Rift Lake Cichlids kept with Australian Rainbow Fish
- Thread starter RiftGuy
- Start date
Dwarf Varities w/ Dither Rainbows up top?
I've read that bad tankmates may not bother groups of fish
in the upper water levels (it may even give them natural assurance of safety).
Maybe an 18" deep tank with a smaller Rainbow variety in a tank w/ smaller, less aggressive dwarf cichlids like Julies could work, be unusual, and look attractive.
Anyone have comments or detailed experience with Rift Lake Cichlids (especially dwarf size varieties) kept with Australian Rainbow Fish? They have similar water preferences, and prefer to occupy different levels/areas in an aquarium!
I've read that bad tankmates may not bother groups of fish
in the upper water levels (it may even give them natural assurance of safety).
Maybe an 18" deep tank with a smaller Rainbow variety in a tank w/ smaller, less aggressive dwarf cichlids like Julies could work, be unusual, and look attractive.
Anyone have comments or detailed experience with Rift Lake Cichlids (especially dwarf size varieties) kept with Australian Rainbow Fish? They have similar water preferences, and prefer to occupy different levels/areas in an aquarium!
I have two tanks that are 18" and 20" deep. They are community tanks with an assortment of fish and although books will label them as bottom, middle and top, evidently the fish don't read those books. All of them go to the top for feeding and to the bottom for scrounging including the angels and neons. IME they don't have levels. I don't understand why they would stay at a defined level if they are aggressive type fish. (I do not have any type of pleco which probably do stay at the bottom.)
Mixing aggressive cichlids with community fish usually does not work. My Africans occupy the whole tank top to bottom. The only fish I have that really have any kind of space they spend the most time in is my Synodontis African catfish which hardly ever strays from the bottom unless being chased by one of the African male cichlids. I do not think it would for long, once the Cichlids established territory I do not think the Rainbows would have much of a chance. I am sure the Africans would not work, I am not sure how the SA cichlids would take it. I agree with Thyra on the level of the tank a fish hangs out in, its not real accurate unless talking about a catfish and thats not always 100% either.
Everybody gets along w/ cats!
Thanks for comments! You and Khyla make se good observations. Myself, when I have kept Julies and any such smaller Rift Lake cichlids, no matter how small my Synodontis cats were they were never injured and rarely spent much time at all being stressed by the by the cichlids. "Cats" have done well ! The non-cichlid-non-catfish tank mates may very well not be tolerated. * I WONDER if someone, somewhere HAS ACTUALLY TRIED the Rainbow fish mix suggested in this topic!? Thx for the insights!!
Thanks for comments! You and Khyla make se good observations. Myself, when I have kept Julies and any such smaller Rift Lake cichlids, no matter how small my Synodontis cats were they were never injured and rarely spent much time at all being stressed by the by the cichlids. "Cats" have done well ! The non-cichlid-non-catfish tank mates may very well not be tolerated. * I WONDER if someone, somewhere HAS ACTUALLY TRIED the Rainbow fish mix suggested in this topic!? Thx for the insights!!