Mixing african and american cichlids, and cichlid water parameters

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
I've just thrown them in together at the same time, regardless of age. The Americans generally (but not always) get stuck on the lower end of the pecking order until they gain some size advantage, though.
 
I havent noticed any problem with mixing them also. i had to move a couple of large oscars from my 72 because my jag was beating the hell out of them. I put them in a African tank and they get along great, was worried the oscars would bother them but the africans arent the least bit itimidated.
 
I agree, My 125 has a mix of africans an C.A. and they are doing fine...or at least as well as the Africans did when they were all together exclusively.
 
when I 1st got my 150 last yr I did a setup like this.

African:1 front, 1 male peacock, kenyi pr (bred nicely), borelyi(sp?)
American: grammode, pike, texas, gt, red tiger, black belt

it was so cool and no probs til my BB got a lil psycho as usual but only went after the gt. Fed em all Brine Shrimp, Emerald Entre, ghost shrimp, pellets and flakes. no one died til the storm (damn you katrina).
 
I tried mixing my gt with my africans and they didnt like it at all luckly I caught it before they ripped him up. Then again people keep telling me my africans are meaner and more agressive then they should be? I didnt do anything to them for them to be mean.. so idk? But I had to move him into the smaller tank with my other african that cant swim with its backtail.. they get along great lol.
 
I have a Managuense in my african tank who has been there for a while and is awaiting payment for me to ship him out. I bought a Labidochromis sp. who is about an inch bigger than the Jag. They instantly began locking jaws and I have been watching it over that last few hours. the labidochromis seems to be holding his own very well.
 
I just recently introduced a African into one of my tanks and at first I was concerned..... Watched him closely because of his size and now, it's been about 2 weeks, he is doing really well..... I made sure that he had a hiding spot. Dug a hole and put a teacup in the tank at an angle with just enough space for him to get in and he is constantly zipping in and out. My other fish can't even get close to him because he's so quick!!! Also introduced some dither fish with him to draw attention away from him. Glad I did it cause he is so much happier now cause he has much more room!!!! :)
 
People fuss too much about the water conditions of their cichlids. With a few exceptions, most cichlids tolerate and thrive in a wide variety of water conditions.
 
tank raised fish will be easier to adapt to a wider range of parameters, but wild caught fish can be acclimated as well. with wild caught fish though the acclimation should be much slower. the only problem I can really see is that if you took a wild caught fish and acclimated it to comletely different water conditions then they may not breed. an example, a guy I know in cincinnati used to have (he still might, I'm not sure) a wild caught pair of Pelvicachromis taeniatus 'wouri' and an f1 breeding pair of Pelvicachromis taeniatus 'nigerian red'. he kept them both in his tapwater (8.? ph and very hard) and both pairs were fine. however, only the nigerian red pair would spawn in the tapwater. in order to get the wouri pair to spawn, he had to lower the ph considerably. :)
 
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