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Cichlids vs. plants and suitability for community aquarium?

3K views 11 replies 7 participants last post by  jennesque 
#1 ·
Hi,
I've been looking at some really pretty cichlids at PETCO and Petsmart in Lincoln.
I was wondering if there is a dwarf variety out there that might be OK with plants and not shred them up? Also, will they be OK with soft acidic water with cory cats, oto cats, zebra danios and neon tetras?
Or is it better to start a new tank and stick to an only rock based decor?
Thanks,
Ami
 
#2 · (Edited)
South american cichlids usually will do well in soft acidic water, some of them will do well with live plants, others not so much. My angels and bolivian rams do fine with my live plants. My pink convicts that I just got I have done fake plants with since I read that they can be hard on live plants, although I have placed some live floating plants in with them, will see how that works out. The Africian cichlids need hard akaline water. Depending on what your ph is and also what your kh is you might be able to raise the ph by using a substrate that will raise the ph like crushed coral, and also there are specific cichlid subtrates out there. Is there a particular type of cichlid that you are interested in? Also with the fish that you have already you would be better with doing a new tank centered around them, the zebra danios can be a little to active for some of the slower more sedate south american cichlids, although corys and I believe ottos will be fine with them. Not sure if you are familar with the fish profiles here, but it would be a good place for researching the different type of cichlids available and their requirements. The link can be found at the top of the page second tab from the left.
 
#4 · (Edited)
Your tank is 20 gallons right? So that would be to small for Angels. I have the German Blue Rams and they are great little fish. I have them in a 20 gallon long with harlequin rasbora the only thing about them that is kind of bad is they have to be kept at 82 degrees or higher which gives you less of a choice in what you can keep with them also some plants do not do well at that temp I had duckweed that I put in there and it did not do well at that temp while the others did well which surprised me because duckweed is hard to kill. LOL The Bolivian Ram is very much like the German Blue only a little less colorful and can be kept at lower temps.
 
#6 ·
Oh in that case I would get 6 or 7 Angel fish of different colors I love them but do not have them right now because I have neons in my 55 and the Angels may eat them when they get big. Or if you can do with out the real plants I would do a mix of Electric Yellow Cichlid, Acei Cichlids, and Red Zebra Cichlids I love the colors of these and I think they would be very pretty in a tank.
 
#10 ·
Oh yeah, I'd forgotten that had been mentioned. Glad you pointed it out!:-D
I'm gonna put in 2-3 honey gouramis...would German Blue or Bolivian Rams get along with them?
Generally I wouldn't advise mixing gourami and cichlids because they are so similar in disposition, territorial and thus can be aggressive especially when spawning (gourami and cichlids). Believe me, I just had to move my pygmy sparkling gourami out of the 33g because they were tormenting everything in the tank due to the males (2 of them at opposite ends) defending their nests.
 
#12 · (Edited)
I know it's been mentioned, but I just wanted to say I just added two blue rams to my tank and I love them. They're with some corys, and harlequin rasboras.. They're beautiful, and they haven't shown any aggression with anyone, other than the occasional stink eye at the gravel siphon when I'm cleaning, lol. They're not too shy either, I see them out and about. I'm thinking of adding some neons since they can go with them as well. I know that danio are recommended for rams because they're so active, it makes the rams feel more comfortable. If you want some fish that are easier to care for, the bolivian ram isn't as delicate, although I haven't killed my rams yet. I got them at petsmart too!

The rams stay small and are pretty peaceful, and they're absolutely beautiful. I'm super sad my angelfish wasn't getting along in my tank, but thrilled that I was able to rehome it and get these rams as a replacement! They're wonderful! They weren't hard to get adjusted to the tank, they didn't go on a hunger strike or anything like you may read.. a completely pleasurable addition to my 28 gallon tank.
 
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