# Compatibility



## Jim Albright (Jan 22, 2013)

I have mostly medium sized Malawi cichlids in the tank --nearly 30 and the guy at the lfs said to add an small arowanas and they will stay at the surface of the tank. I am ver skeptical about this for the fact I know how large they get and not sure if it would even get along with the cichlids....Dont want to lose them!! Looking for some cool looking fish not cichlids as well....


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## dalfed (Apr 8, 2012)

As the Arowana grows he will appreciate the snacks.Heard of people keeping larger rainbows in with their africans but don't know if I would add them to an established group


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## Jim Albright (Jan 22, 2013)

That's exactly what I was thinking ... my cichlids are growing at a fast rate, but I just don't have the guts to get one!


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

I did have some rainbows with my Tang. cichlids and they were fine.
The arrowana on the other hand will either be killed(from being nipped,then possibly jumping) or somehow live long enough to eat them all.They grow FAST if fed regulary.In your 125 a 3-4 inch arrowana would be 8-10 inches in 6 months to a year,if it lived.They are not mean or agressive,but merely eat what fits in their mouth.


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## Jim Albright (Jan 22, 2013)

What would you recommend to go with them? I do have a pleco in there as well as pinctus catfish....most of my cichlids are not very aggressive or territorial as of right now.....


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

As far as rainbows? I always like the red iranian,boesmani,and trifasciata.Any rainbow besides what would be considered "dwarf" would probably do well.Keep in mind that Tang.cichlids are not as "tough "as malawi as I understand.
The rainbows like to school so if you go with them try to add at least 5-6 at once.This will help them also from being singled out as the new guy.


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## Jim Albright (Jan 22, 2013)

Sounds great thanks---I will give it a try!


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## Jim Albright (Jan 22, 2013)

I added 5 boesmani rainbows and lost 1 overnight----certain cichlids are not getting along with em.....I separated them for now just to let the rainbows de-stress....2 of the rainbows looked scared to death, not really swimming but treading water at the complete top and back of the tank away from all.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Sounds like the malawis are tough and set on territory.Possibly(may not be possible)re-arranging their rocks and caves will distract them from new guys.I've heard that some of the africans claim the entire water column in their space(top to bottom of tank).Hope things work out.


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## Jim Albright (Jan 22, 2013)

I will do that--going to do water change tonight and rearrange some stuff---most of the Malawi's were leaving them alone....but i do have a bully right now that I am dealing with (Electric Blue (EB) Johanni Cichlid). Some of the rainbows fins looked torn...It's time I put him in solitary confinement---


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## tbub1221 (Nov 1, 2012)

coralbandit said:


> Sounds like the malawis are tough and set on territory.Possibly(may not be possible)re-arranging their rocks and caves will distract them from new guys.I've heard that some of the africans claim the entire water column in their space(top to bottom of tank).Hope things work out.


every time i introduce a new fish no matter if its a adolescent / baby or a mostly full grown rescue fish , i like to go in wile there acclimating and move everything around , and when release the fish if i see it getting a whole lot of attention i feed lightly , usually something small to keep them buisy like flake food ground to almost powder .. this all keeps my malwai guys and girls calm , i have scissortail rasbora in with my cichlids and some LF gray skirt tetras , 2 female swordtails and a single red platy 1 1/4 " all do great with my africans , they all adjusted to the higher ph as it all started at about 7.0 and we have slowely bumped it to 7.8 .
Good Luck friend...:fish5:


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## Jim Albright (Jan 22, 2013)

So do you keep the fish that require a lower PH in a quarantine aquarium to bump up the PH to the cichlid level, you surely dont lower the PH in the cichlid tank then raise it back up?


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

First I would check the pH of water new fish come with.Going from 7.2 to 8.2 is a big jump.Going from 7.6 to 8.2 not so big.Drip acclimating usually is how I "set" everyone to where their going to be.If QT. is uninhabbited and you need to place fish from low pH(7.2 or lower) I would acclimate them to about 7.6-7.8 in QT.then raise QT over next couple days to match where they are going.If new fish are in like 7.6 I'd acclimate them right to where they would end up.
HERE'S HOW I DRIP ALL MY FISH: I take them and their water and place them in a plastic paint pale of proper size(I have 1 qt.& 2qt.).Then I place paint pale in a 5g bucket.I then run airline hose from tank they will be placed in to paint pale.I drip 1-3 drips per second(aprox) you can tie a knot in tubing or use an air valve to adjust flow.I let paint pale overflow into 5g.If I'm changing their chemistry on a larger scale I may drip slower,or dump the 5g and keep dripping for longer.I drip from 1-3 hours on average.Then I net fish and install to new home,NEVER LETTING ANY OF THE WATER THEY CAME IN ENTER MY SYSTEM.


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## tbub1221 (Nov 1, 2012)

Jim Albright said:


> So do you keep the fish that require a lower PH in a quarantine aquarium to bump up the PH to the cichlid level, you surely dont lower the PH in the cichlid tank then raise it back up?


no actually when i started the tank the lower ph fish wetre in it and the first 3 or 4 cichlids were local tank bread in a lower ph of around 7.2-7.4 so being that mine was at 7-7.2 i added in the cichlids and just slowly over several weeks time raised it to where i wanted it the few non cichlids adjusted slowly and are still with us .
But i would not feel comfortable adding another fish of a lower ph right in to my aquarium now at this point.


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## tbub1221 (Nov 1, 2012)

coralbandit said:


> First I would check the pH of water new fish come with.Going from 7.2 to 8.2 is a big jump.Going from 7.6 to 8.2 not so big.Drip acclimating usually is how I "set" everyone to where their going to be.If QT. is uninhabbited and you need to place fish from low pH(7.2 or lower) I would acclimate them to about 7.6-7.8 in QT.then raise QT over next couple days to match where they are going.If new fish are in like 7.6 I'd acclimate them right to where they would end up.
> HERE'S HOW I DRIP ALL MY FISH: I take them and their water and place them in a plastic paint pale of proper size(I have 1 qt.& 2qt.).Then I place paint pale in a 5g bucket.I then run airline hose from tank they will be placed in to paint pale.I drip 1-3 drips per second(aprox) you can tie a knot in tubing or use an air valve to adjust flow.I let paint pale overflow into 5g.If I'm changing their chemistry on a larger scale I may drip slower,or dump the 5g and keep dripping for longer.I drip from 1-3 hours on average.Then I net fish and install to new home,NEVER LETTING ANY OF THE WATER THEY CAME IN ENTER MY SYSTEM.


This is a surprisingly simple yet effective method .
i use a airline suction cup or clip to hold it in and it does its gravity trick.
works like a charm .


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## Jim Albright (Jan 22, 2013)

Great--I will try it!


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## Jim Albright (Jan 22, 2013)

Boesmani Rainbows just not getting along with the the cichlids......


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

It sounds like your guys are heavyweights where as the tangs were more featherweights.That's too bad, going to be tough to find anything different that hold up probably.


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## Jim Albright (Jan 22, 2013)

Yeah---that's fine---I can sense a change in attitudes and aggression as they get older..


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