[Cichlidsrule102]

Hey all, I'm building a 4ft by 20in wide by 18in deep aquarium for my tandanus catfish, and was wondering what you people thought would make a nice tank mate? something not too aggressive, even though my cat will be over a foot by then, I dont want to have to rehome any fish, it always makes me sad. cheers, Jim

 

[Cichlidsrule102]

bump

 

[Cichlidsrule102]

bump

 

[rsskylight04]

I would try oscar or LARGE jack dempsey. Big catfish like to try to eat smaller fish so anything less than half his size might end up as a meal. Large african cichlids might be nice if you have good water for them. Or asian gar because they generally stay near the surface. Just be carfull to not overstock too many large fish. Your tank is about 75 gallons I think. I think 3-6 fish in the 6"-12" range would be good and give a little room to grow.
Good luck!

 

[Cichlidsrule102]

thanks, the gar sounds really cool, I'll have to look into it. The tank is now 24in wide, and it is 90 us gallons. My catfish doesn't really have a big mouth like RTC's and that, and is pretty peaceful, so anything 6in and up would be fine. Don't worry, I won't overstock the tank, I just want the catfish and a reasonably sized tankmate, and possibly my firemouth, which share her current tank. cheers, Jim

 

[Allanira]

Texas Cichlid. Not the red hybrid. Either green or blue. I prefer the blue it's the only cichlid native to USA lol.

 

[Cichlidsrule102]

Yeah, unfortunately I have to rehome the catfish as I'm not allowed to set up a tank big enough for it.

 

[Allanira]

By your dimensions you have a 55 gallon tank. 1 Texas Cichlid can live in there IF you do everything right. I mean sandy substrate, fake plants enough hiding places for it. If you can get a female it would be better because they don't get as big as the males. Males get bigger than females. Also good filtration. I have to upgrade mine. I had a breeding pair in my 55 before and they did great. You do have to vary ther diet more and feed more or less depending on how they behave. They will beg and plead and act like their starving even though you just fed them. Mine were not aggressive like everything I read lead me to believe. The male also didn't tear up my aquarium either. It all depends on what you want in your aquarium. Do you want a big fish or would a couple smaller cichlids do. Do you want aggressive or more peaceful. The green terror is a beautiful but slightly more aggressive ca/sa cichlid, also the firemouth. They get about 6 inches. Do you want a hybrid? The red texas is a very aggressive hybrid. That gets about the same size as a real texas cichlid. Jack Dempseys get about a foot and can be calmer than other ca/sa cichlids, but they can also be holy terrors too. It just all depends on what you want. I have some Yucatan mollies, red wag platies, and florida blue crawdads in my 55 gallon right now. I will be ordering a Texas cichlid online to add after its been quarantined for a month. I think because the inhabitants that are in their now and because they are bigger than the cichlid im getting they will be fine together. If I'm wrong then the cichlid got an extra meal and I'll be irritated with myself. If I'm right I have a good lookin aquarium.

 

[Cichlidsrule102]

Yeah, its a 90g, and I'm unfortunately not able to set it up for quite a while, and green terrors can get to over 12 inches in a proper environment with adequate food, although the females only get to 8in at most. I have seen a male fire mouth at 7in. But thanks for your help anyway.

 

[Allanira]

I just got my baby Texas Cichlids and they are so sweet. I might have hit the jackpot with 1 male and 1 female. They stay together. They will flare and mock charge but haven't hurt any other fish. I wish you luck on getting the right one for you.

 

[Cichlidsrule102]

Yeah, I love cichlids with blue and green, hence why some of my favourites are jd's, texas', and green terrors.