Considering a peaceful community cichlid that doesn't get large....


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Apistogrammas? Although considering there os a dwarf gourami it may act as a aggressor on whoever you add. Also not may cichlids would be compatible with a dwarf gourami.
 

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I highly recommend Bolivian Rams. They get to about 2-3 inches and are extremely peaceful. Look into them and I hope they are what you are looking for! They are such beautiful fish!
 
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  • #4
I highly recommend Bolivian Rams. They get to about 2-3 inches and are extremely peaceful. Look into them and I hope they are what you are looking for! They are such beautiful fish!
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Just googled them... are there a number of different variants/subspecies? The pics vary greatly...
 
Just googled them... are there a number of different variants/subspecies? The pics vary greatly...
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I see what you mean, I just looked them up to see what you first see and those are German Blue Rams, if you have a trustworthy local fish store I would recommend going there and checking if they have any Bolivian Rams
 

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Live Aquaria lists it as "expert only"
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Ignore that entirely. They are far from expert only. Bolivians are my favourite fish and a very good choice for a community tank. There are two ram species, bolivians are one and GBR are the other, Bolivians tend to be the hardier species. All rams that aren't Bolivians are GBR varieties. 78 would be the highest I would go for Bolivians so your tank seems fine for them. Cardinal tetras make great tank mates for GBR as they like water pretty warm.
 
I have a pearl in my community with a female BR and previously a male as well with no issues
they actually enjoy each other's company
 
Ignore that entirely. They are far from expert only. Bolivians are my favourite fish and a very good choice for a community tank. There are two ram species, bolivians are one and GBR are the other, Bolivians tend to be the hardier species. All rams that aren't Bolivians are GBR varieties. 78 would be the highest I would go for Bolivians so your tank seems fine for them. Cardinal tetras make great tank mates for GBR as they like water pretty warm.
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Completely agree. If they were truly expert only I would see them go for slightly higher prices and I would get the confidence to play with wild bettas.
 
Live Aquaria lists it as "expert only"
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Odd that it says “expert only”, I can’t imagine why. They’re pretty hardy and peaceful, and breed pretty easy in the home aquarium.
Just something to note- when someone says a fish is an “expert skill” fish, it means that you need to have dedication, knowledge and attention to detail. I was able to take care of extremely tough fish to keep after about a year of fishkeeping (and now here I am with cories) because of my attention to detail and passion for learning about fish. By no means am I saying you should go out and get a GBR, but you shouldn’t have to worry about keeping a specific fish as long as you’re diligent and passionate.
 
These are all bolivian rams on Google Chrome, but they do look considerably different I agree. There are a couple GBRs as you scroll down, but most of them are bolivian. Some look a lot nicer than others. Some look like the colors were photoshopped a bit. Others look like not very good specimens. Until they are comfortable in the tank, they don't have as much color. But compared to a colorful GBR, the Bolivians are just as beautiful imo. I have GBRs atm, I will go for bolivian rams next.

Google Chrome Bolivian ram s
 

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  • #12
What would you say is an ideal number? I'm thinking of getting 2 - and does the sex matter?
 
This is a 65g? I'd say you could get away with 4-6 depending on how well stocked you are, especially if the tank is decorated well. 2 would be more than fine. Generally with Bolivians I recommend either the same sex ratio or more females to males. Buying a pair would mean you would get to see their reactions and displays which is one of the main draws for me personally. There are people with more males, or only males, that get on well though.
 
Kribs are great! I currently have one in my 55 gallon community with angels and some other fishies!
 
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  • #16
This is a 65 gallon? I'd say you could get away with 4-6 depending on how well stocked you are, especially if the tank is decorated well. 2 would be more than fine. Generally with Bolivians I recommend either the same sex ratio or more females to males. Buying a pair would mean you would get to see their reactions and displays which is one of the main draws for me personally. There are people with more males, or only males, that get on well though.
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Yes 65 but I already have about 25 fish... I am "downsizing" my fish count though as I was sold a common pleco Instead of a BN and I am going to get rid of one of my gouramis (or maybe all 3)

Kribs are great! I currently have one in my 55 gallon community with angels and some other fishies!
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I will look into this fish! thanks!

Kribs from Fishlore fish profile:

"They are not recommended for community tank setups and will even fight amongst themselves around breeding time. The females can sometimes be the more aggressive except when the male is guarding the nest. This fish would be best kept in a species only tank."
 
Kribs from Fishlore fish profile:

"They are not recommended for community tank setups and will even fight amongst themselves around breeding time. The females can sometimes be the more aggressive except when the male is guarding the nest. This fish would be best kept in a species only tank."
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Actually they are great unless you get multiple females or a pair, like many cichlids they do get aggressive when breeding but Kribs are usually very peaceful! I even have kept them with my betta sorority with 0 problems!
 
