# Cichlid tank mates?



## pixie22 (Nov 21, 2017)

What fish can be kept with South American cichlids?
I've heard different answers from different recorces. I've invested a lot into my cichlid tank which currently houses two 1 inch bottom feeders, two 3 inch jack Dempsey, one 4 inch "assorted" cichlid, and a 1 inch "assorted" cichlid. My issue is that they tend to just hide all day in their territories. When i have people over they ask if i have fish in my tank, because I never see them unless im feeding or standing right in front of the tank. I would LOVE to add some kind of middle-top swimming schooling fish to my tank. Is this a possibility? Only the largest cichlid is aggressive toward the others that I've seen. They had eaten one of the bottom feeders, but maybe it just wasn't fast enough to be housed with them? 
I would love any suggestions for fish to House with these guys that would thrive in my tank. Thanks


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## Ichthys (Apr 21, 2016)

Can't really help without knowing what cichlids they are...

Are the "assorted cichlids" South American? (Jack Dempseys are Central American)


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## pixie22 (Nov 21, 2017)

I bought them at Petsmart. The jack Dempsey's and the other two were in the South American section. Here is a picture of the fish. The "assorted" cichlids were said to be South American.


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## DanLong (Feb 2, 2018)

the middle pic is a Convict. The top looks like a Dempsey- is that the other "assorted" one?

I'm also looking for some top dwelling tank mates.


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## pixie22 (Nov 21, 2017)

The middle one was one of the "assorted" ones. Here is a pic of the other fish that was assorted. Maybe a convict as well?
Now knowing i have Dempseys and convict Cichlids, what fish do well with these?


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## DanLong (Feb 2, 2018)

that looks like a convict as well.


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

What are the dimensions of your tank in Length x Width x Height?


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## pixie22 (Nov 21, 2017)

Tank is a bow front 60 gallon. It has tons of plants and hiding places, so the new fish would have places to hide. I read tetras can go with them. Is that true?


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## pixie22 (Nov 21, 2017)

Here's a pic of the tank if that helps too. Can i do tetras or plattys or something?


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## james1983 (Dec 23, 2007)

You're fully stocked. Hopefully the cons don't form a pair and breed.


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## pixie22 (Nov 21, 2017)

Idk if this is a weird question, but could i keep a turtle in a Cichlid tank? I own a baby turtle right now who is about the same size as my smaller fish. I've seen several videos online of turtles in Cichlid tanks and i was wondering if this was possible?


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## DutchAJ (Dec 24, 2016)

pixie22 said:


> Idk if this is a weird question, but could i keep a turtle in a Cichlid tank? I own a baby turtle right now who is about the same size as my smaller fish. I've seen several videos online of turtles in Cichlid tanks and i was wondering if this was possible?


I don't know too much about turtles, but I would think they'd snack on the cichlids???


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Turtles are VERY dirty...will pollute your cichlid tank. Most need land some of the time. Most (all?) will eat your cichlids if they can.


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## pixie22 (Nov 21, 2017)

I️ have a new question now. I moved my fish to a bigger tank two days ago. Im using their same filters that have been running for about six months, and I added in their same decorations and a bit of their old water. I bought a bigger filter which Im adding on Thursday... do you think it would be safe to add new fish now? I don't know much about cichlids so I was thinking it would be best to wait a week so the tank gets better established. Any thoughts? Thanks again for everyone's help


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## DanLong (Feb 2, 2018)

Have you tested the water? Since you used the same filters and some of the old water you're probably ok, but testing it would be the 1st thing to do to answer your question.


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## pixie22 (Nov 21, 2017)

Ok, sounds good. My PH is high, but everything else looks good


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Please post the results of your water test for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH.

What type and brand of test kit are you using?

To answer your question regarding adding more fish, we need to know exactly what your water test results are. Using water from the old tank doesn't contribute to cycling or add much if any good bacteria to the new tank.


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