# Unsure of suitable cichlids for my aquarium



## DaveR91 (Oct 12, 2014)

I have an aquarium with measurements 39"L x 24"H x 18"W. I was wondering which cichlids would be suitable for my aquarium In terms of the size they grow to and compatibility with my current stock . At the moment my current stock is 2 x Thorichthys meeki, 1 x Thorichthys ellioti, 3 x Balantiocheilus melanopterus (Which I discovered after purchasing will grow too big for my aquarium. I do plan to rehome them in the near future), 1 x Synodontis euptera and 1 x Polypterus senegalus. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance


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## pfoster74 (May 13, 2012)

after looking up the profiles on the fish you have listed it seems like only the Thorichthys ellioti will work in your current tank.


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## DaveR91 (Oct 12, 2014)

Hmmmm... That's actually quite interesting. What makes you come to that conclusion if you don't mind me asking?


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## pfoster74 (May 13, 2012)

I checked out the Thorichthys meeki and i'm seeing some sites saying minimum of a 30g other folks are saying a 55g is minimum. profile on Synodontis euptera says minimum tank should be 48".polypterus senegalus profile says tank should be 60″ x 24″ x 24″ (150x60x60cm) - 540 litres. i didnt look at the Balantiocheilus melanopterus since it says you will rehome them and the profile on Thorichthys ellioti says they can work in a smaller tank because they are peaceful.


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## BC in SK (Aug 11, 2012)

Based on the dimensions given, it's a 73 gallon tank. Can't see why it wouldn't be large enough for both fire mouth and the syndontis.

Now whether the fire mouth and Thorichthys ellioti will get along well enough is difficult to predict. It's often the case that a lot of CA do not get along well with each other over the long term. Especially the more closely related. May or may not work.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I wouldn't put an 8" Syno in a 40" tank. Some lucipinnis maybe.


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## pfoster74 (May 13, 2012)

BC in SK said:


> Based on the dimensions given, it's a 73 gallon tank. Can't see why it wouldn't be large enough for both fire mouth and the syndontis.
> 
> Now whether the fire mouth and Thorichthys ellioti will get along well enough is difficult to predict. It's often the case that a lot of CA do not get along well with each other over the long term. Especially the more closely related. May or may not work.


ok i didnt realize it was a 73g i saw the dimensions he listed and was thinking the tank was around 30 to 40g


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## DaveR91 (Oct 12, 2014)

Thanks for the advice everybody. I didn't realise the synodontis would grow to 8", I was told 6" from my LFS. His advice is usually spot on. I didn't know the senegal bichir required such a large aquarium either. Before I purchased him I did a lot of reading on different forums where numerous people stated that they could be kept in a 55 Gallon aquarium. If I rehome the bala sharks, the synodontis and the bichir, what other fish would you recommend that could live happily along side the two firemouths?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

The usual dimension for a 55G is 48" long which gives you more options. Since your tank is 39" long you want to stock according to that (not the gallons). 3-5 Synodontis Lucipinnis could work. Based on the cookie cutters for Central Americans, I don't think I'd add anything else.


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## DaveR91 (Oct 12, 2014)

Ok, thanks for the advice. I will rehome the bala sharks, Synodontis euptera and the senegal bichir this weekend if I get chance to do so. Am I really only limited to Synodontis Lucipinnis, surely there must be other fish out there that can be kept alongside firemouths that are suitable for my aquarium?


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## BC in SK (Aug 11, 2012)

DaveR91 said:


> surely there must be other fish out there that can be kept alongside firemouths that are suitable for my aquarium?


Yes, there are a lot of cichlids and other fish that can be kept with your stock.
To have some reasonable chance of success, I think you need at least 5-6 cichlids in the tank. Anything less then this and chances are very high, that one cichlid will single another out. I've been on this forum since 2007 and I have yet to see even one success story with the 2-3 cichlids that many have recommended. Oddly enough, those that advocate this don't even stock there own tanks this way! For example, I argued and argued with one person on every stocking thread.....only to see later that he has around 30 cichlids in his tank :lol: Given the temperments of his stock, he could have dissipated aggression in his tank with 1/3 to 1/6th the numbers. Because a little less is often better, some fall into the trap of advocating the least possible.

