upside down cat and ciclid

[okaquarium]

i tried putting an upside down cat in with my zebra ciclid and the zebra was all over him...got him to help with brown alge...can anyone recomend another type of fish that will help with cleaning tank and will get along with my cichlid...and yes my cat...(tipsy...lol) is in another tank right now thanks

 

[poppab02]

A few questions, first is the zebra the only cichlid you have in the tank? Second, what size tank do you have? There are very few fish that can live with african cichlids.

If your zebra is in his own tank with no other cichlids and the tank is too small to put any other cichlids in then I can pretty much guarantee that anything you put in there will be killed.

 

[okaquarium]

yeah...working on bigger tank but right now hes in 10gal but hes only about2.5in so guess ill just have to hurry with bigger tank....and yes hes alone

 

[neide]

I've had upsidedown cats with chiclids of various types for years. As long as there are plenty of hiding places AND not a one-on-one situation where the cats can be targeted like that, you should be fine.

In the mean time, you may be out of luck as any other fish that could perform that function will get picked on pretty heavily too.

 

[Voodoo Chilli]

After you get a larger tank (I wouldn't recommend adding anything else to the ten gallon with a zebra), I'd look into getting a bristlenose pleco. They're a bit more sturdier than the upside-down cats.

 

[TankGirl]

Lots of people keep bristlenoses with Africans, so I agree that would be a good choice, in the larger tank. Provide cover for the cat and it should work. The confines of a 10gal make harmonious cohabitation almost impossible for this zebra.

For the 10gal, break out your scraper, lol!

 

[Cafe Jeff]

I second Tankgirl's Pleco suggestions.
Syndontis (sp) do ok as well. In fact, I believe they are found in the wild together. Jeff

 

[TankGirl]

Synodontis are an appropriate choice for the new tank, but most of them are not big algae eaters, some not at all.

 

[Voodoo Chilli]

Nope, Synos will not touch the stuff.

 

[poppab02]

I've had upsidedown cats with chiclids of various types for years. As long as there are plenty of hiding places AND not a one-on-one situation where the cats can be targeted like that, you should be fine.

In the mean time, you may be out of luck as any other fish that could perform that function will get picked on pretty heavily too.

The only time I've seen upside down cats and cichlids kept together has been in very large tanks with lots of cichlids together and lots of hiding places. Can it be done? Yes, but it's difficult.

As for this situation, I would not put any other fish in that 10 gallon, that cichlid will kill it. 10 gallons just aren't big enough to have anything but 1 cichlid in it.

When you get a larger tank, synodontis catfish are near indestructible and are good at general cleanup but they won't touch algae. Your going to have to get a pleco to deal with algae or just clean it up with a scraper. However, if you don't get more cichlids there is always going to be a problem with your cichlid killing it's tankmates. Generally, cichlids like to chase fish and prefer to chase each other. When they are together cichlids chase each and it takes alot of their attention and aggression away from the other fish. when you keep cichlids alone they can be extremely relentless. Once you get a large group of cichlids in a large tank set up, they pretty much never bother the clean up crew. They are too busy with each other.

 

[okaquarium]

have got my 55gal and moved ciclid into it upside down cat is in with 2 plattys in 5 gal and have an pleco with cichlid...now im stuck with 4 large goldfish that came with 55gal....hope i can seel them if not give them away