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cichlid help

2K views 7 replies 4 participants last post by  adpierin11 
#1 ·
So i have a 60 gallon tank and experimented with some cichlids and it didnt work out. i have no idea what happened and was hoping some one could help me figure out where i went wrong. i had a pair of jack dempsey three salvian cichlids texas cichlid one electric yellow and four blue jahanis.everything slowly dies but the texas cichlid obvioulsy the colprate but how do i keep one fish from killing eveyone.
thanks for any help.
unfortunaltley i converted to community tank but would realy like to givee cichlids anohter thry any suggestions on how to make it work
 
#2 ·
Throwing all of those cichlids into one tank like that is definitely a recipe for disaster. First of all, it's not a good idea to mix New World cichlids (Jack Dempseys, Texas cichlids, salvinis) with African cichlids (yellow labs and blue johannis) as they have different water chemistry requirements and usually incompatible personalities. The Dempseys, Texas, salvini and johannis are all very aggressive fish. However, the Dempseys and Texas cichlids will be considerably larger than the others so it doesn't surprise me that you're having problems like this.

Honestly, even mixing "compatible" New World cichlids is hit or miss. The next time around, I wouldn't try putting so many fish together in such a small space. A 60g is on the small side for a Dempsey or Texas, so I would stick with something that stays a bit smaller like the salvinis. A single salvini would work well in a community setup (of non-cichlids like larger tetras or any peaceful fish too big to be eaten), but if you got two and they turned out to be a pair they would likely kill anything else you put in the tank.
 
#3 ·
well thanks for the help the local fish store owner claimed that it would all work out but clearly he was wrong lol. would i be ok putting some electric blues and yellows in a 60 with maybe liek flower horns or somthing. or if any one could suggest a cool combination of cichlids with a lot of color that would get along in a 60 gallon.
thanks for all of the help.
 
#4 ·
In my opinion, flowerhorns, being man-made hybrids, are something of an abomination and should be avoided at all costs. Also they get to be huge fish and wouldn't get along with your African cichlids.

If you really like the yellow labs and the blue fish, I suggest setting up a community of moderately sized, more peaceful African fish. You could try the electric yellows again along with some of the blue and red colored peacocks. Just make sure you keep the water at a high pH and very hard, which can be accomplished through using aragonite sand or crushed coral substrate, limestone rock piles in the tank, or crushed coral in your filter (or any combination of those). Decorate with lots of big piles of rock to create caves for the fish to hide in.
 
#8 ·
go with an all male tank. I like it that way b/c less aggressive b/c no females to argue over, and you have the flashy colors. Oh and 1 male per species. But if you want females go with a ratio of 1 male to about 4-5 females and only two species, that would give you about 10 good sized fish. But once again all-male is the way to go with africans!
Yeah your mix was definitely the reason the tank didn't survive. The one above was definitely correct about flower-horns, and way too big of a fish for a 60.
Stay with the smaller africans, take a look at my signature, that may help you with ideas of what to look for.
 
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