Some choices that you could consider would be smaller, less aggressive SA like festivum, or blue acara. Some of the smaller and less aggressive Cryptoheros from CA, such as hondurean red points. Cryptoheros nanoluteus and "chetumalensis' are considered more mild tempered. Some of the smaller west Africans such as kribensis, humpheads or a single jewel cichlid. I know many will disagree, but I would also consider a less aggressive mbuna, such as a single yellow lab.

IMO some of the non cichlids that often do OK with cichlids are 3-spot gouramis, paradise fish, giant danios. Bottom feeders: Raphael cats, BN plecos, Chinese algae eaters.

There are definitely other options, though these are ones I am familiar with.


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## DaveR91 (Oct 12, 2014)

Thanks for your reply. I don't understand the reasoning behind them doing that? Why do one thing and tell everybody else to do the opposite? lol. Some of the one's you've listed there are really nice looking fish! Especially the jewel cichlid and the yellow lab! It seems I have a lot of thinking to do and decisions to make. Last night I was wondering whether I could add some form of schooling fish in with them if you think that's plausible? If you think that adding more cichlids is my best option then that's what I'll go with. I want to make sure I have the least chance of aggression that could lead to fish loss or constant harassment. I've seen a lot of people keeping silver dollars or tiger barbs amongst other fish with plenty of different types of cichlids. I've never kept cichlids before so I don't know much about them. Up until this point I've only really had community aquariums full of different live bearers, tetras and gouramis but I wanted something different this time around


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## BC in SK (Aug 11, 2012)

DaveR91 said:


> I was wondering whether I could add some form of schooling fish in with them if you think that's plausible?


Yes, there are a number of options with your stock for schooling fish. Some, IMO, have much better chance of surviving and doing well. I mentioned giant danios which I believe to have about the best chance of any small schooling 'dithers'. A group of 4-6 would be fine.


DaveR91 said:


> tiger barbs


Maybe. They have some chance of working out with your stock. I have not had any long term success keeping them with CA cichlids, though a few people have. The last time I tried them was with convicts in a 100 gal (48" x 24" x 21"). Six tiger barbs that were much bigger then the convicts to begin with, lasted less then 6 months...all were killed off. There fin-nippers...they stand a pretty good chance of paying with their life as a consequence!


DaveR91 said:


> silver dollars


IME, they often do OK with a lot of cichlids. Decent 'target' fish but actually poor 'dithers' because they are skittish. Having other fish like cichlids in the tank can probably makes them more comfortable and less scared. But they get to good size... you really don't have the space for any kind of a group.


DaveR91 said:


> If you think that adding more cichlids is my best option


Having some non-cichlids adds more bodies. IMO it certainly can help in preventing fish from chasing too much. But they won't 'count' like another cichlid will. Regardless of what you add, I believe that you are best to have more then just 3 cichlids. It is not impossible for only 3 cichlids to work out....but IMO, the odds are very much against it. There is never any guarantee that cichlids will get along, nor can you predict the future, but I think you are best to start out with at least decent chance of succeeding.


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## DaveR91 (Oct 12, 2014)

Well I do plan to add a few more cichlids based on your advice. Over the past two days I have noticed that one of the firemouth cichlids seems to be chasing the other quite frequently but leaving the ellioti alone. I haven't seen any aggression towards or from the ellioti but he/she is bigger than the firemouths. Once I have removed the fish that grow to big for my tank I'll add 2 or 3 more cichlids and see how that goes. At the moment the firemouths are only around 2 inches, are they too young for me to determine the sex of them?


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## BC in SK (Aug 11, 2012)

DaveR91 said:


> At the moment the firemouths are only around 2 inches, are they too young for me to determine the sex of them?


Yes, difficult to sex at a young age.


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## DaveR91 (Oct 12, 2014)

Ok, thanks for all your help


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