South and central american cichlids?
somtimes.. reallt it depends on the personality of the fish (i know.. it may sound wierd =] ) but really, some fish are easy going with most all other fish, some only with their own type! we have had some cichlids that can be kept with most ALL other types of cichlids (not only south/central american) some just can't be with anyone =] good luck! just go of what you think of your fish.. are the nice to the others, or highly agressive!
What South American Cichlids Go Good Together?
You can go with a pair of Dwarf Cichlids, either Bolivian or German Blue Rams (both being particular sensitive to water chemistry) or one of the many Apistogramma species. On the African side of the planet there's always a pair of Kribensis which have very similar needs to their South American cousins. (Sarah, Yellow Labs are also Africans, but Lake Malawi so need slightly different water chemistry to the others.) The trouble with Dwarf Cichlid pairs is they're often not that great community fish, but as long as you've got plenty of hiding places, a pair plus a shoal of 5-6 mid-top dwelling fish such as Harlequin Rasboras should be ok, unless they spawn then you may need to evacuate everyone so they have the tank to themselves! Larger Cichlids like Keyholes, Festivums etc need more like 35-40 gallons really, a 29 may be a little tight for them.
Can I put a pleco in with my South American Cichlids?
Any of the south american plecs should be compatable, as the fish you mention are all from central and South America and grow quite large. As much space as possible plus decoration that cannot be moved would be advised both for the cichlids and the plecs. Gibbiceps is a wonderful looking species with its big sailfin. Even little bristle nose would get along well so long as they have holes to hide in an they have been known to breed in community tanks, they look after their eggs like cichlids.
Can South American Cichlids go with Angelfish?
As above, angelfish are actually cichlids lol. Although cichlids CAN go with non-cichlids. Plecos, rainbow sharks, gouramis, etc. etc. But that's besides the point. So the Oscar (SA cichlid) will almost definitely not work, as they do tend to go berserk from time to time. If they do, the angelfish WILL die. Angelfish are not even close to being able to protect themselves from an oscar. Convicts and Jack Dempseys are both aggressive, though a convict is much less likely to go for something random unless there's a specific reason (like protecting its territory), which should lead to anything else being chased off - but generally not killed. Firemouth is the best of them, though they are known to go berserk once in a while. However, they're not as capable of dishing out damage as oscars, jack dempseys or firemouths. But the main question is - what size tank? If you remove the oscar, they should all do in a relatively small tank - both convicts and firemouths are relatively small in size compared to the other cichlids, so with those four you can get away with something small-ish. Especially if they're all the same sex (especially especially if they're all female). 75g, possibly. Not the 'possibly'. Not gonna guarantee that it will work, because well, it may all go down south VERY fast. Though yeah, if you remove the oscar, each of the others should be able to claim a section of the tank as its own territory and leave it be.
90 gal tank stocking ideas (south american cichlids)?
A 90 gallon is borderline on the footprint. There are some 90 gallon longs I've seen that are 6 feet, though a more common footprint is still four feet but deeper and wider then your normal 75. Your footprint really is going to narrow down what's going to work and not work so well. Assuming you have a standard 4 foot tank, if I were going to start up a SA set up, I'd probably go with my main fish as Blue Acara, as these I find have a nice look, similar to a Green Terror but not nearly as aggressive, and group in some very nice colorful Apisto's. There's a chance you could probably mix in some Severums as a second species, but I don't know as much about SA's as some other people do. I mostly keep Africans which is a whole different aspect as well I hate answering stuff like that on YA because there's too much BS being said out there since this is a social forum. Social forums do not promote accuracy in answers, they just want people to answer and get points, being right or wrong or even knowing what you are talking about is totally secondary. You may find better help then this forum at: http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com http://www.cichlid-forum.com (Note of caution here, posting in the forum itself, you might have to wait a few days to get an answer) http://www.eastcoastcichlids.org http://www.nycichlids.com http://www.gcca.com All these forums I have viewed or joined and will vouch the integrity of the answers there are 100% better then answers given on this forum.
Fish compatible with my South American Cichlids?
is he this? http://dd-b.net/photography/gallery/Fish%20Sept-2003/ddb%2020030928%20010-066.jpg or this? http://www.aquamojo.com/reddevil/reddevil_main.jpg african cichlids are generally more agressive (some are insanely agressive!) than south americans (who are more pigs than they are fighters) africans also need harder and more alkaline water than south americans.. in general it's not advised that they be mixed things like silver dollars, giant danios, cyprinid sharks (rainbow, red tail, etc, just stay away from balas and black sharks) armored catfish like large cory species, rapheal catfish and banjo cats, hachetfish and other surface dwelling fish essentially you need things that either never go near the cichlids (hachets, etc) can take a little abuse (armored cats) or are too fast to be caught (danios, etc)
Can you put an Angel Fish in The Same Tank with an African Cichlid fish?
I'd agree with soop from the point of view that in terms of water chemistry, there are some possibilities out there for you. However though, even the most experienced of cichlid keepers tend to shun keeping SA's with Africans. Most times it is a matter of the higher PH and higher hardness waters makes this not a good idea, but you also have to consider levels of dwelling and temperments. There's really nothing wrong with the choices listed out as options I see, but even milder Africans tend to have a higher temperment level then the SA's The advantages of say using Kribs with Angels is your Angels probably won't spend much time in the lower ends of the tank, but if you end up with a male and female breeding pair of Kribs, those slower moving Angels are going to be in trouble. Let's say in addition to that, you add that Parrot and now you've got fish, though water chemistry is nearly the same, that all have different temperment types and come from different parts of the world. I personally think this recipe is trouble waiting to happen, but yes actually, it can be done. I don't endorse that though. I keep many schooling fish myself with my Africans and everyone gets along fine, but I really don't like the idea of intermixing cichlids from different continents. The only time I've done this is with Convicts in order to try to supply my Datiniod, a stalking predator fish with a food supply. So far it's been working out, but I worry every d ay either my Tropheus Dubosi is going to exert himself, or those Convicts are going to get nasty. It's not something again I advocate to try though it could be done.