Question about south and african cichlids

[cd5]

So my sister(10yrs) had an african cichlid in a 5 gallon tank, How it has survived I have no idea, I found the tank with about 2 inches of water, everything unplugged, and the fish still alive, So I told my sister No more aquariums till you older, the african is now in my south american cichlid tank, do i need to take this african cichlid back immediately, what should I expect in the future, So far no real aggression between the two,

The tank is a 55 gallon with 2 jack dempsey, 2 severums(yes I know that is not big enough, if they live long enough I will buy them a bigger cage like my bird), it had lots of filtration, sand bottom(pool filter sand)

The african fish is yellow like a (lab?) I think think they are called but has black stripes,

thanks

 

[Fishyfanatic]

South Americans and Africans should not be mixed. I would return it as soon as you can. It's just not a good idea to have both.

 

[ntswift]

I agree that they shouldn't be kept together. It is going to start having problems. Especially when the severums and dempseys get bigger. I'm curious though, does it have black strips running verticle down the side or horizontal on the dorsal fin? If its down the side its probably a Kenyi cichlid. Just some info for you.

 

[stainless_wm]

Off the topic, but I had an African Cichlid for a few years. His name was Hoffa. He didnt allow tankmates.

One time I was out fishing, we were seining minnows and caught a 6inch channel cat.

So I took him home and put him in with Hoffa, figuring that the catfish was big enough to fend for himself.

I woke up with the Catfish dead on the floor.

Like I said, Hoffa DID NOT allow tank mates.


Wade

 

[Sati]

I think the lab is too mild mannered for those fish. However, aside from temperament I don't see what the big deal is about mixing fish. Most people do not seem to keep strict biotopes anyhow. If you're not altering the water chemistry and the fish are all used to that then you're not going to have any water issues with the fish.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Sati: Mixing Africans and South American Cichlids is not a good idea. Besides water differences, food requirements are another big issue. If Africans are fed too much protein they can develope Malawi Bloat. Aggression is another big factor. My brother had a male Auratus with a jack dempsey. Lets just say that it lasted about 6 hours. He does not know how to stock a fish tank properly and I have seen dozens and dozens of fish that are not Africans succumb to their aggression.

When keeping Africans, it is best to alter the water parameters since it is easy to do. Add a piece of limestone to the tank or a cupful of crushed coral to the filter. They thrive in the higher pH and hardness.

 

[greenmaji]

Honestly, there are compatable/(to some extent) fish (mumba are not part of the compatible ones IMHO) but following Fishyfanatic's advice is MUCH more practical.

 

[Sati]

I didn't say it was necessarily ideal. However I kept 4 labs with 2 angels together for a few months. Everybody behaved as usual. The labs were hanging around the bottom of the tank like they always did and the angels swam about the top as they always did. I fed veggie flake and bloodworms and both fish loved each. I have had all of these fish for years and they are extremely healthy. The labs were in fact so pleased that they began spawning for the first time in their adult lives and did so twice while in with the angels. I have never altered their water and they continue to spawn in the pH 7 water.

Here on AA Travis successfully keeps Africans in a lush planted tank instead of a barren rock habitat. The famous fish geneticist, Dr. Klaus Kallman, cleaned substrate and changed water in his tanks once a year (far from daily, weekly, or bi-weekly) and had incredible success. Me, I have always kept my tanks heavily overstocked by most people's standards and have great results. Sometimes we do the best you can at the time (or just experiment for fun) and try some new stuff that defy odds to our great surprise and pleasure

 

[greenmaji]

Idealy if you were to mix them they would at least have similar nutirional needs.. like haps and SA's that are similar in size. Labs being muba and anglefish being carnivors is just the type of combination that give credence to fishyfanatics argument. travis used trial and error to work though the problems that came from doing the type of tank he has, putting known herbivors with known carnivors is nothing like putting fish that eat algae in with plants that they have no natural taste for.
and may I add, there is always a reason that a method works, even if you dont know why. Just because its "diffent" doesnt mean you shouldnt reaserch the reasons for doing something and finding out beforehand if your going to cause harm to your pets.

 

[greenmaji]

Travis's list of plants that he tried and the ones that failed..
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=73522

Travis's sucess was no accident..

 

[cd5]

I have identified my sisters fish as the Julido Marlieri Cichlid, So far in my tank he is holding his own, My severums are out of his weight class, the first night when he was in my gold severum smack him with his tail because he was in his sleeping place,

So from your replies the african will get too aggressive for the south american, if that is then he is gone this week

The one think I did like about the addition was he thinned out the aggression my green severum onto my gold severum, I guess just because there were more fish to worry about he worried less about my gold severum, sort of like tiger barbs

 

[jasno999]

Just want to put my two cents in. From past experience if you put fish together when they are young and they are allowed to grow up togehter then typically they will be able to co-exist together. Sometimes along the way a fish might be killed or somehting bad may happen but in most cases thigns work out.

My example. I have a 29gallon tank. It has two nice hiding places and a large live plant that offers cover for fish.

HEre is what I have i nthe tank:

1 adut male kenyi
1 adult female kenyi
1 younger kenyi that is probably a male but will not change colors cause it is scared of the adult male.
1 cory cat
1 eel (forget the type)
1 pleco
1 algae eater
1 Rosey barb

Now tell me how the heck a rosey barb can survice in a tank like that. The rosey barb is my oldest fish and does great in that tank. She is a tough fish but has no isses with the other tankmates. Never has been bitten and fins look great. SO basically it comes down to a lot of things. Jsut because you have a mix of fish does nto mean they are all goign to kill each other. Depends on the specific fish, how they are introduced and how you care for them.

Try it for a while and see what happens. Jsut keep a watchfull eye.

By the way my girlfriend has an oscar and 4 guromis in her 55 gallon tank. They grew up togetehr so they are all friends. Put another fish in and the oscar will immediatly go after it. But the gouramis are fine to do whatever.

 

[jibboo]

yeah, I'm with jasno999 right now. I added 13 cichlids about 3-4 months ago with my loaches and redtail shark and I haven't had any problems with the mix. So, basically, I added some juvenile cichlids to an established tank with adult loaches/shark. If anything my shark is the one chasing the cichlids, which I find amazing.

Now maybe that will change once the cichlids reach maturity, but we'll see. My one kenyii is just now starting to change colors, so I guess I'll prolly find out in the next month or so about the agression level in the tank.

 

[DeFeKt]

I didn't say it was necessarily ideal. However I kept 4 labs with 2 angels together for a few months. Everybody behaved as usual. The labs were hanging around the bottom of the tank like they always did and the angels swam about the top as they always did. I fed veggie flake and bloodworms and both fish loved each. I have had all of these fish for years and they are extremely healthy.

just wondering what is it now, months or years?

there is a difference in keeping fish and caring for fish to.

but i'm no better, I have a redtailed and silver shark in a heavily stocked malawi tank.
The haps and mbuna I care for, the sharks I "keep" were a cheap easy to get fish I used to cycle and were found to be the best damn cleanup crew i've ever had, so they stayed as they are very tolerant of the harder water.