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Current stock of my 75g:

-blue acara
-her son
-sev
-keyhole
-8 giant danios

The giant danios are a bit too active for my liking, just not what I want in this tank, so they're going to a new home. The acara and Junior have had a few failed attempts at spawning but have finally given up. The keyhole is kind of a leftover from tank rearranging some time ago

So now I'm trying to figure out what I'd like to add. Definitely another cichlid but nothing so agressive that it would cause major problems in the tank. I was thinking of another sev...I wouldn't want a female and have potential breeding issues. Would two males get along? Other ideas I've had are a salvini or JD...

I've been spending a lot of time lately with the shellies so my larger-fish-thoughts are kind of not there...any ideas or suggestions would be very much appreciated

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There is water at the bottom of the ocean

I personally like the JD. Very colorful and pretty fish in my opinion. Mine can be agressive sometimes, so if your looking to aviod that kind of fish, I wouldnt get it.

What about a firemouth or a horseface? These are two that I love and when I get a chance will have a go at keeping them.

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Before you criticize someone walk a mile in their shoes. That way you're a mile away and you have their shoes.

The JD is a nice fish, but you may get cross-breeding between the JD and the Blue Acara. Rainbow cichlids are nice, i would go with a few of them.

yea, i would personally go with the JDs. or maybe an EBJD??

Before I give any advice, what is a Sev? Yes, I don't really keep that kind of fish.

"Sev" = shorthand for Severum. Used to be known as Cichlasoma severum before the vast rearrangement of the Cichlasomines by Kullander and others. I believe it is now Heros severus, unless I have mistakenly assigned it to the wrong Genus.

I'd think twice about the Jack Dempsey. They're not named after the former world champion heavyweight boxer (and one with a fearsome reputation in the ring in his day!) for nothing. A single specimem might get along when housed with assorted other single Cichlids, particularly if there is lots of space and 'lines of sight' are broken up by the aquarium decor to help control aggression. But, with these fishes, the scope for some fairly nasty internecine warfare is ever present. The Keyhole Cichlid, being a fish with a much milder disposition, is likely to fare very badly if the Jack Dempsey becomes pugnacious.

Likewise, I'd avoid the Salvini. Salvinis may be small, but they have well deserved reputations for being little demons. Even non-breeding Salvinis can be bad tempered, and being small and manouevreable, they're capable of taking on larger fishes than themselves. While they're not quite as bad as that ultimate Central American aquarium terrorist, the dreaded Neetroplus nematopus (the red mist well and truly descends over this fish when it's breeding), Salvinis are capable of becoming little berserkers if the mood takes them.

Lindy's suggestion of a Firemouth is probably the best bet among the commoner Cichlids. A Firemouth would be capable of looking after itself in the company of the Blue Acaras and the Severum, but wouldn't necessarily pose a lethal threat to the Keyhole.

Another choice, if you can find it, would be Herotilapia multispinosa, the Rainbow Cichlid, which has adapted to live in fairly crowded conditions in the wild (see this article by Dr Paul Loiselle in The Cichlid Room for more information on this fish's suitability for the aquarium courtesy of some interesting adaptations in the wild). This is an attractive, small Cichlid that would go well with your existing stock. I suspect your biggest problem will be finding one!


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002