I have 2 Bolivian Rams, 1 Electric Blue Acara, 1 Krib and 1 Angelfish in my 65 gallon community tank. They are a good part of the community and pretty peaceful .
I have a 40 gallon breeder tank and wanted to stock it with 1 Electric Blue Acara , 2 Bolivian Rams , and 5-6 Tiger Barbs. Do you think this would work?
Keyholes are super friendly and will greet you at the front of the tank, with that being said when they pair off things can get hairy. my male keyhole killed another female that he wasnt paired off with. when talking about cichlids I find it important to keep in mind that we're talking about nice for a cichlid, not a guppy or tetra. cichlid nice is still pretty rough by other fish's standards
To your point about Apistogramma, my single male Apistogramma Trifasciata gets along perfectly in my community tank with Green Neon Tetras and Corey Cats! Great video! Thanks!
I've always been big fan of having angels and rams as center piece and then getting some tetras and bnp/ottos/catfish to create a nice south American tank
I have a fully planted aquarium, my maintenance is cleaning the filter ones or twice a year and the "prefilter" on the intake when ones every other month. I mostly only top off water level and only do water changes when parameters are rising or to get rid of tannins.
Love my neon blue acara - So personable. Comes up and says hello every time I come up to my tank. Gets along with all the other tank mates. LOVE THIS FISH. (thanks for that idea)
Other peaceful cichlids to consider in a community tank, are severum 8in, maroni 4.5in, festivum 4.5in, discus 7in, guianacara 4in and blue dempsey 6in. Just one per community tank
It still blows my mind that jewel cichlids are a species of African cichlid I just found that out a few years ago I grew up with them and I always thought they were South American because I only ever seen them with South American and Central American cichlids💯
Good thing they’re from Western Africa. The conditions there are comparable to Central and South America as opposed to the Rift Lakes. I recently found out there’s a green version of the jewel cichlids, never seen them in aquariums. Only greenish I seen are the 5 star general cichlids which are west African and part of the jewel family. If you ever want a jewel for a community, the least aggressive of the jewels are the Turkana ones. I got 1 in my 75 Gallon with Blue Acaras, Roseline Sharks and Some Cichlasoma species. So far so good
I've kept kribensis in community tank. They are peaceful when not spawning. Be wary when they have fry - when the fry go for day trips around the tank (with parents escorting) the parents will batter anything that gets near them.
I've got a pair of Bolivian Rams and a pair of Super Red Viejita Apistos, along with some dwarf neon rainbowfish, Honey and Thick-lipped gouramis, tetras, corys, and even amano and cherry shrimp. Everyone seems to get on fine (though its heavily planted and lots of rock and bogwood hardscape so loads of places to hide).
Did your Bolivian rams eat ur cherry shrimp because I wanna get the rams so bad but the only thing stopping me is the chance that they would eat shrimp
Someone in my area bred WAY too many convicts because every store near me had a tank full of them. I asked an employee and she said that a guy came in with a 5g bucket full of them, left it in the fish area, and walked out.
I have a 90 liters (dunno how many gallons) planned especially for Ramirezi with schooling little friendly fish (Ember Tetra) and Corydoras panda, well one day a couple was creating a nest in the sand (or at leat i think it was, a hole), one unlucky and incautios Corydoras panda swam too much near it and they killed it, poor fish, they can be territorial too, greetings from Italy
One you missed ... Anomalochromis thomasi from West Africa. This is as close to a "pacifist" Cichlid as you will find anywhere. Lovely breeding colours, and aren't even bad tempered when breeding. Next up - Laetacara curviceps. A small and peaceful South Amercian that *really* deserves to be far more widely available. And, if your community tank consists of larger fish (e.g., Denison's Barbs, Congo Tetras, Clown Barbs or some of the 6 inch Rasboras), then Keyhole Cichlids are a good choice.
I never really thought much about Cichlids in community tanks maybe just because I always assumed they were all aggressive or I had fish or shrimp or snails that would likely get eaten by 90% of Cichlids.
I've got 2 f bolivian rams with nerite snails and a bamboo shrimp, balloon mollies, black tetras and reasporas. The rams 99% ignore all of them, except one female bullys the second ram. That same ram will chase the bigger mollie away from cichlid pellets. Otherwise, no issue.
