# mixing green scats with African Chiclids



## 456AL (Sep 13, 2008)

Mixing (green scats) with african chiclids ,Is it possible ???? And what other weird looking tropical fish can u mix with african chiclids ????I want visitors to be amazed with my fish and tank set up ,i have a 72 gallon bow front with alotta coral rocks from P.R and miami .Do ( green scats )fish come in beautiful tropical colors ?????I want my tank to look like a coral reef but with 50/50 water . Hoildays are coming people time to hook up the tanks LOL !! Alotta visitors . . . .


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## SinisterKisses (Feb 24, 2004)

50/50 water, as in brackish? Most cichlids are 100% fresh water.


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## 456AL (Sep 13, 2008)

Yes . . Brackish water ,Do u know about (green scats) or colorful fish i can mix with african chiclids ???


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## aTrueAfrican (Aug 7, 2008)

Generally a good mix of mbuna or Haps is colourfull enough but if you want to mix it up more and please forgive my spelling here but petroculous cats and syndo's usually work well *** also seen them leave ropefish well enough alone.Maybe a colourfull pleco that is able to defend itself like a scarlet acanthicus but you are taking your own risks there.


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## SinisterKisses (Feb 24, 2004)

Africans are 100% fresh water fish, you can't keep them in a brackish tank. Scats are brackish, you can't keep them in a fresh water tank. They don't mix.


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## 456AL (Sep 13, 2008)

Africans cichlids do live in brackish water SinisterKisses Brackish


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## LadyBarbara001 (Sep 8, 2008)

African Cichlids don't live in brackish water, they live in fresh water with a high ph and mineral content. They come from freshwater lakes in Africa.

Scats live in brackish water, moving slowly towards total marine as they age...I've done my homework on those.

They are not a good mix. There are a lot of Africans that are very colorful, and quite a few brackish fish that are as well, but I wouldn't suggest mixing Africans with brackish water inhabitants.

Good luck!


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## bulldogg7 (Mar 3, 2003)

Africans can live with some salt, but not brackish conditions. The scats may live in less than brackish, it's possible, but not a good idea.


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## SinisterKisses (Feb 24, 2004)

456AL said:


> Africans cichlids do live in brackish water SinisterKisses Brackish


Oh, yes? Enlighten me then? There is only one species of cichlid that I am aware of that is a brackish fish.


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## BurgerKing (Jul 1, 2008)

Alright, i've had both so i know a little here.

Scats ARE brackish while the african cichlids on this site ARENT. Scats, monos, and some puffers are concidered african cichlids because they are cichlids, that are in africa. Scats usually live where a fresh water river meets with an ocean (estuaries i think). Im not sure about scats but green spotted puffers (brackish) haved lived successfully with yellow labs(fresh) in my buddies tank for four years and still trucking.

The best way to introduce freshwater fish into brackish water is to slowly (over a couple days) add salt to their tank. To add the scats slowly introduce them into fresher water by adding fresh water to their home slowly as well. You can easily get away with a salinity reading of 1.004 on a hydrometer. Brackish prefer a little saltier but you can change this over time.


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## Guest (Sep 14, 2008)

BurgerKing said:


> Alright, i've had both so i know a little here.
> 
> Scats ARE brackish while the african cichlids on this site ARENT. Scats, monos, and some puffers are concidered african cichlids because they are cichlids, that are in africa. Scats usually live where a fresh water river meets with an ocean (estuaries i think). Im not sure about scats but green spotted puffers (brackish) haved lived successfully with yellow labs(fresh) in my buddies tank for four years and still trucking.
> 
> The best way to introduce freshwater fish into brackish water is to slowly (over a couple days) add salt to their tank. To add the scats slowly introduce them into fresher water by adding fresh water to their home slowly as well. You can easily get away with a salinity reading of 1.004 on a hydrometer. Brackish prefer a little saltier but you can change this over time.


Scats, monos and puffers ARE NOT CICHLIDS!!!!

They are a completely different kind of fish... They are not related nor part of the cichlidae family....!


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

SinisterKisses said:


> Oh, yes? Enlighten me then? There is only one species of cichlid that I am aware of that is a brackish fish.


Actually, I think the whole of the genus Etropolus are brackish water fish.

Most certainly, African cichlids are not brackish water fish, and should not be kept as such. Any attempt will cause the demise of the cichlids, or at best, a very reduced lifespan.


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## SinisterKisses (Feb 24, 2004)

Sorry, yes, I should have said genus, not species.


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## Dave (Feb 9, 2003)

Just to be a devils advocate Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika do have enough salt to be considered not "fresh", but we are talking right on the line between what is considered fresh water and what is considered salt water. A slight change in the definition and it is fresh.

That being said, African cichlids are not going to do well with brackish water fishes.


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

For some references, I did a bit of research as to what sodium content there was in various water types. The terms "salts" is used to mean much more than just sodium, and in this case, there really isn't much salt in any of these lakes.

Lake Tanganyika-
57-64ppm sodium

Lake Malawi-
21ppm sodium

Lake Michigan
7ppm

Lake Ontario
10-13 ppm

Lake Erie 
13-20ppm

Sea water-
10,770-35,000 ppm sodium

Brackish

2500-3500 ppm sodium typically


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## Bachachi (Sep 8, 2004)

I tried this combination of fish because my wife liked Monos and I liked scats, so we mixed them into a tank that contained some mixed Africans. The water is not so much the problem because the scats and the mono will adjust to the fresh water requirements of the Africans, but it won't work the other way around. However the real problem was aggression and the scats and mono were on the losing end of the battle. So for that reason alone I wouldn't suggest trying that mix.

Monos are a member of the Theraponidae family (Theraponids) and Scats are members of the Family Scatophagidae (Scats). Both of these species enter the sea as well as fresh water and do especially well in alkaline water with a PH of 7.5 or slightly higher.


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## Darkside (Feb 6, 2008)

Fogelhund said:


> SinisterKisses said:
> 
> 
> > Oh, yes? Enlighten me then? There is only one species of cichlid that I am aware of that is a brackish fish.
> ...


Etroplus canarensis is a freshwater species the other two in the genus are brackish water fish.


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## Guest (Sep 15, 2008)

Isn't there also a new world species of cichlid that is brackish or completely saltwater? I'm almost positive I read that in one of Paul Loiselle's books...

I'll have to go back and take a look to see what species I was talking about or if I am imagining things...


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## Bachachi (Sep 8, 2004)

Marduk, yes there are some new world cichlids that live in brackish water. Such
as the Mayan cichlid and the Black Belt cichlid. Here is a link an salt water cichlids.

http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream ... s_2004.pdf


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