Scarletmonuka Posted January 23, 2013 Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 Hey i'm just tossing around ideas here at the moment. in my 5 footer i have two small firemouths.. i wanna get a keyhole to go with them but i am also wondering if i can put a salvini cichlid in there with them? once again i will have 8 tiger barbs and an albino rainbow shark.. tanks will be semi planted with lots of drift wood and rocks. its 300 litres cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disgustipated Posted January 23, 2013 Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 salvini will eat the barbs once his mouth is big enough (or even before). it will probably pick on the t-bars too, but in saying that, as with many other american cichlids, often it is luck of the draw as to whether you get an aggressive or passive one. but as for it eating the small fish, that is a definite... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted January 23, 2013 Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 T-Bar??? Salvini will munch everything once it gets big enough. Keyhole should be fine, they wont cause any issues, but if the firemouths go breeding mode then the keyhole wlll need an area away from them (firemouths normally have smaller territories to the 5ft should be fine.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted January 23, 2013 Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 I'd think with enough space and territories a firemouth and salvini would work, perhaps a couple of male convicts would help spread the aggression. I woul leave the keyhole out tho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarletmonuka Posted January 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 ive read that salvini seldom get over 15 cm in aquiriums. i thought firemouths and the barbs would get big enough not to fit in its mouth. yes i agree what tbars? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted January 23, 2013 Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 My last Salvini grew to over 17cm, and in the tank he ended up going to killed off 2 fully grown Jack Dempseys and a couple of convicts before he settled down Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarletmonuka Posted January 24, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2013 oh wow.... hah i guess i will stay away from them then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted January 24, 2013 Report Share Posted January 24, 2013 can I just say, check out "geophagus steindenachari" (I hope I spelt that right) smaller growing Geo, reasonably peaceful and pretty to boot. hade a trio in with some Firemouths for about 6 months now and no signs of agression. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarletmonuka Posted January 24, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2013 google corrected the spelling for me... lovely fish.. whats one retail for? i want to use a fine grave for my substrate (at least at this stage). i would have to use sand if if wanted one of these right? i know i won't find one down here but i guess its something to look for when we go to chch in late march Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted January 24, 2013 Report Share Posted January 24, 2013 I think they retail for around the $20-30 mark. the ones I have seen are bred by our local fish farm and are stunning. the males tend to develop their lumps a bit later but have the patterning early on, females are stunning too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarletmonuka Posted January 24, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2013 you can get your hands on them then? or am i best to either wait till chch or ring hhff? again according to the net i would have to have sand substrate as apposed to fine gravel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted January 24, 2013 Report Share Posted January 24, 2013 Have 3 atm, but try locally as I am a bit hesitant to ship that far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarletmonuka Posted January 24, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2013 hmmm maybe the local garden store will be able to get one for me... cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarletmonuka Posted January 30, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 I'd think with enough space and territories a firemouth and salvini would work, perhaps a couple of male convicts would help spread the aggression. I woul leave the keyhole out tho. in a 4 foot 280 - 300 litre tank? :smot: ps am keeping an eye on your big tank build thread.. hows it going? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted January 31, 2013 Report Share Posted January 31, 2013 Slowly!! Got the glass sorted, waiting on engineer friend for stand... As for the mix, it really does come down to the individual fish, all you can do is start out with a bunch of juvi's and be prepared to thin/separate them if needed. It is always a delicate balancing act, especially in smaller tanks, sometimes removing one or two will upset the balance further... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarletmonuka Posted January 31, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2013 So in other words i have to be prepared to invest a good sum of money (i'm guessing juvies would range from $20 - $30 each) in getting the right fish. trying to sell the more agressive ones on and at least get back what i payed would be extremely difficult.. especially down here. Budget doesn't allow me to do that so i will stick to the less agressive fish for the time being haha its funny up until joining this forum i thought 300 litres was a massive tank.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarletmonuka Posted February 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2013 ok one last question guys... since disgustipated mentioned t bars i've looked them up. BEATIFUL! they are in the same catagory as firemouth for agression wise so they should be ok right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disgustipated Posted February 2, 2013 Report Share Posted February 2, 2013 salvini will eat the barbs once his mouth is big enough (or even before). it will probably pick on the t-bars too, but in saying that, as with many other american cichlids, often it is luck of the draw as to whether you get an aggressive or passive one. but as for it eating the small fish, that is a definite... whoops, i meant to say firemouths, not t-bars. oh well, if you end up getting t-bars, then it will be a fortunate mistake in the end, t bars are choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disgustipated Posted February 2, 2013 Report Share Posted February 2, 2013 Sajica's are a little more peaceful than their cousins, the Convicts are, but that is not to mean that they are a placid fish. They still pack a fair amount of punch for their size. They are not suitable for community tanks, but do well as the only cichlid species in a biotype style environment. They also do well with similar sized cichlids such as Firemouths and are a nice, smaller sized fish to round out a tank where Convicts might be too aggressive. They are also an option in large tanks containing some of the medium to larger sized cichlids that are not overly aggressive, such as Severums, Oscars and Jack Dempseys. As long as there is enough room for each species to define a territory, there should not be any real problems. http://www.worldcichlids.com/fotm/july2005_t-bar.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted February 2, 2013 Report Share Posted February 2, 2013 T-bars are cool, I'd probably go with them over salvini for your set up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarletmonuka Posted February 2, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2013 i guess the danger is i'm heading to a species only tank... i really want a school of super active fish in with the cichlids.. thats why i was going for tiger barbs, as they get to decentish size. i really wouldn't want them getting munched on though. the local garden store has (or at least had) a tank full of checker board silver dollars. but i think they would get too big for the tank. yeah david i've defiently decided to stay away from the salvini's for now... its such a shame that there are so many awesome fish out there... makes it damn hard to decide! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted February 2, 2013 Report Share Posted February 2, 2013 tanks a bit small for the majority of the SA/CA cichlids, but (im gonna cop some flak here) there is no reason not to consider some african species as well, most of them are being bred in more acidic water anyways so you don't need any super high pH for them. also Lionhead cichlids!!!! ugly but cute, You will fall in love Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disgustipated Posted February 2, 2013 Report Share Posted February 2, 2013 i reckon you'll be sweet with two firemouths and two T bars in a 300l. especially if they are young when you get them. firemouths will end up around 15cm and the t bars a bit smaller. which won't be too much hassle. and i'd be willing to bet my left meatball that by the time the firemouths and Tbars have grown out to full size, the sickness will well and truly have it's fingers deep inside your brain and your wallet, and you will have a bigger tank by then (1-2 years depending how you feed them) just make sure they all have a little cave/territory for their own, not that these guys are very aggressive at all, but it would be the nice thing to do. it will be an exciting tank. what's the worst that can happen. all the other kids are doing it. it'll make you feel good etc etc... just do it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted February 2, 2013 Report Share Posted February 2, 2013 left meatball huh???, i'll bet the other 2.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disgustipated Posted February 2, 2013 Report Share Posted February 2, 2013 what kind of pansy ass meatballs are they? they're on a blimmin leaf. a leaf! where's the spaghetti? where's the marinara sauce? where's the cheese? WHERE IS THE CHEESE?!?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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