rams and/or keyholes in a community?

[Swifterz]

i am wanting to add some color to my 55 gallon tank. a larger tank is in my future, probably 75 gallons. i've had my eye on the following fish...

german blue rams
bolivian rams
keyhole cichlids

i know little to nothing about cichlids, other than what i have been finding via google searches. apparrently they are some of the more peaceful cichlids?

thinking about a pair of each species, if they will co-exist peacefully together, and more importantly, with my existing community... 3 bala sharks, 1 rainbow shark and 10 tiger barbs.

it's a little premature for me to dive into some of the larger, more aggressive cichlid species, because if possible, i would like to keep my current fish. i've heard these are good "starter" fish for someone wanting cichlids.

thoughts/suggestions would be appreciated. thanks.

[JoeSmo]

I've heard that German Blues and Bolivians are good for community type set ups. I am going to get a pair of GBR in my tank soon, keeping percilla tetras and cories with them. You could get a pair of each the Bolivians and GBR, because the tank exceeds 40 gallons and the males shouldn't have any territorial disputes.

I don't know about keyhole cichlids, hopefully one of our fellow fishlorians will have more information on them lol. From what I understand they are quite peaceful, but I'd wait for more experienced input.

Good luck in making your choice, GRB and Bolivians are beautiful fish!

[btate617]

You could do either Bolivian or the blue rams. Since you are new to cichlids I would suggest going for the Bolivians, they are a bit more hardy than the blues. The blues look great at a young age, however I prefer the Bolivians once they grow and show some good coloring.

Keyholes are also a great choice. They are fairly shy, so a tank that is planted and or has lots of hiding spaces works out best. Getting a group of some sort of Tetras will help the keyholes come out more and make them feel a bit more secure.

I would put some thought into your Balas, they will get to a foot maybe a bit bigger. They also need lots of swimming room, in my opinion even a 75gal is not big enough for a group of them. Rainbow sharks may get aggressive as they age and Tiger Barbs are a bit nippy, both of those may or may not work out in the long run.

Brian

[Swifterz]

my tank has a large piece of driftwood, a few plants and lots of slate.

i actually like the look of the bolivian rams more than the german blue rams. however, i've never seen the bolivians at any of the fish stores.

[btate617]

Originally Posted by Swifterz

my tank has a large piece of driftwood, a few plants and lots of slate.

i actually like the look of the bolivian rams more than the german blue rams. however, i've never seen the bolivians at any of the fish stores.

Thats because the blues look good young while the Bolivians in a store tank will basically be a grey fish, pretty easy to see which sells best.
If you can find the Bolivians they are a cool fish, I too enjoy them more than the blues.
Ask around at some of the LFS, many will order stuff in for you. The problem that most stores have is they have to order a certain number of that specific fish, but something like Bolivians they may do for you.


Brian

[Swifterz]

thanks for the info. i might stop by one of the stores after dinner and check out what they have. when i go to the stores i never look at the cichlids, just the other freshwater fish.

i'm not going to buy anything today. i'm just going to check out what they have and see how much certain fish are. i am trying to thoroughly research options and make sure this time i get something i will really like and something that will work in my tank.

[Swifterz]

well i've had firemouths for a couple months now and they are doing great. no matter how hard i try though i keep wanting to add keyholes, but no one has them anywhere around here.

also with the rams, they have some but they are tiny, tiny little fish and they are about $8 for one fish.

[Time]

I would still get the Blue Rams. I think its worth it. They are some entertaining little fish and they do grow. Colors are amazing under the right lighting.

[Swifterz]

the only thing that stopped me from getting a pair yesterday was worrying about being overstocked. they dont' get very big though. and it's kind of ridiculous... i mean i have gone and looked at them at least 5 or 6 times, and every time i come back home without them, haha.

[Time]

I go to the fish store just to look all the time. I don't think its ridiculous. I have been eyeing those dwarf gourami for 2 weeks and once I went to the fish store 4 times in one day.

[Swifterz]

haha iv'e done that before too. the last time i was trying to find driftwood i went to the same store 3x before finally buying it.

i just worry about things and 2nd guess myself all the time. it's hard for me to make a decision.

i really want the GBR's, but i'm afraid i'd be too overstocked.

