Old World/New World Mix Can it be Done Successfully

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Albino Sick Led said:
Eventually i will have to get rid of some of the tankmates when they grow into their size, as i stated before. I know this already. I knew the frontosa would definitely have to go because i could do the frontosy by itself in a 55 gal long and even then i would consider doing it bigger.This set up is not premanent, and the tankmates will not be permanent either. I am just wanting to share my succesful experience thus far of my planted cichlid tank and i am giving information as to what their diet consists of. My fish are very healthy and have never had any issues with parasites, infections, or bloating.
:fish2:
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You really need to start your own thread if your only here to discuss things with people. All you have done here is confuse the op with a horrible stocking plan that you just admitted won't work in the long run. People don't want to hear that kind of advice. They want things that will work for what they have.

Not to be rude or whatever but you've got this way off track from the op. I hope to see you start your own thread for your arguments ;) see us soon
 
I agree that this is a poor stocking plan to be recommending to a beginner. Whether or not it can or should be done by a knowledgable individual is a discussion unto itself. Therefore, I have moved these posts into their own thread in order to allow that discussion to continue. Please remember to keep the discussion/debate civil.

In the future please refrain from turning an inexperienced individuals' stocking plan question into a debate about your individual stocking plan.
 
1-1\2 years is really not that long in this hobby. Most fish grow relatively slowly, I don't keep Africans but I know people who have and they say they grow relatively slow. However, keeping an overstocked tank especially with cichlids from everything I've read makes aggression minimal. Mostly since they don't have areas to setup as territories. That is probably the reason they are still alive. Thriving is most likely a whole other scenario. You mentioned a natural ecosystem and your tank may be natural for the South Americans but it's not very natural for the Africans. I think it is our duty in this hobby to give fish the proper home that they require. It's your tank and you can do with it as you please but as a responsible fish keeper we should all be trying to keep tanks that have appropriate fish.
 
bribo12 said:
1-1\2 years is really not that long in this hobby. Most fish grow relatively slowly, I don't keep Africans but I know people who have and they say they grow relatively slow. However, keeping an overstocked tank especially with cichlids from everything I've read makes aggression minimal. Mostly since they don't have areas to setup as territories. That is probably the reason they are still alive. Thriving is most likely a whole other scenario. You mentioned a natural ecosystem and your tank may be natural for the South Americans but it's not very natural for the Africans. I think it is our duty in this hobby to give fish the proper home that they require. It's your tank and you can do with it as you please but as a responsible fish keeper we should all be trying to keep tanks that have appropriate fish.
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Very well said


Another thing to add to that

The last time I checked I didn't see a chicken or a cow swimming under water. So once again it doesn't sound natural to them but us yes.
 
bribo12 said:
I don't get the point of this video. Yes they ate the shrimp. Cichlids will literally eat anything you put in their tank. Why waste money on the shrimp when a high quality pellet has much better nutritional value?
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I just wanted to show a video of my fish eating the shrimp. I though it was pretty neat.


I don't consider it a waste, simply $1 for 20 live ghost shrimp, my fish love it. And a fine pellet diet is present for my fish as well, as stated in one of the earlier post, don't know if you read it. I feed them the Dainichi Cichlids pellets.
 
Albino Sick Led said:
I just wanted to show a video of my fish eating the shrimp. I though it was pretty neat.

I don't consider it a waste, simply $1 for 20 live ghost shrimp, my fish love it. And a fine pellet diet is present for my fish as well, as stated in one of the earlier post, don't know if you read it. I feed them the Dainichi Cichlids pellets.
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I didn't see it and around me, feeder shrimp are like $7 for 20. That's why I stated it was expensive lol.
 
bribo12 said:
1-1\2 years is really not that long in this hobby. Most fish grow relatively slowly, I don't keep Africans but I know people who have and they say they grow relatively slow. However, keeping an overstocked tank especially with cichlids from everything I've read makes aggression minimal. Mostly since they don't have areas to setup as territories. That is probably the reason they are still alive. Thriving is most likely a whole other scenario. You mentioned a natural ecosystem and your tank may be natural for the South Americans but it's not very natural for the Africans. I think it is our duty in this hobby to give fish the proper home that they require. It's your tank and you can do with it as you please but as a responsible fish keeper we should all be trying to keep tanks that have appropriate fish.
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Thank you for the feedback and information. I have been in the hobby for about 4 1/2 years now,when i first started pursuing my degree in biology. I got into the hobby because i did research in freshwater ecosystems while in school. This specific tank set up is what has been up and running beautifully for that time frame of 1 1/2 years, not my total experience dealing with aquarium.

I am simply sharing my successful experience of my mixed Cichlid aquarium, the feedback is appreciated but that is your opinion, based from "what you've read" you said. I am applying knowledge i have learned in the field of research, along with school and experience, to currently maintain this stock that i have. Long term there will be changes, due to the need of living space of the fish. I respectfully disagree that i am in any way harming my fish or not providing a proper living environment for them at this time though, IMHO.


Thank you for sharing and the feedback!:)
 
The thing is, you're telling us over and over that you're having great success with your setup, yet you acknowledge that your setup is temporary. Maybe your mix of mostly young cichlids aren't killing each other at the present time, but to call a temporary setup "successful" is a bit misleading IMHO.
 