I will be rehoming my pair of Kribensis this week. I've tried to keep them in an 35 gallons community tank, but they bully my 11 cory duplicareus...and anything that bully my corys goes bye bye.🧐
Everyone misses a really great cichlid for community tanks even down to a 10 gallon the Apistogrammoides pucallpaensis (T-bar) is a sweet little fellow only gets 1.5 - 2 inches and have a really sweet disposition. Small and nice enough to even live with neons and similar sized fish.
@@BlakesAquatics Very true I lucked out recently and my LFS had them. He was selling them as unknown apistogramma. Sometimes they come in with shipments of 'normal' apistos. If you ever luck into seeing one at a store grab it, they are the most laid-back cichlid I have ever seen.
Its possible, I currently have a black ram, apisto co existing, the first week was a battle between the 2 but now the apisto is the alpha and not fighting between them. They are thriving now im just wondering if a pair of kirbensis can live with them
What about Green terrors or Red devil/Midas cichlids? I currently have 2 adult Red ear sliders, red devil, brilliant cichlid, flowerhorn/blood parrot hybrid, 65cm Clarias catfish, big ptero and 6 large silver dollars.
Hey Blake, I just recently removed some koi from my fish tank cause my father thought it was good idea to put them in my planted community tank for some reason. Which allow them to almost completely destroy all my plants while bullying all my smaller fish to the back of the tank while also consuming some of the small fish I had before. I want to know should I consider getting some angel fish for my 75-gallon tank if I still have a Vampire Shrimp and I am planning to add in Orange Dwarf Crayfish? Or it's a bad idea due to possible issues of the Angel Fish wanting to eat either one.
Hey Blake know I'm late to the party and you might not see this message, but looking for one more fish to add to the tank. Have a 24 gallon tank with 12 pygmy corys 12 neon tetras and a starlight bristle nose pleco. Pretty new to the aquarium world but loving it and really want to add the one last fish in since my planted aquarium can take it with its filter. thank you for any help. Looking right now at a agasizzi black ram and a koi betta but still have nightmares I will wake up if I get one of them and half my fish will be gobbled up or hating their lives since it's very peaceful right now
Great vid. You don't mention keyhole cichlids , which are a great beginner cichlid. In a community tank, is it better to have a couple of females with each male apistogramma? A lot of the breeding projects with apistos on the net seem to show only a pair.
Need your help. I have a bumblebee/hornet cichlid that’s extremely rough doesn’t play well with others. He’s taken over a 30 gallon all to himself. Who’s another I can get that will stand up to him? He killed two Oscar’s, peacocks, barbs, everyone. Any recommendations would be a huge help. I just want two more fish (3) total in that agressive tank. But can’t find anyone who can tolerate his temperament.
Sounds like a tough one.. Jaguar cichlids are usually pretty tough but then again you might just end up then having an issue of finding a mate for a jaguar.always a fine balance with those tanks. Another one might be a green texas but 30 gal isn't really big enough for either species.
@ I heard a possible reason for my issue. A store employee who is well versed said it may be because I only have the two fish. So they were fighting for the tank. He said if I had 4-5 fish it would be less fighting just a few nips here and there because they will seek areas vs fighting over the whole tank.
@ yeah alone he’s a bully. But I think with a small school he will be less of a tank hog. I never thought of that. He’s the blue striped African cichlids common fish with a big attitude.
I used to have a beautiful green Severum. Normally he was totally peaceful and chill but sometimes he'd come out with darker colouration and chase everything in the tank for a couple of minutes... Then back to chill. I think he'd get in a bad mood and decide to show everyone who was the boss. 😂 Anyway depending on the tank Severums can be an interesting community fish... Plants are impossible though.
@@BlakesAquatics darn I keep finding fish I love and they are all bottom dwellers haha. I already have the cory’s and am upgrading my tank size for them. Really wanted some Apisto’s or Krib’s. The search continues for a centerpiece fish! Thank you for the reply.
My experience is angelfish are like bettas They are aggressive but they’re only aggressive towards their own kind They’re just not as aggressive towards their own kind as bettas are💯
I have 2 Bolivian Rams, 1 Electric Blue Acara, 1 Krib and 1 Angelfish in my 65 gallon community tank. They are a good part of the community and pretty peaceful .