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  • #18
So what would the ideal number be? and sex ratio? to minimize aggression...
 
So what would the ideal number be? and sex ratio? to minimize aggression...
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You could keep two females or a male/female pair, but I wouldn’t keep two males in a tank. Good luck sexing them, they’re very hard to tell the difference in. coralbandit might be able to give you some good tips.
 
Thinking op was asking about kribs .
They may not be 'aggressive' but I agree with the FL profile.
1 pair decimated and took over my 180g in a year.. Had to remove all 95 of them ! 1 pair in a stocked 180 !
I would not do kribs in a community tank .
As for the bolivians OP could do however many they like .1-6 would be fine by me ..They seem to be a great fish even when breeding .
They may be one of the most mild mannered cichlid there is .. Great personality to boot .
 
So what would the ideal number be? and sex ratio? to minimize aggression...
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for Kribs it would be either three males, a single Krib of any gender, or if your willing to deal with a pair (and a ton of babies) then either a pair or one female and four males. NEVER keep two females together, they will fight to the death for dominance if kept together long term.
If you go this route it’s quite easy to tell the difference, males have longer Dorsal fins and females USUALLY have a pink belly whereas males don’t
 

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  • #22
I ended up with 2 german rams... male and female. My LFS recommended them.. they had kribs and Bolivians.. but the person I dealt with spoke highly of the german rams... I like them aesthetically over the other two. He said they should be fine in my tank with the fish I have...
 
I ended up with 2 german rams... male and female. My LFS recommended them.. they had kribs and Bolivians.. but the person I dealt with spoke highly of the german rams... I like them aesthetically over the other two. He said they should be fine in my tank with the fish I have...
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The cardinals do better with german blues than Bolivians. So a good mix imo. But crank the temp up to at least 80 for the rams.
 
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  • #26
GBRs will do best at 84
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LFS said they should adapt to 80. Hopefully hey will.

"In the wild, the German blue ramis used to a water temperatureof 25.5-29.5 ºC (78-85 ºF). Aquarium kept specimens will normally do fine up to 80 °F (27 °C)"
Source: German Blue Ram | Care, breeding, behaviour, tank mates
 
I keep my GBRs at 80°f because they are in my community tank with a BN pleco and tetras, so can't really go much higher. But all 3 are 3 years old now, so they did pretty good. I agree, higher temps are better though, just they did ok with 80°f. I had them at 78°f for a bit while I was treating the tank for worms, and I think 80°f is A LOT better for them. Higher is even better though. I kept my EBR pair at 82°f and they gave me some nice babies. 82°f and they will spawn more often and eat more than if kept at 80°f for ex. Lower temps compromise immune, but they are longer lived IF they don't become ill. My GBRs are healthy at 80°f, but if I had them in a species tank, the temp would be 82°f.
 
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  • #28
They've settle in nicely.. not as shy as first 24 hours... eating too..

Colors still seem a bit more muted than at the store... hopefully come in better soon...

Water in and around 80ish.. I have zebra danios and I wonder if they will suffer at that temp? I am not planning on keeping them anyhow.. they were great as an intro fish but a little bored of them and will switch them out for something more vivid like H. rasbora
 
I would lower the temp if you only have the zebras and rams. My rams stay at 74-75 and 80 is generally too hot.
 
I would lower the temp if you only have the zebras and rams. My rams stay at 74-75 and 80 is generally too hot.
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Did you mean rams or danios? I really feel 75 is way too cold for GBRs...
I would keep it at 78°f at the VERY lowest and rehome the danios.
 
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  • #31
It's at 79.3 currently. I am rehomining the Danios.

I have Congo and cardinal tetras, a BN pleco, dwarf gourami, angelfish, albino cory cats and blue rams. Will add harlequin rasboras soon to the mix and some algae eater eventually.

I am somewhat concerned that 79 is still a bit too warm for the cory and pleco. The rams are doing fine so far in the 3 days since I bought them. They are eating. Color is not yet very vibrant. Maybe because water is a bit on the cool side?

Everything I've read on tams says 80 is minimum
 

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It's at 79.3 currently. I am rehomining the Danios.

I have Congo and cardinal tetras, a BN pleco, dwarf gourami, angelfish, albino cory cats and blue rams. Will add harlequin rasboras soon to the mix and some algae eater eventually.

I am somewhat concerned that 79 is still a bit too warm for the cory and pleco. The rams are doing fine so far in the 3 days since I bought them. They are eating. Color is not yet very vibrant. Maybe because water is a bit on the cool side?
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Yeah albino cory cats and GBR is not a great combo temperature wise. I keep my BN plecos at 78/80°f (I have lots!) and they do very well for me. I had trouble keeping panda cories when I first started and had to give up the idea because my temp was at 78°f. But my mom's albino (paleatus) cories lived for years and the temp shot up to 80°f in the afternoon because of the incandescent lighting.

