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I know of Bolivian Rams, German Blue Rams, and Apistos that are small and peaceful to be other fish such as cories and tetras for example.

I don't particularly care for Bolivian Rams. I used to have German Blue Rams, but they died on me after about 1 or 2 months. Apistos are ok, they have nice colors but not my favorite but I like them more than Bolivian Rams.

So besides these fish, is there any other cichlids that I could put in a 20 gallon tank?

Edit: Ah shoot, I posted in the wrong forum, can a moderator move please?

Laetacara dorsigera- red breasted acaras, and the closely related curviceps are probably some of the tougher and most peaceful small cichlids you could keep in a 20 gal,they have entertaining personalities if not considered totally peaceful, but they arent usually killers, and consequently a good choice.

Equally there are lots of others, although they will be more difficult to find, and a great deal more fragile as regards water quality. Apistogramma is particular has dozens of species suitable for smallish aquaria, but their temperaments do vary especially at breeding times. Try looking into fish like apistogramma: gassizii,arua,atahualpa,bitaeniata,borelli, cactiodes,hongsloi,macmasteri (particularly beautiful)nijsseni ( a lovely distinct yellow in females) trifasciata ( seriously cool finnage), same with uaupesi.

That should keep you going , but please bear in mind, a lot of these arent beginners fish, and theyre not cheap either!

Keyholes!

I added two keyholes to my tank about a month or two ago. There were WCMMs and some corys in the tank already, and I've since added a school of tetras. I've never seen the keyholes go after any of the fish, although they do occasionally take a nip at each other (I think they're both male). The ghost shrimp I had in there didn't last very long, but I guess that's unsurprising. I have a bamboo shrimp in there that has been unmolested.

Some people will say that they're not pretty, but they have an amazing capacity to change color in a flash. When the guy at the LFS first bagged them, on my way to pay for them I happened to take a look at them to inspect them health-wise, and I actually thought that he had given me the wrong species. They had gone from their customary yellowish-brown to just about solid black. Once acclimated, they changed back, but it is easy to tell their mood by how they've colored themselves.

Not pretty in the classical sense, but I love them all the same.

Joe Potato

I saw pictures of the new you suggested longhairlegit but I personally like the look of the German Blue Ram better. Also the one you suggested I've never seen before in any of the LFS in my state. It's possible they may have had them before, but sold them. Normally they don't have them, and so I'm guessing they wouldn't be cheap. It might be risky or maybe not at all, but I decided to go with the German Blue Rams again. Otherwise I saw 2 different peaceful dwarf cichlids but they were mostly brownish and so not so pretty. Then the other one being the Bolivian Ram. The Bolivian Ram isn't too bad looking, but I still like the German Blue Ram more though. Thanks for the info though!!!

Ah, but thats the thing, most peoples will be a bit brown, getting them into form is half the trick. When they have partners, the tank setup is right, the water nice and clean, and the diet varied, most of them actually spend very little time as brown boring fish. Apistos and acaras are fish that really show off the skills of the keeper. Even bolivians and blues look washed out when the care isnt top notch and the fish are stressed or unstimulated.

Peaceful Dwarf Cichlid?

Allow me to introduce ... Anomalochromis thomasi.

A personal favourite of mine. Kept it as a teenager.

It is possibly the closest you will ever see to a "pacifist" Cichlid, indeed, it's right up there with Laetacara curviceps in the "pretty and peaceful" stakes. It's African, but not the kind of Cichlid that many people think of when the words "African Cichlid" are juxtaposed, because it's West African, and hails from the same kind of softer, more acidic water you'd associate with South American Apisotgramma species.

That said, it's adaptable. Has quite a tolerance of pH, good level of overal hardiness, is a ready breeder, looks gorgeous in breeding dress, and quite frankly should be EVERYONE'S first choice of Cichlid for beginners, as it introduces people to the virtues of Cichlids minus the vices. Why oh WHY this fish isn't the number one Cichlid that appears in shops is beyond me, because it's FAR less troublesome than Rams (which need high temperatures to do well), FAR less aggressive than Convicts (or for that matter even Kribs), is colourful enough to be bought in its own right (lots of nice iridescent spangles to delight the eye) and when breeding makes a dependable, diligent and attentive parent. Capable not only of living in a community aquarium alongside Tetras, small Rasboras, Corys etc., but capable of breeding and raising a family in a community setup without unleashing unholy carnage upon the other aquarium occupants, which gives you an idea how skilful these fishes can be at raising young.

Here's a pic of a juvenile

Photo from Innes Book of pair in breeding dress

Cichlid Room Article on this species

You might have trouble tracking it down, but it is WELL worth the effort. Hunt for it, do your Cichlid keeping a BIG favour and give some of these a home.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Well longhairedgit, when I got my German Blue Rams again. I saw those brown cichlids again. I saw a smaller one of them who kept on bitting at a bronze cory in the same tank. The bronze cory had a bit mark on it. It was quite notiable since it was very white color. I was also going to get a second African Fan Shrimp, but decided to wait till next week since one of the Gourmis in the same tank had some kind of illness the LFS told me though the tank was treated and the Gourmi was nearly well again.

Calilasseia, I saw the one you mentioned too, that one looks nice, the one LHG said looks nice. I may consider them in the future, but I wouldn't know where to find them though. Not Joe Potato, the Keyholes you mentioned, is there a scientific name for them? If they are the same ones I am thinking about that I saw at the LFS, they people there told me that they were a kind of aggressive.

Cleithracara maronii

Like I said, mine have always been very peaceful towards other fish.

I'd be surprised if it was an actual Keyhole taking a swipe at the cory. Maybe he was just having a bad day.

Not Joe Potato

O yeah, I saw those. Hmm, well that LFS that had them, is one I normally don't go to since their selection of freshwater fish sucks compared to the other LFS I visit. That store is more of a saltwater fish store. I would have gotten those if the guy said they were peaceful. Maybe I'll consider them if my German Blue Rams do unfortunately die. As for the first time I had German Blue Rams. I dunno what happened, the Female acted strange and eventually just died. The male went to live for much longer. I experimented with having an apisto in the tank after the female died. The apisto ended up biting a chunk of the German Blue Ram's face off. I was horrified and returned that apisto the LFS. The Male German Blue Ram seemed to be ok though. The chunk taken off missed his eye and mouth. But I think he may have died though possibly due to infection from the wound or the stress/injury from the wound itself. I can't find that apisto on this site, but it was called a panda apisto. Also the same day I got the new German Blue Rams. I saw that same species of apisto at the LFS. It may or may not have been the same fish, but I saw it dead and other fish such as tetras biting at it.

Apistogramma panduro perchance?

Getting a male/female pair with this fish is simplicity itself. Even as juveniles, male and female individuals are radically different.

Male Apistogramma panduro

Female Apistogramma panduro

This is one of the smallest of the Apistogramma species that I know of, relatively peaceful (though still some way to go before matching my favourite Anomalochromis thomasi in this regard!) but I gather it can be a maintenance challenge, and requires particularly scrupulous attention to water cleanliness. In particular, it will NOT tolerate even the slightest trace of ammonia, is likely to deteriorate rapidly if it experiences small traces of nitrites (it is considerably more sensitive to nitrogenous wastes than many other fishes, a trait it shares with several other more exotic Apistogramma species) and probably won't enjoy nitrate lavels climbing above 20ppm either. Likely to be a fairly high maintenance fish, but worth the effort expended, and also a good choice if your space is limited provided you keep on top of those frequent water changes!

[Edited to correct typos]

Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002