I have a 40 gallon breeder tank and wanted to stock it with 1 Electric Blue Acara , 2 Bolivian Rams , and 5-6 Tiger Barbs. Do you think this would work?
more tiger barbs, small schools are really nippy@@MrSeshs
I would also add Keyhole cichlids as Great Community tank cichlids, very docile and very charming :)
Keyholes are super friendly and will greet you at the front of the tank, with that being said when they pair off things can get hairy. my male keyhole killed another female that he wasnt paired off with. when talking about cichlids I find it important to keep in mind that we're talking about nice for a cichlid, not a guppy or tetra. cichlid nice is still pretty rough by other fish's standards
To your point about Apistogramma, my single male Apistogramma Trifasciata gets along perfectly in my community tank with Green Neon Tetras and Corey Cats! Great video! Thanks!
Great vid mate! Would love to see more vids like this!
I've always been big fan of having angels and rams as center piece and then getting some tetras and bnp/ottos/catfish to create a nice south American tank
I have a fully planted aquarium, my maintenance is cleaning the filter ones or twice a year and the "prefilter" on the intake when ones every other month. I mostly only top off water level and only do water changes when parameters are rising or to get rid of tannins.
Excellent video. Bolivian ram is one of my favourites and a great alternative.
Class video, finally someone who gets into it
Hey Blake! Lovely video! Hope you have a great weekend!
great video mate. Shot very well with some great footage. Thanks mate
Love my neon blue acara - So personable. Comes up and says hello every time I come up to my tank. Gets along with all the other tank mates. LOVE THIS FISH. (thanks for that idea)
I love my acara too. Just a guts and I need to be careful my clown loaches get a feed of the treats
Thanks Blake that was very informative and useful never imagined such a thing as a jaguar cichlid, they look like they mean business
Glad it was helpful!
Other peaceful cichlids to consider in a community tank, are severum 8in, maroni 4.5in, festivum 4.5in, discus 7in, guianacara 4in and blue dempsey 6in. Just one per community tank
It still blows my mind that jewel cichlids are a species of African cichlid I just found that out a few years ago I grew up with them and I always thought they were South American because I only ever seen them with South American and Central American cichlids💯
Good thing they’re from Western Africa. The conditions there are comparable to Central and South America as opposed to the Rift Lakes. I recently found out there’s a green version of the jewel cichlids, never seen them in aquariums. Only greenish I seen are the 5 star general cichlids which are west African and part of the jewel family. If you ever want a jewel for a community, the least aggressive of the jewels are the Turkana ones. I got 1 in my 75 Gallon with Blue Acaras, Roseline Sharks and Some Cichlasoma species. So far so good
Great informative video Blake!
Thanks mate
Great info! Thank you!
Very good video as always. 👍😊
What is that fish on the right hand side near the plant pot when your showing the blue Acara?
The less blue one? Also an acara just not a neon blue acara.
This is a perfect video, thanks sir
I've kept kribensis in community tank. They are peaceful when not spawning.
Be wary when they have fry - when the fry go for day trips around the tank (with parents escorting) the parents will batter anything that gets near them.
So true
I've got a pair of Bolivian Rams and a pair of Super Red Viejita Apistos, along with some dwarf neon rainbowfish, Honey and Thick-lipped gouramis, tetras, corys, and even amano and cherry shrimp. Everyone seems to get on fine (though its heavily planted and lots of rock and bogwood hardscape so loads of places to hide).
Did your Bolivian rams eat ur cherry shrimp because I wanna get the rams so bad but the only thing stopping me is the chance that they would eat shrimp
Someone in my area bred WAY too many convicts because every store near me had a tank full of them.
I asked an employee and she said that a guy came in with a 5g bucket full of them, left it in the fish area, and walked out.
🤣 thats crazy
Does that count as generosity, or littering?
The stores won’t buy them lol
Mbuna prefer Alkaline Water which is very common in the United States. My Sydney water seemed to be perfect for African Riverine fish.
What about combining some of these - say an 2-3 different types of Apistos, or an Apisto and a Ram or Keyhole? Do they tend to fight each other?