But under no circumstances would I go lower than 78°f for GBR. I actually think it is too low at 78°f and 80°f should be the minimum as you have read.
 
Kribs from Fishlore fish profile:

"They are not recommended for community tank setups and will even fight amongst themselves around breeding time. The females can sometimes be the more aggressive except when the male is guarding the nest. This fish would be best kept in a species only tank."
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I have a hard time coming up with any cichlid that will not fight among themselves especially at breeding time (geophagus maybe?). Cichlids all tend to have some aggression, "how much?" is the question.
Even peaceful fish can get angry or even dangerous when mating. My male hoplo will literally cut you open if you put a hand in the breeding tank while nesting is going on, the rest of the time the hoplos are fun, adorable, dopey sausages that lay around the tank.

Kribs used to be the go to "my first cichlid" for those who didn't know angels were cichlids. They are really good looking and are not murder machines like say your beautiful African cichlids often end up as.

I love kribs.

Reading coralbandit's krib experience, maybe I just got nice ones? Mine were far less bitey than some apistos and rams that I have owned. My current apisto is now peaceful with everyone and very shy but there are no females or males in the tank (he is the reason for this.). For a comparison the platinum rams my wife picked up have the male going after full sized angels who are actively breeding, so he is ready to throw down.
 
LFS said they should adapt to 80. Hopefully hey will.

"In the wild, the German blue ramis used to a water temperatureof 25.5-29.5 ºC (78-85 ºF). Aquarium kept specimens will normally do fine up to 80 °F (27 °C)"
Source: German Blue Ram | Care, breeding, behaviour, tank mates
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In the wild German blue rams can face temperatures much higher than that. Much higher than one may expect. GBR can be kept at 80 but I would do them no lower that that. 82-86 is preferable, and that is on the cooler side of the temperature that they face in the wild. You can read this in chromes answer here, comment #9.

The corys won't appreciate this temp range as said above unfortunately. What algae eater are you planning on?
 
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  • #37
Yeah albino cory cats and GBR is not a great combo temperature wise. I keep my BN plecos at 78/80°f (I have lots!) and they do very well for me. I had trouble keeping panda cories when I first started and had to give up the idea because my temp was at 78°f. But my mom's albino (paleatus) cories lived for years and the temp shot up to 80°f in the afternoon because of the incandescent lighting.

But under no circumstances would I go lower than 78°f for GBR. I actually think it is too low at 78°f and 80°f should be the minimum as you have read.
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so do you think that 79 is too low for the GBR? Should I push it to 80 with the other fish species I have in there now?
 
so do you think that 79 is too low for the GBR? Should I push it to 80 with the other fish species I have in there now?
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Yikes after reading the temp goes to 100°f where rams live in the wild and that 82°f is the cooler rainy season weather, i'm definitely keeping my rams no lower than 80°f and reconsidering them as a fish to keep in my SA community tank. Tough call! They do ok, but much better at 82 (IME) and I suppose 84-86 (but never tried it and it's not ok for other community fish). I'm not freaking out with 79°f, but they won't be as beautiful and large as when they are kept warmer. I say this because I keep my own GBRs at 80°f.
 
Did you mean rams or danios? I really feel 75 is way too cold for GBRs...
I would keep it at 78°f at the VERY lowest and rehome the danios.
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Oops, i'm getting threads mixed up thought OP had bolivians
 
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  • #40
Nope! GBR.

I'll keep it at 80 rehome danios and Cory. Just hope angels tetras and BN pleco like that temp! And Harlequin rasboras which I intend to get.

I've read that sterbaI Cory like it warm.
 
Nope! GBR.

I'll keep it at 80 rehome danios and Cory. Just hope angels tetras and BN pleco like that temp! And Harlequin rasboras which I intend to get.
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The angels and cardinals will love it. Its on the high end for BN, but it should do fine. Same for harleys. And yes, sterbaI are great tank mates for GBR.
 

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I've read that sterbaI Cory like it warm.
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They really aren't warmer water fish, its that they are the most heat tolerant cory so that's why they are chosen for hot aquariums.
 
Sterbai, aldofoi and duplicas as far as know can handle the higher temps of 80°f. Perfect for the angel and cardinal tetras. My own BN plecos do well at 80°f (even though they are supposed to like it cooler) and i'm not sure about rasboras. But I'll speak for the BN pleco ime.
 
What types of algae eaters can do well with 80 water? Otos?
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If you are looking at algae eaters, just know that they aren't algae eaters, but aufwuchs eaters. Supplement them periodically with appropriate foods. Have fun down the aufwuchs wormhole!
 
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  • #47
Otos can do well from 72-82. But they need a well seasoned aquarium.
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It's seasoned...algae is beginning to appear.. its 3 months running now and the new Finnex light is really ramping up the photosynthesis...
 

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