# Cichlid compatibility



## fish268 (Apr 4, 2012)

Hey, I am getting a new fish tank(around 70 gallon) and this will be my first big fish tank. I have had a 10 gallon for a long time now. I am now able to keep my fish alive with all the reaserch that i have done( longest living fish is a guppy that i've had for four years now). I am getting a big tank because i want cichlids in a community tank.I want to get a blood parrot for sure and want to find tank mates for a 70 gallon tank.I also want to get a red tailed shark, but i know they can be aggresive. Will they have any problems in a 70 gallon? Also, can you guys recommend some tank mates for them( non cichlids or cichlids)? My last question is if african and american cichlids can be kept together? Some people say NOT to do it, but others say they have been doing it for awhile and they are fine. ( my first post)


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

> because i want cichlids in a community tank


 Ugh. Of coarse, they don't live in species tanks in the wild, but most cichlids are territorial enough in tanks that you have to be careful. You can try more peaceful S. americans such as Laetacara dorsigera with cories and small tetra. Or small cichlids, such as apistos, in large tanks.

70 is big for an apisto tank, but not for a cichlid tank. 

I always say NO to mixing Africans with New world cichlids. People who get away it usually have much bigger tanks or have it only a short time. Some of the small W. African river fish would be the best bet for compatible water chemistry. I think I had kribs and angels together for a little while once. But just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should. Try for an "optimal" environment for the fish you chose and that should include tank-mates.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

hmmmmmm...a tankmate for a blood parrot.....hmmmmm.....how about a few large piranha....(sorry ; i have a thing against interspecies breeding)
there are a number of mildly aggressive species you could put in a 70...just make sure there is enough territory for each of them..


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## fish268 (Apr 4, 2012)

I've decided not to mix african and american cichlds but, when i said "cichlid community tank", I didn't mean only cichlids. I think emc7 thought i meant only cichlids. just wanted to get that across.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Actually mixing cichlds is easier than mixing cichlids with other fish.


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## fish268 (Apr 4, 2012)

I have looked around the web and have found alot of people disgusted with the blood parrot. Also,they are very famous at pet stores thus people keep breeding them. Now i think i am going to start with an acei cichlid and a yellow lab. If anyone thinks they will not mix, just say something.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

those are okay together, but you will want more than 2 in a 70. 6 is a good start.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

i think that you will find that the majority of people that are pretty serious about this hobby dislike the blood parrots with a passion..crossing different species and propagating deformed animals is not a good idea...just think how it would be if we crossed a human being with a warthog...after all ; they are both mammals...would you marry one of them ?
emc is right...a good grouping of the africans is a beautiful sight...you will need lots and lots of rocks....use dolomite or crushed coral for a substrate to keep your PH up...


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## fish268 (Apr 4, 2012)

Should I get 6 of each? How many africans could I fit in my tank? I agree with being against blood parrots but, I don't think humans and warthogs have similiar enough DNA to reproduce. However, chimps do.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Remind me what filter(s) you have. How much you can overstock depends on the filter. 6 of each is fine, just be prepared to remove some as they reproduce. Either pull extra males or pull babies (or holding mothers). I have these fish in the same tank and have fry of both. Often you can trade big males for supplies at an LFS.


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## fish268 (Apr 4, 2012)

I don't want them to breed. What if i get a 50 gallon and get just two and some different types of fish.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

If you have male and female cichlids, they will breed. If you really don't want fry, you'd want an all male bachelor tank.


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## fish268 (Apr 4, 2012)

how can you tell the difference between female and male besides venting them? How many African cichlids could i get in a 50 gallon, I heard they are suppose to be crowded?


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## Ladayen (Jun 20, 2011)

With mbuna's from Lake Malawi, like the acei or electric yellow, it is difficult to have a positive gender ID until they have breed and can be vented properly. A few can be ID'd easily by color once they hit juvie-mature stage but theres not many of these really.

It is possible to do a bachelor tank, but I've heard of several people getting a wrong gender ID. Then they wake up with dead fish.

If you wanna go with Mbuna then I would pick 2 species, try and get 1 male with 4-5 females of each. Trade off excess males.


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## fish268 (Apr 4, 2012)

hey, i just got a 50 gallon bowfront. The guy that sold it to me had a 2 1/2 year hold frontosa cichlid. He told me that he didn't know what kind of cichlid it was, he just knew it was african. I did some research and found out it was a frontosa.Holy crap!!111!!11100110101000112 They get to 14 inches. Will it be okay in it's tank? It came with a fluval 204 canister filter.


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## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

I wouldn't think so, but I'm no expert.


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## fish268 (Apr 4, 2012)

I don't know if he will be okay either. he's about 10 inches now.Filter sure is doing a good job, if I'm not wrong the fluval 204 can be used in tank's upto 180 gallons.Also, there is 3 minnows in the tank that i guess the frontosa was suppose to eat. He chases them around every now and then but, can't catch them.I am not 100% sure it is a frontosa because he has dark yellow pectoral fins.


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## fish268 (Apr 4, 2012)

I am giving my front to a friend, so can anyone tell me what cichlid will go with a yellow lab ( or stocking ideas with any other African ciclids that would look nice)


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## kay-bee (Dec 6, 2006)

Yellow labs are compatible with just about any mbuna species. In a 50gal, I would avoid the aggressive species. 

What mbuna species are you interested in?


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## fish268 (Apr 4, 2012)

I am intrested in acei's and yellow labs mainly, So maybe i'll get some other mbuna fish. Can you reccomend anyothers. My lfs doesn't sell very many different types.I was thinking of changing the setup. What if i took out 60% of the water, keep the flter running, took out the gravel, replace it with sand and put in some big rocks. Will the tank still be cycle?


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