David593

Okee dokee. I have a 55 gallon tank that is currently cycling. I already have a stocking plan that is community, but now I am wondering about south american cichlids. So I have some fish in mind that I think may work. they are all relatively the same size. I have the fish in mind just not the numbers. Here they are:

?-Blue Acara
?-Convicts
?-Fire Mouth
?-Angelfish
?-German Blue Rams

does that sound ok?

jack--sos

that sounds good, i dont have much experience with most of those fish, but be carful about the convicts, they can be aggressive. Also you might want to change to Bolivian Rams from GBR's if your water is not perfect for them as Bolivians are ALOT hardier good luck with the S.A tank

David593

ok. have any ideas on how many of each?

Jess

Hi David593, I did a little research and I think you might want to rethink your choices. These are in general large aggressive fish. Some should be in single species tanks.
This is what I found.

Blue Acara get to be 8".
Convicts can prove aggressive between themselves and toward other fish. They are not generally a community aquarium species and they are larger than average fish 8".
Fire Mouth 6" ok community fish.
Angel fish 6" ok community fish.
German Blue Rams 3", need pristine water and the guys in your list are messy eaters.

I think you would be over stocked as the 1" of fish per gallon doesn't work with this group. They are big fish.

I could see the Angel and the German Blue Rams together but I don't think the others would work.

David593

ok then. I gues a 75 gallon would be best for cichlids. Oh well i still have a stocking plan for a community tank! so I'll go with that.

Shawnie

I have convicts with angels and JD's ...I would think in the 55 you could have 1 convict or 2 of the same sex...2 angels...2 firemouths...as far as more, id start with that and plenty of caves and hiding spots and go from there...

David593

OK. I really like the german blues. I think with what I like best, I should just stick to my community set up. Thanks for all of the suggestions.

capekate

Hi David
Just my opinion, but wanted to say that your fish stock looks good for your SA tank. I would be careful with the convicts and GBRs or Bolivian rams only because they both pretty much like to hang around the bottom end of the tank and when I had them both together the convict would like to chase the GBRs around and out of their area. The firemouth is a nice choice for your community tank and they are actually well behaved if you only keep one of them instead of possibly getting two males, which is what I did one time.
The acara can get along with the rams.
Due to my low pH I try to always keep my 55g tank a SA tank only with the exception of my Australian rainbow fish who never bother anyone else in the tank anyway and they are very active and beautiful in the light.
IMO you have plenty of room in the tank for what you have on your list.

David593

thanks. having that said which do you prefer. The cichlids or this idea:

6-Hatchetfish
5-Cardinals
5-rummynose tetras (maybe
1-angelfish
5-corydoras
2-GBR's

capekate

.
If you were asking me,
IMO I prefer the cichlid list.... but you will have to decide how many fish you want in your tank, and with the list above, you are able to have more fish, tho they will be smaller.....

Gunner11

Hi David593 - I like your cichlid list but I'm a little bias I have everything on your cichlid list in my SA tank except the blue acara..which I would like to get eventually. Everyone gets along great.. I would go with 1 blue acara, 1 convict, 1 firemouth, 4 angels, 4 blue rams (try to get more females than males), 2 kribensis (male and a female) and maybe some apistogrammas species which are also dwarf cichlids. Oh and I forgot to mention make sure you have lots of hiding places..caves, plants these fish love them.

David593

Ok. And i noticed that many people recommend kribensis. I thought they were african cichlids. Is that true?

David593

Also, firemouth, acara, convict; do they need to be female to reduce aggresion. I prefer male because of their brighter colors.

with the 4 angels; should i try to get 1 male to 3 females, (if i get adults) or should i get 4 random juvies?

David593

interesting. I read that female convicts are actually more colorful!

Shawnie

they are both the same except the fem has a red/orange highlite on her belly...if you get a mating pair tho, all heck will break loose..so try to get the same sex if you want a semi happy tank LOL ..same with angels if they pair up...id go for the juvies

Angela_96

If I could go with any SA cichilds for a set up my choice is always the Rams, they are so beautiful, colorful, etc.

David593

ok So i have so far:

1-Blue Acara (Same sex as FM and BC)
1-Firemouth (same sex as BA and BC)
1-Black Convict (same sex as BA and FM)
4-Angelfish (juvies)
4-German Blue Rams (1 male 3 female)
2-Kribs? (why do people recommend these if they are from Africa?)

Iron waffle

Hi David,

I would just like to say that firemouths convicts or acaras will be very aggressive to the ram and angelfish. especially if they're juvies, they'll get killed. People recommend kribs because they have similar water requirements and are compatible to SA cichlids, they're also very colorful and somewhat peaceful.

David593

OK. How about this.

~I put in the angels first. I heard they grow fast anyways.
~Once The angels are a decent size, I get the acara, firemouth, and convicts. so they grow up together and there isn't a size difference
~do you really think that they will terrorize the rams. I really love the rams and would be dissapointed if it doesn't work.

Iron waffle

well, i would be very cautious of putting any smaller fish in with convicts or firemouths. It can work with the angels if they go in first. If you want the rams and angels, i wouldn't put a convict in there, but you can always try and see if it works.

David593

ok. I will try. I will try and see if i can add them in such a way that they grow up together and the same size. Though it may be slighty harder due to the fact that rams need to be in an established tank. but ill try and I'll watch for aggresion. Thanks for the warning!

Angela_96

Cichlid forum has great recomendations for stocking different types of cichlid tanks, just go to their site www.cichlid-forum.com and search for the cookie cutter.

Gunner11

I have 2 firemouths and a female convict with rams and angelfish and there is no aggression whatsoever! David just make sure your tank is well planted. The Kribs are from africa but they are one of the most peaceful and will do well with your SA list. They do better with SA than their own. If you love blue rams you will really like Kribs they don't look like much at your LFS but when you get them home in their own tank they color right up.

David593

ok. Cool! thanks for the suggestions guys. It always good to hear from someone who actually has a tank stocked in a similar way!