Need Advice - Tank Mate for Red Parrot Cichlid in 55G??

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CJanet77

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Feb 4, 2025
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3
Location
NC
I recently had to separate my parrot cichlid from my community tank because he was killing/eating smaller fish at night (tiger barbs, small rainbows and small skirt tetras). "He" (don't really know the sex but we named him Paddington and have always referred to it as male) is now in a 55G all to himself and I am wondering what I may be able to put in with him, if anything. He is about 7.5 inches and I have had him for about 5 years (bought him as a juvenile, maybe 2 inches in length). He has definitely already established the left side of this tank as his territory - he moves gravel and makes holes on that side (it is his all day long past time).
Most fish at my LFS are small (even larger species are sold at 1-2 inches). Would a Severum of some sort be okay if I can find a mature one that is being rehomed and of comparable size? Or would the tank be too small for both of them? I’d had also been thinking about an Oscar as a possible option too, but I know they can get fairly large.
Any thoughts or suggestions are welcome. TIA!
I’ve included a pic of Paddington and his set up.
 

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People have all kinds of experiences with this fish, some good, some bad. With yours being so territorial, I would not add another territorial fish with it so that rules out other cichlids. I'd stick to fish like Catfish species that have armor like raphael cats, plecos, pimelodellas, wood cats, etc. There are other nice ones that you could mix but that get very large so if your top tank is a 55, it would eventually be too small for those other ones. :(
 
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