Cichlids and Loaches?!?

I'm a newby when it comes to Cichlids and have a stupid question.

In my 4foot 430litre tenk I now have a 30cm Pleco, two app 11cm catfish, two app12cm red finned Loaches. The past weekend I went to get some Cichlids. A 4-5cm Frontosa, 5cm Green Terror, a 3cm Jaguar Cichlid and a 3-4 cm Oscar. I am planning on getting a Jack dempsey, two Convicts and a Midas Cichlid aswell.

I would just like to know if the fish that I have in my aquarium are actually compatible? There are no problems at the moment, but the Cichlids are eventually going to grow bigger than the Loaches. Will that casuse me problems in the future?

I am very worried about this because I love my Loaches, but my Cichlids were way more expensive and will grow and become more beautiful.

Any advise and info will be appreciated.

Have a super day.

 

All I know is that you are going to have serious territorial disputes (hope its spelled right) when those guys get bigger especailly with the Jag and the O.

 

Good morning Johan008.

Thank you for your reply. Not answering the question, but I though about the territory factor when they reach maturity but I think by keeping only a few Cichlids and only one of each, that the territorial dispute (spelling is correct) will not be so aggressive. Please correct me if I'm wrong about this.

Have a good day Johan.

 

Lappies, It would probably be best for @SalmonAfrica to answer this question, because he has a lot of experience with the larger fish species.

What I can tell you is that the fish you have chose and already purchased, (even if only single) will definitely become aggressive and fight for territory. You also need to check there requirements with regards to water conditions, as I believe they do not have the same requirements. Your loaches need to be in groups of 5 minimum, as they are schooling (or shoaling-- @TankMaster will correct me here) and if they are not kept in groups, they tend to be unhappy, and prone to diseases and illnesses. Unfortunately the Clown Loaches will also become a (very expensive) meal for the bigger fish when they reach maturity.

I will also go as far as saying that your tank is WAY to small even for the plec's, let alone all the other fish you have, and are wanting to get.

I would seriously consider and advise you to take some of those bigger fish back to the LPS, and do some more research. (There is a reason why a lot of people keep big fish all on their own without any other tank mates).

Regards

 

That tank is just big enough for the oscar alone. So to have soo many fish would be a bad idea. I just imagine being stuck in a room with other people and the room constantly getting smaller.

 

Loaches in general prefer water temperatures around 26 to 28 degrees, and the other fish on your list won't like that. Also, they'll do best in a group of at least 5, as Zoom mentioned. The Cichlids on the other hand prefer water with higher pH if I remember correctly, and they're very aggressive towards each other and other fish. So it sounds like you've got to choose. Either the loaches and catfish, or the Cichlids. Because they might get along if you're lucky, but the high likelihood is that your original fish will be severely harassed as time goes by.

 

yep all rite this looks like its going to only end in trouble and dead fish . loaches need company, 5 minimum yes. plus i see you say red fin loaches i am assuming Blue Botia which is an extremly shy loach that although does get large will not be able to fight of attacks from the cichlids. plus the cichlids you mentioned are very aggro even if they are single specimens, and will constantly pick on the weaker fish. plus (again) the water conditions for the different fish are very different. if you love your loaches as you say then get only loaches and trust me you will be greatly happy with them, when i had my 6 clown loaches , they were the most awesome things ever, doing there loachy dance every night and even comming to the water surface and doing there singing thing (others on the forum may have experienced similar things with there loaches, were they make there clicking noises )

 

Thank you all for your input and your advise. I will definitely take it to heart. Like I said... I'm a newby.

I learnt a lot with your three replies. I'm moving into a bigger house next year and I'm planning on buying two 6foot tanks
for the the Chiclids when they grow bigger. Right now there is only space for the 4foot tank at home.

I will take the loaches out of the tank and put them in the 3foot tank and go and buy some more so that they can be happy.

Thank you very much Zoom, Firefly and Whipme.

---------- Post added at 10:11 ---------- Previous post was at 10:11 ----------

Thank you very much for your input Linga.

I intend on doing as you say and remove the loaches and introduce them into another tank and acquire some more loaches to keep them good company.

It seems like you are a loachy person. Can I keep Banjo catfish with loaches? They are currently in the tank that I want to put the loaches in.