Albino Sick Led said:
Thank you for the feedback and information. I have been in the hobby for about 4 1/2 years now,when i first started pursuing my degree in biology. I got into the hobby because i did research in freshwater ecosystems while in school. This specific tank set up is what has been up and running beautifully for that time frame of 1 1/2 years, not my total experience dealing with aquarium.

I am simply sharing my successful experience of my mixed Cichlid aquarium, the feedback is appreciated but that is your opinion, based from "what you've read" you said. I am applying knowledge i have learned in the field of research, along with school and experience, to currently maintain this stock that i have. Long term there will be changes, due to the need of living space of the fish. I respectfully disagree that i am in any way harming my fish or not providing a proper living environment for them at this time though, IMHO.

Thank you for sharing and the feedback!:)
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Lol I'm also a bio major and while I dwell more on the salt side of the hobby I do still keep a planted South American fw tank. "What I have read" is research.. Like I stated I don't keep Africans because to me they are kind of boring but I have researched them and have friends who keep them, I like to research all fish :). I never stated you were harming them, they all look healthy in the video, I was just stating my opinion like you said and that we have different approaches to fish keeping.
 
You mentioned earlier that you have a "top notch natural ecosystem." Old World and New World cichlids have very different ecosystems. Old World cichlids have an ecosystem of minimal plants, and i'm quite positive that neither new nor old world cichlids eat chicken or beef. So could you explain how it is a natural environment?
 
Andrew McFadden said:
You really need to start your own thread if your only here to discuss things with people. All you have done here is confuse the op with a horrible stocking plan that you just admitted won't work in the long run. People don't want to hear that kind of advice. They want things that will work for what they have.

Not to be rude or whatever but you've got this way off track from the op. I hope to see you start your own thread for your arguments ;) see us soon
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Andrew McFadden said:
Very well said


Another thing to add to that

The last time I checked I didn't see a chicken or a cow swimming under water. So once again it doesn't sound natural to them but us yes.
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I apologize for going off topic on the OP, i was trying to answer questions and feedback being given back to me after my response was placed. As you can see, a new thread has been started already. No offense taken. I know everyone on here is very passionate about what they do and things can get a bit heated sometimes as to what we think is best.


Also,
Very great observation that cows and chicken are not usually seen in the natural habitats of these fish, underwater, couldn't agree more. What is present at times though are dead animals from the local ecosystems that end up in the river. These are also valuable food sources, including for cichlids.


Thanks for the feedback!:fish2:
 
I agree new worlds and old world cichlids can live together. I have fought this argument many times. However it needs to be within parameters. Size, temperament, temperature and diet being the biggest factors.

I think if you put fish together that could live long term together then you would have an easier time proving the point you are trying to make. Having a tank up at a year and half isn't proving your point. It just proves that the juvies can exist together it doesn't state what the long term affects of these fish are.

I don't agree with the whole steak and chicken thing. Forgive me for saying it but it makes you sound a little "out there" you should have saved that for a separate argument.

My tank stock for a 75 gallon
1 x JD 3"
2 x EBJD 3"
2 x Firemouth (bonded) 4.5" and 3"
1 x Salvini 1"
5 x Peacocks 4"-5"

The only one I am not sure about being able to live together into adulthood is the Salvini. I will move him if need be. The rest I plan to upgrade to a larger tank but still plan to keep together. These work because size aggression and temperament all work together. If I put more or less aggressive or larger or smaller fish this would not work. You talk about your education the fish you added together should have been researched more for optimal life span care.
 
I also want to say hey kudos for trying something different and thinking out side the box, that's how new discoveries are made. I think more people in this hobby need to try things. But a little more research and care should be taken.
 
bmarine said:
You mentioned earlier that you have a "top notch natural ecosystem." Old World and New World cichlids have very different ecosystems. Old World cichlids have an ecosystem of minimal plants, and i'm quite positive that neither new nor old world cichlids eat chicken or beef. So could you explain how it is a natural environment?
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Hi bmarine,
Chicken and beef are just a small portion of what the diet of my tank consists of. I cut it into small enough pieces, similar to their pellet food size. A cichlids diet is very diverse and can survive on many different things, in nature they don't depend on high quality food pellets obviously, so i try to imitate a good balance of protein and plants, while making sure they have a good quality food pellet available as well.
I call my tank natural because i use live plants found in all the natural habitats my fish are naturally found in, including plants found in lake Tanganyika in Africa where Cichlids are found. My water parameters fit within all the ranges of where they are naturally found, and i time my lighting cycles along with a average amount of light the fish and plants would naturally be exposed to. While my set up is not 100% dedicated to one particular species' natural habitat, they all have natural habitat traits found in their native home available to them. This is why i consider it rather natural as opposed to filling it with fake plants, or cichlid caves, which can be bought to imitate natural surroundings.


Thank you for the response and feedback, much appreciated!:)
 
severum mama said:
The thing is, you're telling us over and over that you're having great success with your setup, yet you acknowledge that your setup is temporary. Maybe your mix of mostly young cichlids aren't killing each other at the present time, but to call a temporary setup "successful" is a bit misleading IMHO.
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I'm acknowledging that the tank mates will not be able to remain in my 55 gallon long permanently, due to their need of more living space later on. The setup, regarding the live plants, the filtration, substrate, and food itself could be permanent if I chose. You have a point though, just because it is almost 2 years running now it could be misleading that successful means permanent. The point I try to make by saying successful is that my fish are healthy, no severe aggression outside of normal Cichlid behavior, no deaths at this point, and the fish look beautiful, thankfully.

Thanks
 
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