20 Gallon Tank Are Brichardi Cichlids good for community tanks?

I drove the 1.5 hours to my LFS today with the intent on getting more fish for my aquarium. I only had 4 emerald green cats and wanted more. I have a very good filter, a Hagen Aquaclear 50 (which is more than double the filtration power for a 20 gallon) and the LFS said that with that powerful of a filter I could fit about 30 inches of fish in my tank. I really trust what the LFS says because they are regionally renowned for their expertise. Anyway I told him I wanted a Pearl Gourami because they seem like such sweethearts and he recommended that if I have my heart set on some cichlids that I should get 3 brichardI cichlids. The brichardis are young and small, but the LFS assured me that they are peaceful and will really only hang out with themselves. I took his word and bought 3 of them (they're quite expensive). It seems that I read online that once they get to be adults they turn into the bullies of the tank and can get quite aggressive. They are all males so they shouldn't get aggressive cuz they won't be breeding, right? My tank is full of fake plants and decorations to stake out territory and hide. Is it completely hopeless to keep these cichlids in with other fish? I know that cats have armor not scales so I'm not worried about them, or should I be? The pearl gourami is at about 2 inches right now. Please give me some advice. They're not picking on anyone right now and I hope it stays that way because they're adorable! Thanks!

 

Your LFS shouldn't have sold you Brichardi. Especially if they knew they were going in the same tank as the Gourami & Corys. BrichardI are rift lake cichlids that require hard water with a PH of at least 8.0. Your other fish much prefer softer water with a lower PH. BrichardI are from an environment of nothing but rock & algae so they won't feel very comfortable in a tank that doesn't have large piles of rocks. They will get rather aggressive when they get older, especially with each other. The males will all fight each other in an effort to be the dominant fish in the tank. Once they sort that out they will start on anything else in the tank. The Corys don't stand a chance agianst the Brichardi. It is very difficult to sex BrichardI so the LFS probably doesn't actually know if they are male or female. I've been keeping these guys for years & I still can't tell the difference until they are fully matured & even then it is still very difficult. If there are females, they will breed. They are multI generational breeders & will soon take over even a large tank. I also have to say that a 20gal tank is nowhere near large enough for any rift lake cichlid.

The best advice I can give you is to try to return the fish to your LFS & get something much more suitable for the tank size, water chemistry & tank mates. Nothing african will work in your tank so don't let them sell african cichlids to you. Even most american cichlids need a larger tank than 20gal. You would probably get away with 2 Rams, that's about it as far as cichlids go. They are also wrong to say that you can overstock the tank because of a large filter. That is just rubbish.

I wouldn't take the word of your LFS for anything. They are wrong & only trying to sell you stuff. It really is as simple as that. They don't deserve the apparently good rep that they have. Of that I am also very certain. You will be much better served by working out what fish you are interested in & then researching those fish via internet profiles & asking question on forums of people that have kept the fish before.

 

WOW!! this is very unfortunate, But I am afraid that Nutter is dead on.
BrichardI are a Tang species and not even recommended to mix with other Africans but only their own species. 20 gal is definitely not near big enough as these guys can grow upwards of 6inches. a 40 gl should probably be a minimum, it is a great fish, if you have room for another tank you could give them their very own home. if not, you should definitely return them to your LFS and explain how they steered you in the wrong direction. good luck........

 

Your LFS shouldn't have sold you Brichardi. Especially if they knew they were going in the same tank as the Gourami & Corys. BrichardI are rift lake cichlids that require hard water with a PH of at least 8.0. Your other fish much prefer softer water with a lower PH. BrichardI are from an environment of nothing but rock & algae so they won't feel very comfortable in a tank that doesn't have large piles of rocks. They will get rather aggressive when they get older, especially with each other. The males will all fight each other in an effort to be the dominant fish in the tank. Once they sort that out they will start on anything else in the tank. The Corys don't stand a chance agianst the Brichardi. It is very difficult to sex BrichardI so the LFS probably doesn't actually know if they are male or female. I've been keeping these guys for years & I still can't tell the difference until they are fully matured & even then it is still very difficult. If there are females, they will breed. They are multI generational breeders & will soon take over even a large tank. I also have to say that a 20gal tank is nowhere near large enough for any rift lake cichlid.

