Red1313

I was scrolling through compatability charts and following links (planning tanks I'll never have as always) when I stumbled upon a site that said south american cichlids are compatable with Red tail sharks...
Now I know about my Reds but cichilids are unfamilar territory to me. So I was hoping that you guys could maybe answer a few questions for me.

- Solo? I'll be honest I don't want fry in anyway shape or form. But how would a single cichild be in a tank with no other cichilds?

- Is the compatability true? Would a cichilid and a red tail shark be compatable.

I guess I'll settle for just asking these for now. I'll let you know the rest as these questions get answered. Since due to space issues an oscar is out of the question(sigh I like those guys). I was kind of looking at a convict cichilid but all information and suggestions are welcome!
Thanks ahead of time,

Shawnie

what size tank is this for? and I want to commend you on doing research before buying and sticking them in all together in the hopes it works...great job!!

Red1313

At the moment the biggest tank I have is a ten gal. So I'm pretty sure that wouldn't work. It could, maybe, depending how fast the cichilid would grow b/c the red's only 2 1/2 to 3 inches long right now. Mostly I was thinking for when I upgraded him to a larger tank.

Shawnie

always have to think of them as adults and not babies..its their bio loads that get outta control before their sizes..so yes id upgrade before considering cichlids ..10 gals isnt enough for territorial issues nor their bio loads..ive heard of some shelldwellers being kept in 20 gallons..but im pretty sure thats the min for even those kinda fish..im sure others will help with this also..

Red1313

So what would a good minimum size tank for a lone cichilid be?

Redtail_Shark14

id say at least a 20G or a 30G, i might be wrong any cichilid masters out there disagree?

Slug

What kind of cichlid, there are thousands. Range in size from 2" to 3ft.

Red1313

nothing 3 ft long for sure (dreams of an Oscar destroyed by reality) I was thinking more along the lines of a convict. I'm not a cichilid expert. Something that could hold it's own against a red-tail shark.

Allie

Really no cichlids should be alone or in a 10g. That's not natural.
Dwarf cichlids are kept in 20g as pairs, you could maybe have 1 for a bit then I would invest in a 20g and a mate for the fish.
South American Dwarfs
http://cichlidforum.com/profiles/category.php?cat=30
African Dwarfs are in this list...take a look.
http://cichlidforum.com/profiles/category.php?cat=17
If you can find these shell dwellers fro Lake Tanganyika...they are so tiny. But hard to find around here.
http://cichlidforum.com/profiles/species.php?id=1749

Red tail sharks are pretty aggressive and should be in anything less than a 50g when full grown. The most certainly should be in a 10g tank.
http://www.aquatic-hobbyist.com/prof...inids/rts.html

Red1313

I know Reds need a large tank when fully grown, luckily my guys a baby so is quite happy in his non 55 gal tank. When his current tank get's too small i'll upgrade. I was thinking of tankmates for the upgraded tank (or future upgrades) not for the ten.