Pet Forum / Aquaria / Cichlids / October 2004

shouldn't mix different cichlids like a south american with a tanganyikan,
or a malawi with a tanganyikan...

All of you violent people shoving things were the sun don't shine, and
other's telling people to shut up..... tsk tsk tsk.
This is why I rarely frequent these Newsgroups now a days.
   It's seems to me that both posters have their facts correct. African
Cichlids, which it appears the original poster asked about, could mean
cichlids from the rivers of West Africa. Therefore, pointing out that your
T. buttikofferi are happy in your tank would be fine. However, if the
original poster, in posting African Cichlids, was talking about Mbuna from
Lake Malawi, then the rude person telling him to shut up was correct. It
does seem now a days, thanks to the irresponsible selling of Mbuna as 'Mixed
Africans' that the term 'African Cichlids' and Mbuna go hand in hand. This
does tend to lead to a lot of mis-understandings. There are of course
hundreds of Rift Lake African Cichlid species outside of the Mbuna category,
as there are West African river species that also fit into the African
Cichlid classification.
   I don't believe that any of the fish that thrive in the soft acidic
waters of South America would like the living in hard alkaline waters that
are found in most Rift Lake cichlid tanks. I do have Congo Tetras living
with my Jewels. They are both found in West African rivers and seem to do
quite happily together.
   If the OP had intended Rift Lake African cichlids as his inquiry, there
are non cichlids found in both Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika. Lake
Tanganyika has some beautiful kili-fish,(Lamprichthys tanganicanus) although
they're quite sensitive and probably wouldnt' do well with most Rift Lake
cichlids. There are a few Synodontis species that would do well with
cichlids from both lakes. There's also an orange and black striped fish from
Lake Tanganyika, but I can't remember the name of it right now.  There's a
barb also found in Lake Tanganyika (Varicorhinus tanganicae) although I'm
not sure if they're regularly imported. I'm sure with a bit of research,
you'll find that there many species that co-exist in the Lakes with
cichlids. This doesn't mean they'll live happily in a tank together. ;-)
Tim
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