mixing cichlids

[lukepghpa]

i know it's not recomended, but has anyone had success mixing african and south american cichlids in the same tank?

 

[QTOFFER]

Rift lake cichlids need hard alkaline water that would not be well tolerated by most SA cichlids.
That leaves African river cichlids such as jewels. Don't try mixing SA cichlids with African jewel cichlids. In fact, don't try mixing jewel cichlids with anything that you would like to remain alive for very long. Would anyone like my beautiful, but viciously murderous jewel cichlid?

 

[Fishyfanatic]

I have Parrots in with my African's and they are doing great. I wouldn't mix any other type though. What were you considering mixing?

 

[cougaran]

I kept a few africans and south Americans together, but the Africans usually died because i geared the tank at about neutral-slightly alkaline, but the africans need hardwater and more alkaline water. So the africans may survive, but to experiment with the higher priced fish is prob not a good idea. What i never did experiment is having an african tank set up with higher alkaline, hard water and trying to acclimate a SA fish slowly to taht tank. But if you go through all that trouble you might as well just have african cichlids, they are more colorful.
I did have one tough African that was a killer fighting fish, he'd take on fish twice his size. In all my very aggressive cichlid tanks i always have had a jewel fish. The only problem with them is they stay about 5" and seem to grow slower than there tank mates. So if they are the same size as their tank mates in the begining then they soon get dwarfed by the faster growing SA cichlids. But because they are tough fish they do well against bigger fish.

 

[Menagerie]

Out of sheer stupidity, there is an Acara in with our Mbuna community. He is one of the oldest, largest fish in the 80-gallon tank. In the past, there have been convicts, a jewel and a Jack Dempsey in with the Mbuna with disasterous results. I do not recommend mixing different cichlids together. Now that I know better and do not impulsively buy cichlids, the current community is stable and deaths are rare.

 

[macman7010]

Some naturalists will tell you not to mix these two species of cichlids together but in reality you can. At the height of my addiction of African Cichlids I had a variety of africans with a mono (the brackish water fish) some green terrors, even at one point a midas cichlid.

The fact is any fish born in the aquarium can adjust to a wide range of ph values and conditions. Just because in the wild a fish is only subject to ph 8.0 or above does not mean one born in the aquarium will not survive in a different enviroment.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

We had our african tank at 7.0 pH without any troubles. None of them were wild caught. Then we slowly increased the pH to 7.6 (where it is now) and am currently increasing it to 8.0. So far, no problems. If you threw in a wild caught african into a 7.0 pH tank, it may cause problems. Every time I go to a fish store I always ask what their pH is in their tanks. Some keep it at 8.0 and have S.A. Cichlids and some keep it at 7.0 with Africans.

 

[FishLover14]

I would never reccommend it other than the fact that they are of differnt aggressions, need differnt ph's and harndess, and differtn diets just to mention a few. They are totally incompatible with each other.\

JMHO
HTH

 

[cougaran]

I agree with the PH and hardness, but the agressiveness depends on the species and the fish themselves(just like humans some of us are more aggressive in nature than others, but yet we are still all classified the same) I have also found that the aggression level in the tank can be learned by other fish, that werent aggressive in the past. I have had cichlids that were the top dog in a certain tank and was slightly aggressive but when new tank mates bumped him from his role he became like 3rd or 4th in the hierarchy. Later he became 2nd and just chased everyone except the top dog and was more aggressive. So was it learned behavior or was it age made him more aggresssive. IMO it was learned. Another good example is in the past when people didnt have alot of money, My dad's first aguarium, a big 10 gal tank. He had a firemouth in a community tank... So it is possible to have Africans and SA together. The biggest factors are PH and water hardness. The fish can adapt to these conditions, but seems more likely to get diseases and die because they are living under a stressed enviroment. Thats why the experts agree to seperate the two and give your fish the best ideal conditions that they thrive under rather than giving them a tank they can just survive in.

 

[thatonegirl]

I think macman7010 is right about many species of fish being able to adapt to a wide range of pH and hardness, but when you're mixing SA and Afrian cichlids, I think dietary needs are a bigger issue

 

[AlonelyCody]

I have a Pink Convict in with my African Cichlids... and she seems to be doing fine and has even mated onec...LOL...but yes SA Cichlids would do beter in a SA setup.

 

[glasstapper]

my african didwell with my sa's for a year untill,,,,,,, that time of year and off he went to the lfs

 

[macman7010]

The dietary needs are also easily met in both species of cichlids. Most of the commercial prepared flake or pelleted foods apply to the dietary needs of both varietys of fish.

In the case of some South American cichlids this is not the case, such as with Discus, thier dietary needs are polar opposites of most African Cichlids, and also polar opposites to most South American Cichlids. Most SA Cichlids are hogs and a liberal feeding regiment works, but with Discus you gotta be a major conservative.

This applies often to the feeding habits of the cichlids in question ... but getting a diet that fits both fish should not be tough.

 

[nickelstone44]

Frontosas

What kind of fish are good to mix with fronosa ciclids?

 

[Mlani]

The dietary needs are also easily met in both species of cichlids. Most of the commercial prepared flake or pelleted foods apply to the dietary needs of both varietys of fish.

In the case of some South American cichlids this is not the case, such as with Discus, thier dietary needs are polar opposites of most African Cichlids, and also polar opposites to most South American Cichlids. Most SA Cichlids are hogs and a liberal feeding regiment works, but with Discus you gotta be a major conservative.

This applies often to the feeding habits of the cichlids in question ... but getting a diet that fits both fish should not be tough.

I realize this is an older thread, I'm hoping you're still an active member. I tried private messaging you but your inbox is full. I was wondering if you would provide some advice regarding one of my tanks?

 

[Pton46]

Separate....Separate....Separate....Sorry, for the people who are lucky and have mixed tanks...it will just be a matter of time. The Jewel in my 60 gallon for a bit and went rogue one day....I had to move him and now it is at the point he is probably going back to a LFS as he killed two Algae eaters and contributed to the demise of one of My Tiger Oscars....all were bigger than him. In addition he brought out additional aggressive behavior with others in the African tank. In addition Africans need different water needs so start planning for that African Tank now.

 

[bcurlacher54]

i have mostly mbuna in my tank, but i also have a peacock and a jewel as well. i also made the mistake of thinking i knew more than the dude at petco and thought i was purchasing a midnight mloto peacock when in fact it was a little black jack dempsey. its really small and hides under the decoration alot but its been alive for about 3 months. i will get back to ya on how it turns out once he comes out and starts to grow.