fecat Posted May 8, 2005 Share Posted May 8, 2005 Hi, nice to meet you all/ I am new in this hobby. I brought my tank about a month ago and the dimension is 48" 14" 18". At the moment i have the following: 3X Silverdollars (12 cm 3 years old) 1x Ele Blue (jevies) 3 x Ele Y (Jevies) 1 x clown loach (Jevies) 2 x Bristle nose (Jevies) 1 x firemouth (Jevies) 2 x Unknow africian cichlid (Jevies) I will post up some picture later. My questions are, is it advisable to mix africian with americian? whats the problem if there is any? I want to get one more fish and i am thinking to get an gold severum. can they go well with my tankmate? would my tank be too small for them? any comment is appreciated. Thanks Felix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teflon Posted May 8, 2005 Share Posted May 8, 2005 You cant really mix them as Americans are pretty agro and will probably kill the tankmates, the pH is usually different to africans too. My advice is stick to one or buy another tank Americans also grow quite large HTH Adam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slinky Posted May 8, 2005 Share Posted May 8, 2005 yeh most americans get really aggro, im not sure how the firemouth would go as i hav never kept them myself so ill leave that to someone else. and yeh. its spelt 'juvies' not 'jevies' and also a warm welcome on behalf of everyone on this forum slinky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burek Posted May 8, 2005 Share Posted May 8, 2005 Heya First welcome to the forum! Second, Americans and africans dont mix Why? Because, americans are too aggro for africans, also, the PH etc is way different. Keep africans in one tank and americans in another is the way to go! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosco Posted May 9, 2005 Share Posted May 9, 2005 Hi welcome to the forum, but be advised I only had a standard 4' tank when I first joined 18 months ago now I have 19 tanks and a fish room, this forum and hobby is seriously addictive Second, Americans and africans dont mix I agree that as a general rule they don't mix as they get bigger they get very aggrssive, but don't tell Waz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ducksta Posted May 9, 2005 Share Posted May 9, 2005 I agree it is a tough ask to get them living together happily, but telling someone it is the Americans which will be too aggressive when they are asking about firemouths and severums? Easily 2 of the most placid species of American I have kept. IMO as a gereral rule African's (particularly mbuna) get alot more aggressive, but it seems alot of people confuse size with aggression. I think removing the firemouth, skipping the severum, and finding some more Africans to put in the mix would be the best course of action. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fecat Posted May 9, 2005 Author Share Posted May 9, 2005 Hi welcome to the forum, but be advised I only had a standard 4' tank when I first joined 18 months ago now I have 19 tanks and a fish room, this forum and hobby is seriously addictive Second, Americans and africans dont mix I agree that as a general rule they don't mix as they get bigger they get very aggrssive, but don't tell Waz ← Thanks for the advices. i was convinced by the sale person of a quite reputable Aquarium that some americians can be mixed with africian as they can tolerate different PH level and they are not too aggressive. (firemouth) then i decided to buy it. Atm my firemouth can get along with my other africian quite well (cos they are still juvies ((right spelling this time. )). As you know, I am not very experience in this hobby, so I am seeking some more opinion. I have only one americian atm, would that be alright? what type of ph level do they require? (firemouth) Or should i really better off to get a 2nd tank? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John McCormick Posted May 9, 2005 Share Posted May 9, 2005 Hi Felix, The firemouth comes from Central America so in theory would be more suited to being kept with the malawi cichlids, (hard & alkaline water), more so than the severum which is a Sth American species requiring a softer more neutral/acidic type of water. This sort of question comes up all the time with newcomers to the hobby, it really stems from the fact that as a newbie we tend to want everything we see as they are all new and they look great and we just have to have them. I think that most of us have been there and done that at some stage in our fishkeeping. It is also believed that water conditions aside, on the behavioural side of things, Africans speak a different body language to the Americans which can cause heaps of problems. As I'm sure you have already figured out for yourself there many, many types of cichlid available in the LFS, they come in all shapes and sizes and just because they come from the same part of the world doesn't mean they will coexist in your tank. Trial and error is one way of finding out which are compatible and as you have done ask as many questions as it takes to get the combination right for you, all the guys & girls on this forum are always ready to help, so don't be afraid to ask. I hope all goes well, Cheers, John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash Posted May 9, 2005 Share Posted May 9, 2005 I agree with John McCormick, CA's water conditions is pretty darn close to malawi, it's SA's that like their water softer. Out of the more common americans, a Firemouth probably has the best chance co-exisitng with afticans - they really are pansies as far as CA's go & don't get real big either (6") - there's a good chance an E blue will bash it Ideally, get a 2nd tank (same size or bigger) with a PH of 7-7.5 & put Sevs & the firemouth/s in it, but in the mean time (till you get a tank) don't stress too much unless they fight. They are juvies after all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fecat Posted May 9, 2005 Author Share Posted May 9, 2005 Hi welcome to the forum, but be advised I only had a standard 4' tank when I first joined 18 months ago now I have 19 tanks and a fish room, this forum and hobby is seriously addictive Second, Americans and africans dont mix I agree that as a general rule they don't mix as they get bigger they get very aggrssive, but don't tell Waz ← I think i got hooked as well, I have already planned to get a 3rd tank for the americian. I have purchased a small breeder tank for hospital or any future fry (if there is any). Thanks for the the advices. really appreciated it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slinky Posted May 9, 2005 Share Posted May 9, 2005 lol.....your already showing signs of the highly contagoius multiple tank syndrome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash Posted May 9, 2005 Share Posted May 9, 2005 How bad must it be for those with "Multiple Pond Syndrome"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark_1 Posted June 3, 2005 Share Posted June 3, 2005 yer sounds good hope you have luc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r.d.m Posted June 3, 2005 Share Posted June 3, 2005 as john said a lot of central americans are well suited to african water conditions (not south americans which require softer water) because i have so many red devils at the moment thev'e found their way into the frontosas tank,due to lack of space and they get on together well,however i wouldnt chance mbuna in with the rd's ,i think if you put up a list of fish you want to keep the some of the members would advise you to their sutability,but as a rule you should try to keep cichlids of the same geographical origin together ,partly because oscars and mbuna "dont look right" together and as so many cichlids breed readily its best to keep like with like Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Citypainter Posted June 4, 2005 Share Posted June 4, 2005 John Macca is right but lots of people successfully mix them. The thing that I noticed most is that you only have 1 clown loach. They love being in grouyps. Get 5 more loaches and let them shoal. They are sooooo cool. Enjoy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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