# What other fish go with African Cichlids



## TheATeamsCichlids (Feb 18, 2015)

Hi Guys,

More of a general question to the Cichlid stocking gurus out there.

What other fish can you stock with African Cichlids ( mostly Malawi's ) ??

I'm just curious as to what else if anything is compatible with Malawi Cichlids, i've currently got 22 juvenile's in a 4ft 250L tank and am considering the idea of adding something different to the tank to mix it up.

my LFS have suggested things like Rainbow Sharks, Red Tail Black Sharks, Black Sharks, Silver Dollars, Silver Sharks ( Bala ), Clown Loaches. and of course Plecos and Synodontis Catfish.

i've read many conflicting articles about the idea of sharks with Cichlids ( some swear it's fantastic and aren't any issues, others say don't do it it will cause more aggression issues ) obviously Plecos and some other Catfish are completely fine.

After some thoughts and advice from you guys about if anyone has successfully kept Sharks with Cichlids ( with the pros and Cons ) or if it's just a plain bad idea and to just stick with other African's and Catfish in the tank.

All advice and comments are welcome.


----------



## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

22 fish in a 65 gallon/250 liter is going to be very well stocked to begin with.

Then think about the fish you are asking to put into your tank.

Bala Shark, max size 14"/35cm
Clown Loach max size 16"/40cm
Black Shark, max size 24"/60cm

of course these aren't appropriate for your tank

Synodontis catfish can be good additions to a tank, and the best ones are Tanganyikan variants such as multipunctatus, petricola, lucipinnis.. at least as commonly available. They are schooling fish best in groups of 5-7.

Plecos are a mixed bag. If you have mbuna, they often pluck out their eyes... though the bristlenose plecos are the best bet, and stay around 6", so aren't too bad. Common plecos grow to 24"/60cm and once bigger don't really eat the algae anyway. They can also pollute the tank a great deal. Some of the more exotic plecos are nice, but not sure they would be worth putting in with mixed africans given their price, and risk that their eyes will be eaten out.

Rainbow Sharks, Red Tails will fight with the cichlids, and really the best fish for cichlids, is more cichlids...

Silver dollars...don't really add much... plain silver fish... hmmm,


----------



## jimmie (Oct 23, 2002)

Really.........none


----------



## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Fogelhund said:


> 22 fish in a 65 gallon/250 liter is going to be very well stocked to begin with.
> 
> Synodontis catfish can be good additions to a tank, and the best ones are Tanganyikan variants such as multipunctatus, petricola, lucipinnis.. at least as commonly available. They are schooling fish best in groups of 5-7.


Plus one.


----------



## Warzone (Apr 18, 2015)

Just curious, why add different species of fish anyways? There are a ton of different types of cichlids you could add. Heck the only thing that's more colorful then cichlids are maybe discus.


----------



## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

Warzone said:


> Just curious, why add different species of fish anyways? There are a ton of different types of cichlids you could add. Heck the only thing that's more colorful then cichlids are maybe discus.


Discus are cichlids.


----------



## jimmie (Oct 23, 2002)

No the only thing thats colorful then african cichlids is saltwater...so that have plenty lake malawi cichlids out there..


----------



## Lou21 (Dec 11, 2014)

I have a bristlenose pleco and a golden nugget pleco in with my Africans, no issues whatsoever and they've been together over 6 months now. As far as tankmates, I have 2 black upside down catfish (really cool fish to watch) and 2 tricolor(bala) sharks. No aggression issues whatsoever, it all depends on the size of your tank bud, most of the catfish and sharks that are compatible, will certainly outgrow your tank and when big enough can swallow your fish whole. (i've seen a large upside down catfish with a 6" venustus hanging out of its mouth at my LFS)


----------



## Ten Tonne Tomahawk (Apr 24, 2015)

While fogulhound does have a point with the sizes for some of these sharks at their end game, give some appreciation on how long it takes to get there. Clown loaches do pass the foot long mark, but when was the last time you saw one at this size in a shop?
Where I come from, they're scarce as XL sized adults. They do take quite a long time to get too big, and once they do, the demand for the larger ones combined with the scarcity delivers a premium price, you can replace them with smaller ones and start again. The added bonus of a clown loach is the snail eating capacity. Only certain cichlids, like C. Rhodeseii, are specialised snail eaters and clown loaches will keep any snail break outs in check. The down side is that if you have a disease go through your tank, you'll have to remove them before treating the tank with most medications worth using because they are more sensitive to the active ingrediants, like Formaldahyde. It will kill the loaches faster than it will kill the white spot.
For my experience, the cichlids largely ignore them. The RT shark and RMBV Shark (black shark) will also get too big over time, but unlike the clown loach, they will terrorise the cichlids as they do it.
I have seen both Archer Fish and Mono fish kept with cichlids. (in fact I've done it) Silver or Red Scats too. You, on the other hand, may find tracking down Australian native fish hard, if you're not Aussie.
I'm not doubting Fogelhounds advice, however, I have NEVER seen a pleco loose an eye to a Mbuna before. I have had one pleco 'eye plucked' and that was by a breeding male Trimaculatus and I aught to have removed the pleco as soon as I recognised breeding behavior, but I missed it. (The one eyed pleco survived and lived for a long time after. I made him a patch and got him a pet parrot and taught him to say 'aarrgh!' like a pirate.) 
Note, that last bit may not have actually happened.


----------



## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I do like to avoid stocking fish that I will have to rehome when mature, and I do like to avoid fish that might survive but not thrive in the conditions in my tank. I considered loaches (clowns among them) when I had a snail problem, but decided the clowns would not thrive what I really wanted was sidthimunki. Still trying to come up with a stock list for a sidthimunki tank. So the fishkeeper had to deal with the snail problem, and did.

When adding brown bristlenose to a mbuna tank, I get about a 75% initial survival rate. Once they survive a few weeks, they seem fine. You can see the mbuna checking out the eyes, LOL. For some reason, my albino BN don't have a problem. If you do a search you will find many threads about similar experiences, both like mine and like Tomahawk's.


----------