[angelfish220]

with the balas alone you are overstocked.... those things get to be a foot long! I wouldn't suggest keeping them in a 55gallon

[Swifterz]

Originally Posted by angelfish220

with the balas alone you are overstocked.... those things get to be a foot long! I wouldn't suggest keeping them in a 55gallon

yeah i've been trying to rehome them. i don't want to just turn them back in to the store cause they could easily get sold to someone with a smaller tank than me.

[Time]

That is a good thing to do. The pet stores don't care if they live or not or where they will be kept. They usually just want to sell.

[Swifterz]

where i got them they say 40 gallons + for balas, which is stupid. the guy even told me they don't refuse to sell fish based on that, and even if they did all someone would have to do is say you have like a 100 gallon tank. it's not like they are going to follow you to your house to verify what you say is the truth.

[Time]

My LFS sells anything to anyone but they say, "I could sell it to you it just won't live". Someone was trying to buy a guppy to have in their goldfish bowl and I overheard.

[btate617]

I would wait to add either the blue or a keyhole until you ditch the bala's and possibly the rainbow also if it were me.

Brian

[Time]

I prefer blue but you could mix them. I believe they should get along.

[btate617]

Anything will possibly get along.

The thing about blue rams is although they are cichlids they are a bit on the shy side and also mellow fish if not spawning. Bala's are all over the place and very fast paced. You are never going to see your ram fully colored with balas zooming all around, they will stay stressed most of the time. Not saying they won't live, but lets face it most buy this fish for its color and you won't see its fulll potential with balas around.

Brian

[Time]

I bought the fish because I wanted a colorful fish, then I got into tetras, then I got into gourami, I still need a gourami. How about a dwarf gourami, great fish usually at the middle to top.

[Swifterz]

so at the store today they actually had keyholes! and they were nice size too. one was i'd say around 4". they were $5.99. i didn't buy any because they are just pretty plain looking, even more so than expected in person. i want to make sure i make a decision i won't second guess, but it was nice to know they are available.

the GBR's they had were tiny, tiny fish. i mean like 1/2 the size of my smallest tiger barb. i don't really want anything that small. so then i was looking at convicts. they had never really interested me much before but these had some really good colors.. a few had a big red spot and it looked great off their black body.

so now instead of GBR's, i was considering convicts. but i know they are generally regarded as more aggressive than firemouths. however, i also know they are kept in the same tank together all the time, so that might not be an issue. the question is whether or not the convicts will mix into my community with ease the same way the firemouths have.

[Time]

I though Convict Cichilds were aggressive fish that only would be in a tank with other Cichilds. You should go with the Tiger Barbs or German Blue Ram

[Swifterz]

Originally Posted by Time Keeper

I though Convict Cichilds were aggressive fish that only would be in a tank with other Cichilds. You should go with the Tiger Barbs or German Blue Ram

i have 10 tiger barbs

[Time]

I am really not sure. I saw them in the aggressive section so I wouldn't risk it. They also get pretty big.

[angelfish220]

yeah, I'd say a bolivian or german blue ram. The ones at your lfs are small now but they'll grow bigger...

[Swifterz]

Originally Posted by angelfish220

yeah, I'd say a bolivian or german blue ram. The ones at your lfs are small now but they'll grow bigger...

yeah but my tiger barbs seem like giants compared to them right now

[Swifterz]

i was surprised, but today some convicts really, really caught my eye. from what i've been reading they get aggressive during spawning especially, but not much otherwise. that is what everyone said about my firemouths too. while i do have 1 male and 1 female firemouth, the certainly are not a pair. they completely ignore eachother.

a single convict would be ok with me. or two femals, or whatever. two males would be ok except for possible fights over territory. it really doesn't matter to me as long as they won't be breeding and therefore become really aggressive.

i don't know what to do.

[angelfish220]

Seriously, I know you've been told it like a thousand times but... I would get the balas rehomed BEFORE you make anymore changes in stocking....

[Swifterz]

it's actually easy to sex the convicts, which is awesome. the females are darker black with the orange spots, which are the ones i noticed today. maybe a single female would work... wouldn't have to worry about breeding.

[Time]

Okay? I agree. The pet store should accept the balla sharks for free and maybe give you store credit. Don't make any changes listen to the person with almost 2000 posts.