Tank Mates

Tank Mates with any kind of cichlids is always a gamble! If you are purchasing a new fish I strongly recommend you quarantine your new fish for one full month. The larger the tank the better chance you have at success. In confined spaces, these fish will fight over territory. There are many options when it comes to tank mates, but this also depends on the species. As stated before their personalities vary greatly. Some things work, some things don't! What works for others may turn into a disaster for someone else. There is no 100% guarantee with cichlids. You should ALWAYS have a divider on hand if you have cichlids. One day they may be buddies then the next day the may decide to go on a killing rampage. Cichlids are unpredictable!

If you buy all your tank mates at the same time as babies or even as juveniles you have a 'huge' success rate of them getting along. You even have a better chance buying your fish as adults and introducing them into your tank all at once. It will be harder to introduce tank mates as your fish matures, have been alone in the tank for a while or the fish you have in your tank have already established their territory and are defending it -according to them it is THEIR tank, THEIR home and the new fish is invading their space.

If you are thinking about getting another tank mate I suggest you talk to the Local Fish Store about their return policy regarding the fish you buy if it isn't successful. Some places will take the fish back and give you a full refund. The Pet Smart near me gives people two weeks to take back any fish, no questions asked. Even if the fish you just buy passes away they will give you a refund, the only thing is you have to bring back the dead fish, yuck. But if you spend a lot of money on one particular fish it's worth it. Some stores will give you store credit which is better then nothing! And of course some places will give you nothing, if this is the case at least ask if they will take the fish back with nothing in return. It's better then watching a fish get massacred.

So these are a few options that may ease your mind of things don't work out!

When you have tank mates with your cichlids you should always keep in mind that things may change at any given point and you should be prepared to move them if someone get's overly aggressive. You ALWAYS need a back up plan to separate at any given time throughout their whole lives. If you are just starting out and are just getting used to cichlids and aggression I urge you to think very hard about this.

Now as stated above I urge you to think and plan carefully before adding tank mates. ALWAYS consider the size of both fish, aggression level, tank size and separating at any give time due to aggression. Also keep in mind that things may work for now but this doesn't mean it will work out forever. As juveniles things are all hunky dory but as they mature they get more aggressive. If you are choosing a cichlid to put with yours that is on the aggressive side make sure that your cichlid is much bigger. Also take into consideration that you don't want the tank mate to be too small or it will be lunch. If your cichlid is more on the gentle side I would not put an overly aggressive cichlid with him/her.