What cichlids can u put in the same tank do any one have any wat can tell me thanks from kev

Can you please rexplain to us please.
Im kinda mixed up

yes please re-explian kinda confused me there

If you start them out very young you can mix a wide range of cichlids. Africans, Velvet (Oscars), convics, green terror, and jack dempsys. I had all of these together along with severams, clownknifes, aligator gar and some eels. The only problem you are going to run into is the PH level is different from the Africans then the rest. I had a neutral PH level and everyone did very well. The africans were spawning and the Red Devils were laying eggs even though there was nobody there to fertalize them.

Africans like a very alkaline PH the rest were more acidic to neutral.

If you have an established tank of chichlids and want to add new ones make sure they are the same size or bigger than the ones already in the tank. While they are floating in the bag rearrange the tank just before you introduce the new fish. That way the existing ones in the tank are to buisy trying to re-establish their territories to notice someone new. Doesn't always work with aggressive fish but is better than just putting a newbie in when everone else has their castle built.

thanks dude

Something very important to consider before getting cichlids (of any kind!) is what their adult size will be. Oscars can get over 12" long and most of the other South Americans also get huge. So many people dont realize and keep them in tanks that are way too small. I cant tell you how many oscars customers have traded in that are horribly deformed from being kept in small tanks. It breaks your heart.

So true about the tank size. That is the first I heard of them being deformed because of being in to small of a tank. I have always been under the impression that they grow to the size of the tank and that was it. That is good info to know. Not something you would hear from the kid at the store.
I had two Oscars in a 200g that got very large they lived for about 12 years before I had to give them back to the pet store I bought them from because I was moving from the East to the West

I wanted to say one more thing. The oscars were raised on pellets not goldfish or guppies so they were not aggresive at all. They were the biggest and least aggressive fish in the tank. I could put a feeder in there and they wouldn't even think twice about touching it.

Oh, how sad to have to give them up!! I work in a pet store and Im one of those rare employees who tells the TRUTH!! No you cant keep 5 baby oscars in a 10 gallon. Thats so true that people believe they only grow to the size tank they are in. Just like goldfish, they will keep growing and getting more and more deformed. Our store accepts trade ins constantly and I think the thing we see the most are oscars. This one time we had the most awful looking oscar. He had a huge hump on his back and his shape from the side was almost round like a discus. It was the saddest thing ever! I so wanted to take him in because I felt sorry for him but I couldnt.

Great point too that you brought up about the feeders. So many people get these fish for the thrill of watching them eat smaller fish but dont realize just how unhealthy it is for them. Do goldfish live in South America? No! So why feed them to them? Your oscars sound like they were so well cared for and I'd love to see pictures if you have any.

I was reading an article awhile back in Koi World magazine about other fish you can keep in your pond, and the author had a heated pond with oscars in it! He said they lived right alongside the koi and goldfish and got along great with them. Not only that, with all the extra space they got huge and had such nice bright colors that you dont normally see in a tank. Also the oscars would sit there begging just like dogs for their food, along with the koi.

I don't have any digital pics of them. One was a tiger and the other was a velvet oscar. They were very docile and would almost ack like koi. While I was cleaning the tank the velvet would stay next to my hand while I was rearranging things in the tank.

When I fist started keeping tropical fish I was experiencing fish dying due to ICK. The store would sell ICK guard Jungle brand and it would clear up then it would come back. They never told me what was causing the disease. Same happened with fungus. There was no internet back then so I had to actually read books until I found what was causing the problem and it hasn't happened since. Most reputable shops will tell you how to care for the diseases and give you info on how to prevent them but the loser shops just want to sell the supplies and don't know or care to give you the info on how to keep the problem from happening.

Wow Clownknife....I'm so sorry that you had to give up your oscars after so many years, that must have been so hard to do!!

Jsrtist....that must be awful to see! I didn't know that the poor fish would get deformed.....awww...poor fish!!!! (The only deformed fish I've ever seen or had were that way because of a birth defect.....)

when i was about 7, we bought an oscar not realizing what he was, he was just this small cute thing we put in our community tank, needless to say EVERYTHING eventually dissapeared as he got bigger he eat the next thing he could fit in, turns out by the end of it we had him in a 50 gallon all byhimself for several years, but because he was eating the other fish his nature was very VERY aggressive, he when he was around 4 years old he electrified himself trying to eat the heater and the tank was far too small for him !!! he had to angle himself to turn around, but he did get ###### good at it

if your gunna have a schoal of oscars ya need something atleast 4ft by 2 ft and pretty deep. for them to reach full potential.

when i have room, i will

Kev

thanks you alll for the post