Salvini or Kenyi

[ThatsCrayFish]

Hey guys, I'm new to the cichild's but very interested in them, I went out and bought long 55 gal to go with my 46, and 20. I was looking at doing a pair of Salvini's or a few Kenyi's, however when researching them I saw that the Kenyi are a really agressive breed and they recommend overstocking the tank to control aggression, I have a 90 gal+50 gallon filter that I'll be running so filtration isn't an issue, I just don't want to overstock the tank and have them be unhappy and cramped but this is where my lack of knowledge on cichild's has lead me, hoping someone can shed some light on the subject and help me make a decision, Or another suggestion as well, I'm looking for omnivorous or carnivorous.


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[ywagner]

Srry I have not kept Kenyis but I have kept a salvini. They stay relatively small to their other cichlid friends, but are nonetheless aggressive and beautiful. If you could get a breeding pair that would be cool, but would create havoc for the tank. I would recommend getting a salvini and jack Dempsey combo, I've done these two together and they work fine. As for other stock for a 55, I would do a Bichir cause they are cool in general and maybe a pike cichlid. Hope this helps


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[Mogurako]

Salvini males will hit the 8" mark and females slightly smaller at 6". A 55 would be bare minimum for a spawning pair with no tank mates. Also I don't suggest keeping any other species with them in a tank that size. I can barely keep 8 2" fry in a 40b for grow out with out shredded tails.

Kenyi like Salvini are also very aggressive towards other species as well as conspecifics and top out around 6"

Either is do able in that tank really but not really the best option if you don't have allot of experience managing aggressive fish.


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[Rare]

I will agree to all the comments above. My female Kenyi is more aggressive then the male, but both are in the same level. My BlueBerry ob zebra and Red top trewavasae keeps them in check all the time.

 

[ThatsCrayFish]

Hmm okay whichever one I did I wasn't planning on keeping anything else with them, thanks for the input!


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[mikem691]

I would do Central's over Africans any day but that's just me...LOL

 

[Mogurako]

I would do Central's over Africans any day but that's just me...LOL

Agreed!


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[mikem691]

op don't know if you have seen good pictures of salvinis but here is a picture from another member here. Hard to not agree with the color on these guys.

 

[Mogurako]

This is the parent of my fry that I'm currently growing out. Rio Usumacinta Salvini.







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[Mogurako]

However if you're digging the yellow/ black and want something a little less homicidal there is Cryptoheros nanoluteus
Not my picture but I do keep these aswell.


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[ThatsCrayFish]

Yeah the Salvini's are great looking fish, I was leaning towards them, I think the Kenyi will be hard for me to deal with, so ill go with a Breeding pair of Salvini's, I still got some work to do, but I'll throw a picture up eventually!


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[Rivers2k]

I will all ways go with new world cichlids over africans. Allot less chasing and more personality. However Salvini are terrors mine hid all the time and attacked what ever swam by including a JD twice its size. I like the colors though and later discovered rainbow cichlids I could not be happier. They are fairly passive and do great in groups they can get up to 5" and colors get better with age. Mine get yellow and blues that rival any salvini

This is one of mine sorry its not the best pic.

 

[Mogurako]

Centrals have allot of personality and do allot of chasing depending on the species/mix but I agree allot less "random violence" than Mbuna.

Multispinosus are nice (been meaning to get some) but Nanos or Salvini blow them out of the water IMO! The Rio Grijalva Salvini get a ton on blue spangles, Candaleria and Usumacinta allot of red


Another option for yellow/black/blue in a smaller cichlid would be Thorichthys Pasionis.





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[Rivers2k]

Centrals have allot of personality and do allot of chasing depending on the species/mix but I agree allot less "random violence" than Mbuna.

Multispinosus are nice (been meaning to get some) but Nanos or Salvini blow them out of the water IMO! The Rio Grijalva Salvini get a ton on blue spangles, Candaleria and Usumacinta allot of red


Another option for yellow/black/blue in a smaller cichlid would be Thorichthys Pasionis.
View attachment 260259

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I finally got a group of Passionis and was disappointed with the colors. Still trying to sell off my last three. I guess they don't really show those nice yellows unless breeding. All mine look silver with the slightest bit of yellow. Funny thing is in my pics they look yellow but not in real life.

 

[Mogurako]

That's why it's important to find locational variants with good colors for fish like that. Yours are also still on the smaller side.


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[ThatsCrayFish]

Awesome, seems like there's a million different kinds! Haha


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[Rivers2k]

Awesome, seems like there's a million different kinds! Haha


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That there are. And the research begins, that's really the fun part.