Jasmine07 Posted February 4, 2011 Report Share Posted February 4, 2011 Hi there, Is it a big no-no to have american and african cichlids together in a tank? I have a jewel cichlid, and a venustus cichlid in with convicts, oscars, jack dempseys, and a blood parrot. And they all get along fine. But I'm wondering, is this something that is frowned upon? or if their all getting along is it okay? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted February 4, 2011 Report Share Posted February 4, 2011 It's your tank, your fish! :thumbs: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingin' It Posted February 4, 2011 Report Share Posted February 4, 2011 Personal preference. Some people like to re-create a biotope, some don't really care (like me)...mine is all mixed up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fan4guppy Posted February 4, 2011 Report Share Posted February 4, 2011 Hi there, Is it a big no-no to have american and african cichlids together in a tank? I have a jewel cichlid, and a venustus cichlid in with convicts, oscars, jack dempseys, and a blood parrot. And they all get along fine. But I'm wondering, is this something that is frowned upon? or if their all getting along is it okay? They may get along fine now, how old are they? What size? Like people fish tend to have different attitudes from individual to individual Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nautilus Posted February 4, 2011 Report Share Posted February 4, 2011 Just watch water parameters and make sure the species are compatible. Otherwise I say go for it!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
punman Posted February 5, 2011 Report Share Posted February 5, 2011 If they can all eat the same kind of food it might be okay. If they like the same water temperature it might be okay. If the tank is big enough it might be okay. I find that the biggest issue is the fourth one:can they all get along? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neesmo Posted February 5, 2011 Report Share Posted February 5, 2011 If they can all eat the same kind of food it might be okay. If they like the same water temperature it might be okay. If the tank is big enough it might be okay. I find that the biggest issue is the fourth one:can they all get along? Quoted for truth! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BettaFishMommy Posted February 5, 2011 Report Share Posted February 5, 2011 'hodgepodge' tanks can be done, and i did one myself with an oscar, angel, african, and madagascar cichlid. they were all mature/full size and were getting along fine, but i felt they were a little crowded so sold the angel and african not too long ago. all four fish had grown up together and i fed the tank well. as mentioned, make sure the fish have the same nutritional requirements and temperature needs. make sure the tank is big enough to support the adult size of all the fish, and there are places that each fish could retreat to if there is any aggression. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasmine07 Posted February 5, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2011 Thanks for all the replies! I have a 100gal tank, right now most of the fish are no bigger than 4-5" with one jack dempsey being close to 7" I feed them freeze dried brine shrimp along with flakes and pellets, and they all seem to be healthy with nice bright colors. My convicts have had babies - what a big suprise lol. And even with them defending their babies the tank is pretty peaceful. I am prepared to make changes if any of their attitudes change towards one another. I keep the water at 26C and so far so good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasmine07 Posted February 5, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2011 there are also a lot of hiding places. The tank was an early chrismas gift and it came with 15 convicts. I am only planning on keeping 4 of them, but i like them and i'm having a hard timegetting rid of them. but i do need to get rid of them before all the fish grow to adult size or their won't be enough room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vince0 Posted February 5, 2011 Report Share Posted February 5, 2011 there are also a lot of hiding places. The tank was an early chrismas gift and it came with 15 convicts. I am only planning on keeping 4 of them, but i like them and i'm having a hard timegetting rid of them. but i do need to get rid of them before all the fish grow to adult size or their won't be enough room. thats the problem with convicts, your always trying to get rid of them, if you only keep 4, try to make sure they are all males, that way you won't get more convicts lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BettaFishMommy Posted February 5, 2011 Report Share Posted February 5, 2011 Jasmine, i'll take a few of the smaller fry if you don't want to keep them all. my oscar would love some more live food Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasmine07 Posted February 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 thats the problem with convicts, your always trying to get rid of them, if you only keep 4, try to make sure they are all males, that way you won't get more convicts lol What if i keep 4 females instead? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasmine07 Posted February 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2011 Jasmine, i'll take a few of the smaller fry if you don't want to keep them all. my oscar would love some more live food The other fish in the tank eat the fry before the get very big, so i'm not really looking to get rid of the fry. I am however looking to get rid of the convicts that are about 3"-6". I have the normal dark striped colored ones, and pink color ones. Any takers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcer Posted February 18, 2011 Report Share Posted February 18, 2011 if they have enough room for them to have their own territory should be ok. if they are getting along now, i wouldnt mess with it. things might change if they get bigger though, so you will have to watch them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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