can I add cichlids?

[lscotty]

So now the wife wants cichlids in our tank. I'm still new to all this and not sure if cichlids would work out with my current setup or stock.

The tank
140g tank 4' long 30" deep 18" wide. Ive got 2 canister filters, a fluval 306 and a cascade 1500. One has a spraybar and the other the duckbill looking thing. I also have 2 koralia nano 425s. One on the back right and one on the front left. Good water movement with stronger flow on the right and slower on the left. Has a decent amount of hiding places and im not against adding more if needed. Can post a pic here if needed

Water
Consistently 78 degrees. Ph 7.8. not sure of exact hardness but lfs said it was a little high. Ammonia nitrates and nitrites all 0. I do 25% PWC twice a week.

Stock
4 clown loaches
4 peppered corys
5 small bala sharks
1 highfin spotted pleco.
The pleco is the biggest one at about 3" the balas and clowns are around 2" and the corys around 1"

Would cichlids be safe to add? If so should I do African, south american or what? And how many would be good I know some fish prefer a certain numberto be comfortable. Or should I not even add any cichlids? If not any recommendations on something colorful?

Thanks for any input. And if I left out any information you need let me know.

 

[ghostking010]

I'd keep the clown loaches and the spotted pleco and add peacocks or mbunas it'll look good and colorful and the tank is big bring up ph to 8.0 and temp to 80 and your good send pics of tank I know it's good in size 55 gallon is the min that's what I'm running

 

[jwh0818]

I would focus on getting the tank cycled first.

2nd dont mess aroumd with changing your ph unless you really know what your doing. A stable ph is better then a constantly changing ph no matter what the fish needs

 

[lscotty]

Thanks for the replys. The tank is cycled. Did a fishless cycle following all the directions I found on here. The clowns and corys have been in the tank almost a month the balas about 2 weeks and the pleco 1 week. Been testing the water everyday just to make sure and doing PWC twice a week. Ammonia and nitrites always 0 and nitrates have been 5 or less. I agree I dont want to start messing with the ph and have something get screwed up. But more color is exactly what I'd like but dont want to add something thats going to cause an issue with the other fish and I keep reading conflicting information. One place says one thing another says the opposite. So figured someone would have an opinion based on experience that might point me in a possibly safe direction Keeping Iin mind what works for one person may be diffrent for me even with the same fish

 

[amber1003]

If you don't want to mess with ph then africans are out. Do some research on central and south American cichlids. I'm a fan of geophagus they can grow to be very colorful. Also jack dempseys, acaras and severums have nice color when grown.

 

[HN1]

If you don't want to mess with ph then africans are out. Do some research on central and south American cichlids. I'm a fan of geophagus they can grow to be very colorful. Also jack dempseys, acaras and severums have nice color when grown.

I agree. Stick to SA/CA cichlids. Africans would not be compatible at all with your current fish. Unless you go with riverine fish.

 

[lscotty]

I've read jack demseys can be pretty territorial and aggressive but I'll look into them again and the others you both mentioned. On the plus side my brother is giving me a 55 gallon tank next month when he comes out so I could always find something else for this tank and do a cichlids only tank with that one. At least my wife likes the whole aquarium thing so she doesnt mind me spending some money to do it right as long as she gets some say in what fish go in.

 

[amber1003]

True dempseys are more on the aggressive side but I don't think they would mess with bala sharks. My favorite is the blood parrot. They are semi aggressive but mine is very peaceful he is my favorite in the tank, awesome personality. Check them out and also the blue acara is a nice looking fish.

 

[amber1003]

I have a 55 but upgrading soon to a 120 hopefully ...it gets addicting

 

[lscotty]

When to 2 lfs that only do fish and a local petsmart that is surprisingly better then all the other stores around that I've gone to. Aso far ive ended up getting all my fish there as they've seemed the cleanest and healthiest and no problems yet. Ended up getting 4 Bolivian Ram*Cichlids (Microgeophagus altispinosa) not the most colorful but thats what the wife chose and from from I read they should be peaceful and work out. Also got 6 Roseline Shark (Puntius denisonii) because the wife said so. So now im pretty sure the tank is well overstocked bit I couldn't talk her out of it. At least I'll have a 55g tank so so I can move some stuff out if needed and look at getting another big tank for when stuff grows.

So now I have
4 clown loaches
5 bala sharks
6 roseline sharks
4 peppered corys
4 bolivian rams
1 highfin spotted pleco

All in a 140g that has a cascade 1500 canister, fluval 306 canister, AC 20 hob (for my quarantine when needed) and 2 koralia nano 425s. I should be ok being a little overstocked With the 2 ccanister filters and I do 25% pwc twice a week.

 

[bshenanagins]

Lose the balas, they get way too big

 

[TheCommunityCichlid]

Misinformation is all over this thread.... Your ph would be fine for Africans but you'd have to lose the corys and the balas need to go either way. If your keeping the corys then your going to have to new world. I'd checkout cryptoheros, Herichthys, Thorichthys, or even geophagus. Some of the most beautiful fish are in this group. Most knowledgable guy in the forum is Hukit shoot him a pm with any questions. He'll most likely help you out....

 

[lscotty]

Ya I know the balas get big. Ive already got a new home setup to move them to when they out grow my tank. Same with the loaches. I'll probably leave this tank how it is now and setup the 55g that I'm getting for cichlids. That gives me an excuse to get another bigger tank if I need a tank for some reason

 

[MMantelli]

Misinformation is all over this thread.... Your ph would be fine for Africans but you'd have to lose the corys and the balas need to go either way. If your keeping the corys then your going to have to new world. I'd checkout cryptoheros, Herichthys, Thorichthys, or even geophagus. Some of the most beautiful fish are in this group. Most knowledgable guy in the forum is Hukit shoot him a pm with any questions. He'll most likely help you out....

I was just about to say the same thing I have africans and my Ph is 7.4-7.6 and they do fine. But yeah your cories wouldn't last long with cichlids and the bala sharks get too long for a 4' tank.

 

[lscotty]

My ph is 7.8-8 from the tap. The tank has always tested the same and stayed 7.8. My understand from what I've seen on other posts is as long as your close to the recommended ph your ok the majority of the time. My friend has a 6' tank, not sure how many gallons but more then mine, once stuff outgrows my tank they will go there unless I get a bigger tank. The balas are still small. I knew when I got them the got big and planned ahead for it knowing I'd have to rehome them or get a larger tank. I've got a spot for up to an 8' tank and have been watching craigslist to see if one pops up for a reasonable price.

 

[amber1003]

Oh geez I must have read ur original post wrong or without my glasses ..I thought ur ph said 7.3 ..my bad