The best advice I can give you is to try to return the fish to your LFS & get something much more suitable for the tank size, water chemistry & tank mates. Nothing african will work in your tank so don't let them sell african cichlids to you. Even most american cichlids need a larger tank than 20gal. You would probably get away with 2 Rams, that's about it as far as cichlids go. They are also wrong to say that you can overstock the tank because of a large filter. That is just rubbish.

I wouldn't take the word of your LFS for anything. They are wrong & only trying to sell you stuff. It really is as simple as that. They don't deserve the apparently good rep that they have. Of that I am also very certain. You will be much better served by working out what fish you are interested in & then researching those fish via internet profiles & asking question on forums of people that have kept the fish before.

Well said, and I'd just like to add that inches of fish is irrelevant, especially applied to cichlids of any kind.

 

I've posted previously about stocking vs filtration

Filtration is one thing, room for the fish is another.

Your filter needs to be able to cope with the load, in much the same way as an air-conditioner needs to be rated for the size of the room it is cooling. Many will tell you that you should aI'm for a turn over rate of 5 x your volume/hr, so on a 100L tank, you want a filter that will do 500L an hour. I work on 4 times/hr as I don't have high bio loads.

Room for the fish on the other hand, it's like having heaps of people in an elevator. If the elevator is full, you can't move, and no matter how good the air filtration/air-conditioning, you will still feel uncomfortable because you can't move, even though you can breath.

Hope that makes sense.

You could have a look atas a "guide" to stocking your tank.

At the very most (based on excellent advise form this forum), I might be adding 2 x Blue Rams to 16G my tank, but no more (even though I loved the ember tetras )

 

The LFS had the young brichardis in with tetras and he said that they are extremely peaceful and they will only get to be about 3 inches. I did some research and on some forums they said that they will only get aggressive if they are breeding. Isn't this somewhat true?

 

They are relatively peaceful as far as rift lake cichlids go, but still are not community fish. Temperament aside, brichardI prefer hard alkaline water. Tetras do not.

 

Ah ok, well I called and complained to the LFS and I returned the fish. I instead went to another store and bought 4 bloodfin tetras because they're peaceful. They're beautiful and my gourami loves hanging out with them. Thanks for all your help!

 

Bloodfins are a really good choice for a community tank. In a couple of weeks when your biological filter adjusts, you could add a few more bloodfins if you want. At that point, your tank will be fully stocked IMO.

 

Bloodfins are a really good choice for a community tank. In a couple of weeks when your biological filter adjusts, you could add a few more bloodfins if you want. At that point, your tank will be fully stocked IMO.

Harpua, thanks SO MUCH for your help. You have no idea how much I appreciate you and your guidance. I am a fish fanatic and it's nice to know I'm in such good hands on this forum. If I add 2 more bloodfins in a few weeks, that would bring my inches of fish to 26.5. Since I have such a good filter, that should be ok, shouldn't it? I am never lax on my weekly water changes/gravel vacuuming so I don't think I'll have too much of a problem, right? Besides the gourami, which sticks to himself, the bloodfins pretty much have a tank to themselves since the cats stick to the bottom!

 

great advice from everyone and great job knight returning them ...bad advice isn't always fun and giving back fish isn't either...I'm glad things will work out much better for you

 

Inches of fish is irrelevant IMO; a poor indicator of bioload in general and doesn't take into account factors such as behavior, area of the tank the fish will occupy, overall activity level, susceptibility to stress, etc.... there are so many other things to consider as well. For example, the tetras are a better choice for your tank than a school of kuhlI loaches of equal bioload because you already have a school of cories occupying the bottom. Your tank should be fine and won't be overstocked.

 

Excellent, thanks a lot. Sorry if I did a double thread, I didn't mean to. They were just two different topics IMO. Love u all =D