Cody

well i wil be getting keyhole cichlids soon for a 30 gallon tank. i had been messaging with cwc for a while aobut some other things and we were talking about them and there agression twords other fish. he says him and dino have issues with theres form time to time, and says i should just keep two of them in the tank. im going to try keeping them with soe other fish. since i read about how peaceful they are on alot of websites and books.. and im just going to take suggestions what i should keep them with. i just want one other school of fish..im not set on any certin one yet... any suggestions

Dino

Any midwater fish such as tetras or barbs would work out fine.

Cody

i got my two keyhole cichlids a couple days ago and i put 3 swordtails with them 1 male and 2 females. there getting along great. i also got a clown loach to take care of the snail problem in my 20 gallon its a small one maybe a 1.5-2inches i will proubably put it in my 55 gallon . . the guy at my LFS said they are normaly slow growing. idk if thats ture or not anyways im still glad i got it. and i can always take it back there and trade it in for oneof smaller ones again but anyways.. just giving an update

Cody

anyone want to see pictures. my keyholes were pretty shy at first now there constantly in sight. i think i have a breeding pair the guy at my lfs told me the best way to do it but its still really really hard to determin. it did not mater to me but he said he did his best and thinks he got a male and female. hes very knolegedable hes a great guy. and when i look at the top fin . cuase he told me how the males is more of a v and the females curve more . but anyways ill post pics of the tank if anyone wants to see them. other wise they are going along great . they seem to enjoy the swordtails i was reading in one of my books that swords actully co exiset naturaly in the wild with some cichlids. could that be a reason for them getting along so well. or am i lucky, or did i just get some peaceful keyholes

Dino

For cichlids, keyholes are pretty laid back.

Looking forward to the pictures.

Chief_waterchanger

Good luck, Cody. I, also, am looking forward to pics.

Cody

thanks chief. they are very beautiful. they sort of have a yellow tint in there tail fins. a camrea proubably would dull it out but its pretty easy to see. they are veryy beutiful. i thought they were going to die after i got them i aclimated them properly. but they just hid. and then the next day they were swiming alot more. and when i talked to the lfs guy who i got them from said they can be shy fish at first.. I LOVE THEM THOUGH

Butterfly

Pictures would be great! I'm glad you know the Clown Loaches will get huge and will need a much larger tank. My first pair got over six inches in a year
Carol

Cody

im not sure if i just want to keep trading them in for smaller ones every so often or put it in a different tank. i don tknow if i want it my 55 gallon cuase its kinda in the fully stocked range right now. but the 30 gallon proubably woudnt cut it also

im going ot go take some pictures of my keyholes.

Butterfly

Cody- Just curious ... why do you want a Clown Loach if your going to trade it every so often?
Carol

Cody

well im not sure if im going to actully. the thing is, if im sucessful with it and it stays healhty and everything i will fall in love with it. as i am already. im just worried that if i put it in my 55 gallon that i will be over stocked i just dont really have the room for it. i got it to get rid of a snial problem mainly, and figuring i can upgrade its home when the time is right. iknow that the lfs will take good care of it and i could always gett a smaller one but thats not realy that fair. my only other option would be to get rid of my cories. and my bloodfins. my bloodfins started to die of at one time and i only have 2 of them left. so i could bring them becuae i know they will need a school and there also i dont have the room for it.. it sounds stupid i guess but im not really sure what im going to do . the main reason i would trade it in is because i want it to beable to have proper living conditions. but i guess i never know where it might go next.

keyhole pics will be on in a few minutes

Cody

Butterfly

Beautiful Keyholes Thanks for the pictures.
I was just curious about the Clown Loach. They are fascinating and have just a delightful personality although they do need to be in a group to show off properly. Eventually it will need at least a 75 g
Carol

Cody

thanks for the comment butterfly. idk i proubably wont be able to acomidate the clown loaches future needs

Dino

Very nice looking fish.
I hope they do well for you.

Chief_waterchanger

They look perfect. I hope they are everything you want them to be. As far as the clown loach thing goes, you are showing great levels of maturity by understanding that the fish's needs come before our selfish want to keep them, believe me, there are fish Dino and I would love to keep that we just don't have room for.

Cody

it stinks though i really love the clown loach it is very interesting. i am going ot look into other non burrowing loaches.

Cody

do you think i should get some slate and or rocks to but in there? they seem happy and everything but i was just wondering if that would be a good idea, or if its nessesary