My krib RIP was nippy asf but not a complete terror. Replaced him with a marlieri julie.
I have a 90 liters (dunno how many gallons) planned especially for Ramirezi with schooling little friendly fish (Ember Tetra) and Corydoras panda, well one day a couple was creating a nest in the sand (or at leat i think it was, a hole), one unlucky and incautios Corydoras panda swam too much near it and they killed it, poor fish, they can be territorial too, greetings from Italy
Awesome video 👍👍
Hi Blake what about the Princess Chiclid just like the look of them Thx mate
One you missed ... Anomalochromis thomasi from West Africa. This is as close to a "pacifist" Cichlid as you will find anywhere. Lovely breeding colours, and aren't even bad tempered when breeding.
Next up - Laetacara curviceps. A small and peaceful South Amercian that *really* deserves to be far more widely available.
And, if your community tank consists of larger fish (e.g., Denison's Barbs, Congo Tetras, Clown Barbs or some of the 6 inch Rasboras), then Keyhole Cichlids are a good choice.
Good call x3 👍
Love it!!
Great video thanks-can you keep different types of cichlids from this list together? Like Blue Acara and Kribs/Bolivian Rams?
I prefer not to but many do
@@BlakesAquatics thanks!
I never really thought much about Cichlids in community tanks maybe just because I always assumed they were all aggressive or I had fish or shrimp or snails that would likely get eaten by 90% of Cichlids.
100% of cichlids will eat those things
I've got 2 f bolivian rams with nerite snails and a bamboo shrimp, balloon mollies, black tetras and reasporas. The rams 99% ignore all of them, except one female bullys the second ram. That same ram will chase the bigger mollie away from cichlid pellets. Otherwise, no issue.
What other cichlids can you keep with a pair of apistogramma nijsseni (dwarf panda cichlid male and female) please?
I will be rehoming my pair of Kribensis this week. I've tried to keep them in an 35 gallons community tank, but they bully my 11 cory duplicareus...and anything that bully my corys goes bye bye.🧐
Fair enough 👍
Everyone misses a really great cichlid for community tanks even down to a 10 gallon the Apistogrammoides pucallpaensis (T-bar) is a sweet little fellow only gets 1.5 - 2 inches and have a really sweet disposition. Small and nice enough to even live with neons and similar sized fish.
Sure but good luck ever finding them. At least in Australia where I am im sure they arent even in the country.
@@BlakesAquatics Very true I lucked out recently and my LFS had them. He was selling them as unknown apistogramma. Sometimes they come in with shipments of 'normal' apistos. If you ever luck into seeing one at a store grab it, they are the most laid-back cichlid I have ever seen.
My kribensis rescaped /destroyed my aquarium when they bred. They attacked everything. Easy to breed, nightmare to keep.
Sorry to hear that
great vid
Can u keep more than I cichlid in the same tank example Apistogramma and a Bolivian and maybe a dwarf cichlid or angel
Its possible, I currently have a black ram, apisto co existing, the first week was a battle between the 2 but now the apisto is the alpha and not fighting between them. They are thriving now im just wondering if a pair of kirbensis can live with them
What about Green terrors or Red devil/Midas cichlids? I currently have 2 adult Red ear sliders, red devil, brilliant cichlid, flowerhorn/blood parrot hybrid, 65cm Clarias catfish, big ptero and 6 large silver dollars.
Sounds like a pretty chaotic tank as it is. Plenty of big personalities in that list
Hey Blake, I just recently removed some koi from my fish tank cause my father thought it was good idea to put them in my planted community tank for some reason. Which allow them to almost completely destroy all my plants while bullying all my smaller fish to the back of the tank while also consuming some of the small fish I had before. I want to know should I consider getting some angel fish for my 75-gallon tank if I still have a Vampire Shrimp and I am planning to add in Orange Dwarf Crayfish? Or it's a bad idea due to possible issues of the Angel Fish wanting to eat either one.
Crayfish will shred up plants so you know. Angels are great in a 75 but the other stocking ideas could be problematic
Hey man i love the video! Quick question can i keep a single angelfish in a 40 breeder?
