can i have cichlids?

Question

right now i have a 55 gallon with 1 peacock eel, 3 angelfish, an upsie down cat, a striped raphael, 1 female guppy(the male just dissapeared),a pleco, a bunch of ghost shrimp that they all just eat, and a small crab. can i put cichlids in there? i want something that only gets to about 3-5" but is very bright and good looking

Answer 1

Well, as it stands now you do have cichlids - the Angels are cichlids.

Other mid level cichlids create competition for the Angels' space and territory, so the most compatible cichlids to go with them are mild tempered bottom dwelling ones. The problem with bottom dwelling cichlid is that they must compete for territory with all the other guys who like to hide, like the crab, the eel, and the catfishes.

Rams and Keyhole cichlds are two possibilities I would recommend because they are nice, smaller in size, and not very aggressive, but you must have plenty of hiding spots across the tank - there just isn't enough room in a tank to start territorial competitions, and cichlids, like the rest of them, need a spot to call their own.

Answer 2

What kind of Cichlids - african, south american or ? Personally I would suggest Firemouth cichlids (1 pair ) or stripped convicts (1 pair). Peacock eels love guppys and worms. Do a google search on Firemouth Cichlid for some good pictures.

Answer 3

Like... African cichlids? No. They need hard water. Most of the fish in your tank now need soft water. But you can put in more Amazon Cichlids, like Discus, rams, kribs, angelfish, and uh, other small ones.

Answer 4

angels are cichlids they just are aggressive that is where your guppy went i would try discus which aer cichlids also

Answer 5

no cichlids are incompatible sorry; but you could put them in and let them kill everything else off and have a cichlid tank