also, genuinely curious here, have you ever owned new world cichlids/tried to house them with old world cichlids?
cool ideas for an African cichlid tank.
- Thread starter justintheodd
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It's a bad idea. I tried it just as a temporarily solution. They don't understand each others body language like submissive gestures etc.
In my experience, it works better than you might think. for me personally, they both don't look like each other so they sort of don't see each other as threats. I have had these convicts for a while and they live almost completely peacefully with the mbuna's and haps.
I’ve done both a convict and a jewel with my mbuna. Both had to be removed by the end of the day or they would have died. It’s been done plenty of times by others with no issues, but that’s my experience. I do keep kribensis with my new world cichlids, but they are hardly like rift lake cichlids in behavior or water chemistry.
I would generally consider the mix a bad idea. At the end of the day, these fish have evolved over millions of years to not live together, so you’re always fighting an uphill battle. CA cichlids and rifties match up parameter-wise, but it becomes a behavioral issue after that.
I am guilty of mixing continents in all my tanks, but I can deny that you tend to get the most functional and best looking displays when everything is meant to live together.
If you’re looking for something interesting, I would stick to lake Malawi fish. The cichlids are the only frequently kept species from the lake, so there’s plenty of “oddballs” that share the same space (in the sense that few people keep them). First thing that comes to mind is certain synodontis. Cuckoo cats would be interesting.
I would generally consider the mix a bad idea. At the end of the day, these fish have evolved over millions of years to not live together, so you’re always fighting an uphill battle. CA cichlids and rifties match up parameter-wise, but it becomes a behavioral issue after that.
I am guilty of mixing continents in all my tanks, but I can deny that you tend to get the most functional and best looking displays when everything is meant to live together.
If you’re looking for something interesting, I would stick to lake Malawi fish. The cichlids are the only frequently kept species from the lake, so there’s plenty of “oddballs” that share the same space (in the sense that few people keep them). First thing that comes to mind is certain synodontis. Cuckoo cats would be interesting.
they have been together now for years and are the most peaceful tank of cichlids I have ever seen. the only aggression I have ever seen in the tank is my male red zebras being territorial when breeding. but overall, in my experience these guys coexist just fine
True. Mixing cichlid that are unlike one another can achieve greater harmony than closely related species as they don’t see one another as competitors. Over the years, I have mixed cichlid from old and new world as a strategy to reduce aggression, and the more different they are the better as long as water requirement is compatible.
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awesome tank dude! and thanks for the feedback. you wouldn't happen to know of any cool fish you can house with Africans, would you?
I would want Africans at 7.8 or higher...8 is better.
Convict pH: 6.0 – 8.0. Somewhere on the alkaline side of neutral is ideal. So closer to 7.0.
Raphael pH: 5.5 – 7.5
Convict pH: 6.0 – 8.0. Somewhere on the alkaline side of neutral is ideal. So closer to 7.0.
Raphael pH: 5.5 – 7.5
