Tankmates for SA/CA cichlids

[severum mama]

My 55 gallon is looking empty and I'm thinking about tankmates for my cichlids. It currently houses a 7 inch severum (my screen-namesake 8) ), a 6 inch firemouth, a 3 inch female convict, a 7 inch sailfin pleco, and 1 tiger barb. The TB is the last survivor out of my original group of barbs. I would like to keep something other than tiger barbs, green tiger barbs, or black ruby barbs, and if I can keep something else I will bring my TB to the LFS. If not I guess I will just stick with barbs.

I think my biggest problem as far as choosing tankmates is the firemouth. This fish is pretty mean, so whatever I choose will have to be tough and fast. I was looking at Buenos Aires tetras, serpae tetras, or black phantom tetras, but I don't know if they will work out in my tank, and I don't want to send a school of fish to their demise. I especially like the black phantoms and serpaes. Can anyone who has kept these species please advise? Also, if you all have any other suggestions I would love to hear them. TIA.

 

[Jchillin]

I do have both buenos aires and serpaes. I recently introduced the buenos aires and they are getting along fine with all their tankmates. I'm just not so sure how they would fair against your FM...you did say he was mean.

 

[Voodoo Chilli]

The serps and phantoms would make excellent choices for your tank, SM.

 

[triazole]

i am keeping BA tetras with jewels, and they are tough as nails. but there's the fact that they have a hierarchy among themselves, and enforece it by constant chasing and nipping each other (with no obvious negative side effects).
OT, but how long did the FM take to grow that big? just curoius.

 

[severum mama]

Thanks for the input guys, as always.

JC- you keep your serpaes and BA tetras with your angels, correct? I am not surprised that works for you, but my FM is a whole different ballgame than angels! This fish is pure evil.

VC- have you kept serpaes or black phantoms in a more aggressive tank before? I guess I should have added that the FM has even been known to attack the pleco , and that small tiger barbs didn't work out in the past. The small TBs were all bought together and may have been sick when introduced to the tank, as I didn't quarantine, but they slowly disappeared one by one and I never even found the bodies. That's why I am concerned about the size of an adult serpae or phantom vs. an adult tiger barb. You still think it would work?

triazole- I had read that BAs had a more aggressive/nippy reputation than some other species of tetras, which is why I am considering them as cichlid tankmates. The FM was pretty much adult size when I bought him. He is wild-caught, and larger than most FMs I have seen. Meaner, too!
If his attitude gets any worse I may have to find him a new home, even though I really don't want to.

 

[Voodoo Chilli]

I seriously doubt the FM would cause much trouble with serps or phantoms, providing you keep a school of at least five or so. My only concern with such scrappy little dither fish would be in keeping them with a SA/CA cichlid large enough to eat them.

Of course, you couldn't go wrong with the tiger barbs.

 

[Mosaic]

I've inherited serpaes and black skirts, and I dunno, they don't seem like they can hold their own against another mean fish. But maybe mine were just wusses.
African longfinned tetras (Alestes) make great dither fish, as I have found. They top out at about 4" and they can move. Personality-wise, they're the toughest non-cichlid I've ever kept. They're not really nippy or aggressive, but when they get picked on, it just rolls right off. They're made of steel. The only bad part is they can be tough to find (I just put in a special order for more at my LFS ). It's a shame they're not more popular.

 

[severum mama]

If I go with the serpaes or phantoms, I would like a school of about 10. I'll keep watching them at the LFS and decide whether I should buy them. I could always get TBs, but I've kinda been there and done that, you know?

Mosaic- I actually noticed you talking about that species in another post and Googled it for more info. Those tetras sound cool, but if they are not available from our supplier I won't be able to get them. I'll check the list; thanks!

 

[Mosaic]

I talk about them a lot because I only keep 4 species of fish right now, lol. But I was lucky to have stumbled across them. I've really come to love the guys. I didn't at first, because I tried keeping them with rasboras and they just overwhelmed the poor little things. But cichlids and plecos are perfect tank mates. I think they could be just what you're looking for.
I'm pretty sure they're all wild-caught and there's not much demand for them, so good luck trying to find them. Rehoboth is the only place I know for sure that has them, so I'll be ordering from them if my LFS can't get them.

Tiger Barbs would have been my other suggestion, but that's already been covered.

 

[Jchillin]

SM - Yes, I do keep them with my angels and it's not a bad combo at the moment. I did say that I wasn't at all sure how they would fare with your mean spirited FM...they are larger than most tetras though.

 

[severum mama]

I think I'm going to try some phantoms or serpaes pretty soon. I am watching them to make sure they stay healthy, plus I will be shuffling all my tanks around this weekend so it's not such a good time for new additions. If it doesn't work out I can just return them... since I work for the LFS it won't be much trouble!

 

[sith j]

if i were you i would go with a school of congo tetras, they are fast and tough, real pretty also

 

[severum mama]

I had considered Congo tetras, but I checked out some species profiles and read that they were kind of shy and didn't do well with boisterous tankmates. Have you had a different experience with them?

 

[Sicklid]

If you don't have cichlids in breeding mode, it may not be so bad. I had a dozen Gold Pristellas (big ones, fast too) get totally demolished by my convicts. Only when the paired off tho. Otherwise everyone was cool...

 

[Acer]

you said your fm was wild caught, he might be a bit more agressive than domestic bred ones