my tank's lonely without a cichlid...

[catfishmike]

my blue ram passed about 4-5 months ago,and i have yet to get a new cichlid for my tank.
now here's the fun part*groan,yet another suggestion thread*
i figured i'll let you guys pick my new cichlid.
here's the reqirements:
must be south american
must stay reasonably small,i don't want it/them to eat my ottos.
no blue rams,too much of a gamble.
my tank is 72"lx15"w18"h 84 gallons
populated with corycats,brochis,ottos 1 snow king pleco,1clown pleco,2 spotted raphael cats and some guppys(who knows how many?)
tank is well filtered,2 cans.1 hob,about 900 gph total turnover.semi planted,semi floating.
i'll pick the fish with the most votes

 

[ecotank]

Cockatoo Dwarf Cichlid, very colorful and they stay small (3 inches) Not too aggressive, shy actually, should be fine with your other fish.

 

[fishboy]

Do the discus. Most will not bother ottos, as long as you keep them well fed. A couple large Germans would be great for that tank.

 

[catfishmike]

i like the dwarf idea,but the only apisto we get often is agassizii.
that and the stock never looks real healthy.it's a very likley choice though.
i don't know about discus,i don't feed too often and my tank has a d.s.b. so i don't know about discus.

 

[bigfoot150]

Yeah I second the cockatoo cichlid vote. Really any apisto you could find would probably be a good choice. Agassizii are also hearty from what I here so you might get a pair or a male and a couple females and see how they do. With some good feedings maybe they will look better. You could also try aquabid for some cockatoos or any other apisto aswell.

 

[Cichlid-Man]

1. Cockatoo Dwarf Cichlid or any aspisto And i 2nd aquabid.
2. I 2nd the Discus. Hehe

 

[catfishmike]

alrigth 2 for apsitos of any sort and 2 for discus,which i won't be getting,they are too big,for what i'm doing at least.so keep those suggestions coming.i may get these fish as soon as today.

 

[Cichlid-Man]

I think aspistos are your best bet. Finding them in your area anyways.

What about some Checkerboard Cichlids. They are different and not to many people have them. Which also means they are kinda rare to get.

Rainbow Cichlids (Herotilapia multispinosa) would also fit well into your setup.

 

[catfishmike]

are those checkerboards south american?how about the rainbows?
i'm leaning towards the apistos,mostly because they are avalible.i haven't seen a checkerboard before,and i haven't even heard of a rainbow.
i'm supprised that no one has sugessted keyholes or any of the smaller geophagus,not that i could get any of the small geos anyways.

 

[blueturq]

Without a shadow of a doubt get a group of Keyhole's!!!

Hardy, small, not picky about food, and PEACEFUL what more could you ask for in a cichlid?!

*celebrate

 

[Avalon]

How about some kribs? I would go for some A. Agassizzi's myself. Kribs remind me a lot of Agassizzi's.

 

[catfishmike]

well the votes are cast...and the winner is the blue rams.
yea i know i said no rams,but i wanted fish now and thats all i could find.it looks like nothing else was going to be in for a while.i'll still probably end up with something else due to the high mortality rate of rams.i got my fingers crossed though.

 

[wayne]

I think you need to get to that auction in San Diego and get some Apisto trifasciata. Tough, easy to breed and likely cheap and good quality

 

[catfishmike]

yea i'm going,to the next big one.there was no way for this one though.my girlfriend just changed jobs so we can't travel for a few more weeks.i really want some apistos,but they are real questionable looking when i see them locally.that and only one store carries them.i'd love to get some apistogramma borelii,but i don't think i'll ever see one of those without having one shipped.
on a side note,when i was shopping eairler,the store had a sobiancistrus pleco,but it wasn't the cool orange lipped one.if it was i'd have a new pleco