brackish cichlids

[nmonks]

The list of *true* brackish water cichlids is very long. Whilst you can keep kribs in brackish water, I honestly wouldn't recommend it. Kribs do best in neutral, moderately hard water and you need pH 7.0 to breed them. Or, at least, to breed them and get a nice balance of male and female offspring.

If you're serious about brackish water cichlids, then either go with chromides or else look for some of the other brackish water specialists. Sarotherodon melanotheron and Tilapia rendalli are a couple of my favourites from Africa. The former will do 100% seawater, the later at least 50% seawater. Sarotherodon melanotheron is a nice fish by any standards and not too aggressive. The Tilapia is fairly aggressive but I've kept it with monos and scats and it worked nicely. Very beautiful fish.

There are a number of suitable species in Central America including Vieja maculicauda and Cichlasoma urophthalmus. The latter prefers brackish water to freshwater, and the former is happy in both. Of course, these guys would cream a figure-8 puffer and spread it on toast for breakfast, but that's another issue. Other Central Americans that do well include Texas cichlids, Nandopsis tetracanthus, Parachromis friedrichsthalii, Vieja synspila, and Nandopsis haitiensis. In fact, it's probably safe to assume any hardy Central American is up for low-end brackish.

Heros severus supposedly occurs in brackish water, but I have no information on this.

Cheers, Neale

[SeCon]

Thank you for your post.

Cichlasoma urophthalmus is actually what brought the question up for me. My cousin catches them all over Florida from rivers to ocean. Obvioulsy an adaptable fish, and obvioulsy much too large.

Agression is a non-issue. After having my Fig8's for a few months, I believe they are best kept on their own if only to control their diet. I found it much too demanding. I divided my tank as I mentioned in another thread and replaced one of the puffers that didn't make it. I thought a brackish cichlid I haven't encountered before would be interesting (I don't find chromides attractive, and I didn't realize kribs weren't really brackish until now). In the end the adorable Figure 8's win. Maybe in the future I will try a brackish cichlid tank (with a puffer safely behind his divider ). The water requirements seem close enough to give it a try. Heros severus is an attractive fish with a manageable size. For now I'm happy with my puffers and hopefully my soon to be 30gal bumble bee goby tank.

I've never even heard of a couple cichlids you mentioned. Thanks again for the information.

[UberDave]

I have a 46 g brackish setup with 1 F8 and 3 bumble bees. I've been trying for a few weeks to track down some chromides to add to my tank but as of yet have not been able to locate any. Does anyone know of online sites that actually have them in stock (I've found several that are perpetually "out of stock"). It would be even better if anyone knew of a LFS in the Chicagoland area that stocks them.

Thanks!

[my name is mike]

dave -- i live in chicago and frequently see them at old town aquarium in their often crowed "brackish" tank --- they normally look pretty good --- ive been tempted more than once

[UberDave]

Thanks Mike, I'll check it out. I actually have an uncle who lives right by there... his salt water tank is actually one of those listed on their website. I appreciate the tip!

[my name is mike]

let me know how that works out for you. i think i might get some in the near future if i hear some more success stories

how many were you thinking of adding to the 46 gal setup ? do they do better in groups?

[UberDave]

Mike,

I went to Old Town Aquarium today... you were right. They had three orange chromides in their overcrowded brackish tank. I bought all three; they've been in my aquarium for about an hour now. I'll give you an update on how they're doing in a week or so. Thanks again for the tip! That is a pretty cool store, they have some nice stuff in there.

[my name is mike]

awesome ! -- i am totally jealous.

that store is pretty cool. the staff can be jerks and stuff is overpriced, but their livestock can be really nice from time to time.

congrats

[UberDave]

Update:

I've had the chromides in my tank for a few days now. They're doing well. I haven't witnessed any confrontations with the puffer yet. Their orange color is getting more vibrant. They're a great addition to the tank. They also eat algae which I didn't know. A nice bonus.

However, they do produce a lot of waste. A lot. I'll have to clean the substrate more often now (2x per week probably).

Overall a good addition though. Their color adds a lot to the environment.

I might throw a green chromide or two in there at some point. If I do I will be sure to update.

[jake_vdb]

I might throw a green chromide or two in there at some point. If I do I will be sure to update.

You know how big Green Chromides get, right?

It would be really cool to see their cleaner symbiosis. You'll have to make sure you get some parasite ridden Green Chromides.

[UberDave]

Sadly, I spoke before I did the research. The green chromides get way to big for my current setup.

But, you're right. It would be cool to watch the orange chromides clean the green chromides. Maybe if I ever step up to a larger setup I will do that. Until then... no greens for me.

[nmonks]

At the London Aquarium there's a lovely big pool filled with green chromides, silver and common scats, monos, archers, and green spotted puffers. They all look really nice together.

The chromide to "save up for" is the freshwater Etroplus canarensis. It's a stunning fish, with remarkably bold colours and patterns that really grab the eye. It doesn't sound that nice on paper, yellowy with brown bands, and photos don't do it justice at all. But in the flesh, the contrast of colours are so strong, and pearly sheen so iridescent, that they easily among the prettiest cichlids around. It's a shame they're rare in the wild and even rarer in the trade. Wildwoods in Enfield gets them in periodically, but they're never cheap (up to £50/$100, a piece).

Cheers, Neale