Sure can 👍
Hey Blake know I'm late to the party and you might not see this message, but looking for one more fish to add to the tank. Have a 24 gallon tank with 12 pygmy corys 12 neon tetras and a starlight bristle nose pleco. Pretty new to the aquarium world but loving it and really want to add the one last fish in since my planted aquarium can take it with its filter. thank you for any help. Looking right now at a agasizzi black ram and a koi betta but still have nightmares I will wake up if I get one of them and half my fish will be gobbled up or hating their lives since it's very peaceful right now
Koi betta would be a nice touch. Seems you want something a bit bigger as a centrepiece. Id skip the ram maybe an apisto borellii
Great vid. You don't mention keyhole cichlids , which are a great beginner cichlid. In a community tank, is it better to have a couple of females with each male apistogramma? A lot of the breeding projects with apistos on the net seem to show only a pair.
What if a flowerhorn pops? Could it survive?
Hi. Do Bolivian Rams suit community tanks with tiny fish like Guppies or would they eat them?
They will probably eat male and juvenile guppies
@@BlakesAquatics oh darn. They are so pretty. Thanks for the reply though 😄
Need your help. I have a bumblebee/hornet cichlid that’s extremely rough doesn’t play well with others. He’s taken over a 30 gallon all to himself. Who’s another I can get that will stand up to him? He killed two Oscar’s, peacocks, barbs, everyone. Any recommendations would be a huge help. I just want two more fish (3) total in that agressive tank. But can’t find anyone who can tolerate his temperament.
Sounds like a tough one.. Jaguar cichlids are usually pretty tough but then again you might just end up then having an issue of finding a mate for a jaguar.always a fine balance with those tanks. Another one might be a green texas but 30 gal isn't really big enough for either species.
@ I heard a possible reason for my issue. A store employee who is well versed said it may be because I only have the two fish. So they were fighting for the tank. He said if I had 4-5 fish it would be less fighting just a few nips here and there because they will seek areas vs fighting over the whole tank.
@@JoeMaxFpv sorry i didnt realise you were talking about krabro, the african cichlid? If so then yes definitely want a few more
@ yeah alone he’s a bully. But I think with a small school he will be less of a tank hog. I never thought of that. He’s the blue striped African cichlids common fish with a big attitude.
I used to have a beautiful green Severum. Normally he was totally peaceful and chill but sometimes he'd come out with darker colouration and chase everything in the tank for a couple of minutes... Then back to chill. I think he'd get in a bad mood and decide to show everyone who was the boss. 😂 Anyway depending on the tank Severums can be an interesting community fish... Plants are impossible though.
can i have cardinal tetras and blue acara
Can black and German Rams be in the same tank??
Yeah theyre the same species just a diffeent colour variant
i have a dwarf blue panda apisto and its so peaceful. dosent bother any other fish or plants
Is there any apistogramma I can add in a 15 gallon community tank? Just one male
Yeah plenty. Borellii and agasizzii are 2 good options
What size tank is good for a Apistogramma i only have a 10g tank can you help me with this
15G minimum for a pair. You could maybe do a solo fish in the 10
Can you keep comet goldfish with a blue acara?
No acara will shred goldfish fins
Is it possible to keep Apistos or Kribs with albino corydora?
Corys are little known enemies of apistos. In the wild cories always raid apisto eggs. I prefer to have only 1 type of bottom dweller
@@BlakesAquatics darn I keep finding fish I love and they are all bottom dwellers haha. I already have the cory’s and am upgrading my tank size for them. Really wanted some Apisto’s or Krib’s. The search continues for a centerpiece fish! Thank you for the reply.
Can a red jewel be kept with a Bolivian Ram?
I wouldnt, the jewel would probably bully it.
My experience is angelfish are like bettas They are aggressive but they’re only aggressive towards their own kind They’re just not as aggressive towards their own kind as bettas are💯
They killed my brother his German ram cichlid @angelfish
😂if I were a cichlids without my morning coffee… I’d probly be something like a red devil amphilophus labiatus .☕️☕️☕️= peaceful community!
Me too 🤣
I love parachromis but it’s just not worth rolling the dice😂
Fair 😅
Always good.👍 👍 👍 👍
Thank you 👍