# Soft Water Cichlids



## WetWork (Dec 9, 2012)

What are some good cichlids that do well in soft water and also that stay in the 5-6 inch range. Jewels and kribs come to mind, any others?


----------



## bullseyejoey (Aug 30, 2012)

I'm not sure if they do thrive in soft water but rams and apistos stay small


Sent from my iPhone using Petguide.com Free App


----------



## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

jewels and kribs are not very compatible...jewels are probably one of the meanest fish you will ever encounter..really vicious..i had a small 2 1/2-3" pair kill a 12" red devil...

rams and apistos are great little fish that do very nicely in softer water...there are also several other south american dwarf cichlids you could put in..


----------



## ZebraDanio12 (Jun 17, 2011)

My vote is for the Rams and apistos. THey are sensitive, keep in mind. SO when acclimating them don't just throw them in.


----------



## weedkiller (Nov 18, 2012)

blue acaras are lovely fish, characters in them selves , they grow about 6" but some to a max of 8", think they need a 35-40 gal minimum


----------



## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

there are dozens of species of Apistogramma..a guy up in sisters oregon breeds most of them he is called apistodave...awesome guy...
there are also several species of crenicara that are great little fish....and of course several species of microgeophagus...


----------



## WetWork (Dec 9, 2012)

Thanks for all the info guys. I think i will go with Apistos and Rams, I like that they stay relatively small and they aren't super aggressive.


----------



## WetWork (Dec 9, 2012)

How many apistos and rams could I fit into a 50 gallon? I am really not interested in having them breed if that makes any difference.


----------



## ZebraDanio12 (Jun 17, 2011)

Honestly, I think it's a bad idea to have more than one male even in a big tank. For the Apistos I'd go 1 male and however many females you want....I have two to my male. Having more makes the females sometimes get jealous but since your tank is bigger, it may not be a problem. With the rams, A good starting point could be just 1 male and 1 female. I have two females to my male, but he only breeds with one of them, the other him and his mate are constantly chasing around.


----------



## WetWork (Dec 9, 2012)

okay so i am thinking 1 pair of german golden rams and a pair of apisto borellis. Could I add any panda/peppered corys, dont know why but those fish make me laugh. If i cant what would be a some more recommendations for just a few more fish, I feel 4 fish would look a little sparce in a 50 gallon.


----------



## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

try about 6 or 8 of either the pandas or the paleatus cories...they like to be in groups and are more active and outgoing when they are...i have often seen my cories line up like they are posing for pictures...awesome fish...i have about 7 or so species of corydoras and aspidoras...


----------



## WetWork (Dec 9, 2012)

Awesome, thanks for the info loch. I think i will get 6 panda corys to go with my two rams and two apistos. I think I will be happy with that.


----------



## WetWork (Dec 9, 2012)

So the LFS i go to only has male Rams and Apistos. So to avoid aggression issues I think I am going to have 1 German Blue Ram, 1 Apisto Agassizi, 6 Panda Corys, 6 Rosy Barbs. Any other fish I could add or does that sounds good?


----------

