for the most part each different species is going to have their own unique requirements.

This brings me to my personal tank. I have an idea of what I would like to stock, however I do not know if all of these would be compatible. For most fish, compatibility can be figured out pretty easily. For example, if you were thinking of purchasing a Gourami and a Tetra you could easily look at any compatibility chart and see that yes, they indeed are compatible. On most compatibility charts all you get, as far as Cichlids, is African and New World varities. This makes it VERY difficult due to the fact that each group has fish of different temperments, sizes, water requirements, housing requirements, etc. Because of this I feel more comfortable in posting a list of what I would like to stock and having a knowledgable and experienced Cichlid keeper take a look at my specific situation and deduce whether or not everything would work in harmony.

I am planning on purchasing a 60-75g tank. I would like to do a simple layout of a sand substrate with rocks and pots to create many caves and hiding spots. I do not plan of having any plants (unless recommended). My "wishlist" is as stated below:

*Note: All of these will be purchased as juveniles around 1"-1.5". None of them are larger than 2". I have attached pictures as well of each species (as adults) to make identifying easier. I do NOT own the rights to these pictures, they were pulled straight from the ads of each species from the seller(s).

x1 Parrot x Flowerhorn Hybrid

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x2 Frontosa Burundi

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x1 Red/Blue OB Peacock

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x1 Lemon Jake Peacock

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x1 Green Terror

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x2-3 Yellow Labs

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x2 Julidochromis Marlieri ("Trade" name unknown)

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I do not know if this mix would be considered "over" or "under" stocked. As juveniles these would add up to 22" worth of fish (assuming each is max. size at time of purchase). I have read in a few different places when stocking Cichlid communities it is best to be on the "heavy" load side rather than understocked. Even AqAdvisor states:

"Note: You have selected mbuna species. These species in general, need to be overstocked to control aggression (over 100% stocking level). Make sure your filtration is sufficient and keep up with water changes."

I would also love to incorporate a bottom feeder into the mix as well to clean up any leftovers (If room permits). What would be the recommended scavenger for this setup? I would love a small group of juvenile Clown Loaches. I do realize they reach a very large size, however re-homing once they become too large would definitely be an option.

Please let me know if this projected stock would be suitable as far as size and compatibility. I am also open to suggestions/replacements. Like I previously stated, this is my first Cichlid tank and I would really like an approval before purchasing these fish and possibly putting them into harms way. Any other tips, tricks, and/or suggestions (whether related or not) would be GREATLY appreciated.



Thank you SO much for your time. I truly appreciate it,



Kentaaa
 
The only fish compatible in your list are the 2 peacocks

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May I ask why? Like I said this is my first ever Cichlid tank so I would like to know the reasoning behind your opinions instead of just a yes or no so I can take that and choose a more compatible stock.
 
Frontosa require a much bigger set up. When you research their size you will see why. They also do better in a colony of their own.
Green Terror is from another continent. South and Central American Cichlids do not mix well with Africans. The Flowerhorn hybrid with the Parrot hybrid really makes a hybrid.
The main African Lakes are Victoria, Tanganika, and Malawi. There are several schools of thought in mixing species from these lakes.
The two Peacock species are pretty tough and should be okay with Yellow Labs. If you choose Lake Malawi species, you can look to add Pseudotropheus Acei which go well with Yellow Labs as peaceful Mbuna. By peaceful I mean for African Cichlids. A fish that looks close to Frontosa species are Deep Water Hap Electra. They are from Lake Malawi. The Peacocks will cross breed. OB Peacocks are already a hybrid species. A good bottom dweller would be Synodontis Multipunctatus or Petricola in groups of three or more. A bushy nose Pleco species is handy as well. Stay away from the long fin variety as they will get nipped. A good forum for research would be species profiles in cichlids forum. They also have a section on recommended species depending on what type of fish you wish. The ph level also plays a role in the type of cichlids species you select. Africans like hard alkaline water and CA/SA like soft acidic to neutral water.

Good luck.


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As was already covered well just offering a second voice, no peacock or lab can be with the rest of the Americans or hybrids. These fish must be separated by location, Africans cannot be kept with American cichlids.

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Wow thank you SO much for that reply! I actually understand now how Cichlid "grouping" works! The way you explained it was A LOT easier than how websites and books explain it.

I would say my absolute favorite on my list is the Parrot/Flowerhorn hybrid. What tank mates would you recommend to house with this species? I know places like Liveaquaria have a "New World Cichlid" section (as well as an African Cichlid section). Would pretty much any species in the New World section be compatible since they are all from either the US or South America? How I stumbled upon the "PFL" hybrid was because I was googling whether or not true Flowerhorns were compatible with true Parrots. Three sources said yes, and there were one or two that said no. I want a true Flower horn but do not want to have a species only tank with one fish. I also want a Parrot but all the research I have read states that Parrots are better in a community tank instead of a Cichlid only tank, and since I already have a community tank I do not want that either. Therefore I figured a hybrid of the two would give me the best of both worlds. Is that the case?
 
Also, does anyone know anything about the Julidochromis? I can't seem to find any in dept information regarding this species. Is it even a Cichlid...?
 
First, I would avoid saying "true parrot", as there is a true parrot cichlid, hoplarchus psittacus.

Blood parrots/jellybean parrots/whatever other ridiculous names they come up with are cruel to keep in my opinion. They're horribly deformed from hybridization, losing the ability to close their mouth. Some people love them, but I think it's horribly cruel to create a fish that deformed for our own amusement. With that said, I would not place it in a community tank, as they can often be bullied and will basically body slam other fish. On the flip side, they can also be bullied and cannot defend themselves properly due to the fact they cannot close their mouths.

Julidochromis is a dwarf cichlid genus from Lake Tanganyika. They max out at around 3-4" and are rock dwellers.


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There are various types of Julie's. Here is info from the website I mentioned earlier on the one that you have shown.
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=1526

I am not a fan of the hybrid parrots either and see that they have now combined it with another abomination in the Flowerhorn.

Good luck with whatever route you go.


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I forgot to add that CA/SA are not easily mixed. I am an African Cichlids guy, so I will defer to some of the other keepers out there on the CA/SA cichlids.
If my wife would let me add another big tank, I would get Yellow Labridens Luna from Mexico. I do not feel like looking up the spelling of the proper name. They are starting to show up on fish lists.


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