I'm wondering if Threadfin Acara (Acarichthys heckelii) is good to mix with my other tank mates???

[CtenopomaKeeper]

I'm wondering if two 3 inch Threadfin Acaras (Acarichthys heckelii) are a good mix with my other tank mates. I have two 3 inch Leopard Bushfish (Ctenopoma acutirostre) Which are my favorites. Also have a 3 inch Pink Tail Chalceus (Chalceus macrolepidotus,) a 2 inch Dinosaur Bichir (Polypterus senegalus), and two 2 inch Congo Tetras (Phenacogrammus interruptus) all of these fish for the time being in a 55 gal tank in the next year or two when more necessary will move them to a 120 gal tank. But for time being wondering if anyone at all knew if these were good Cichlids to mix with this community?

 

[duanes]

I have found Acarichthys heckelli to be none aggressive with all fish except each other. And they usually don't get aggressive with each other until the hit sexual maturity, at around 7".
As soon as mine hit 7" they started killing each other in a 150 gal tank.

 

[CtenopomaKeeper]

Are those your Heckelii Duanes? Those are beautiful. But i wasn't too sure about putting my Pink Tail with these because i want to keep all these fish for the duration of their lives and in good condition so i was worried about the trailing fins they have getting nipped at. Also figured when they are bigger i was only gonna keep only one to avoid them tearing each other up when they are sexually mature. Thanks for the reply

 

[duanes]

Yes those are Acarichthys heckelli in my photos above. When I got them they were just over an inch, and it took about 3 years hit the 7-8" mark.
I was warned they needed a large tank as adults, and thought I could make it work, but as it turned out a 6ft 150 gal didn't cut it. I should have moved them to a 500 gal kiddy pool at that size, but aggression was subtle.
If just keeping one, I don't see the aggression problems happening.

above a shot when just about 2", below at 6-7".

I kept them in a community with Guianacara sp, and Mesoheros ornatum.

 

[CtenopomaKeeper]

I see. do you think a 120 gallon tank is good enough for the 6 fish i have plus the 1 Heckelii for the long run?

 

[duanes]

I have never kept the other fish you mention (except the Congo tetras, and Ctenopoma), so really can't speak to how they would react to the heckelli. And when I had Congos (decades ago), I only kept them with African cichlids.
I have found many tetras and barbs can be nippy, and will often decimate long fin trailers, the kind heckelli get as they mature, and one of the things that make them visually appealing.

A "one trick pony", cichlids are my main focus, so any none-cichlids I have kept are only there to provide targets, or dither activity, and/or enhance the lives of cichlids.
I also try to never mix geographical areas, not a comment on what you or anyone else does, just a personal quirk, so all my opinions carry that narrow bias.
But thinking generically, and going by the adult size of the other fish you mention, I would think a 120 is large enough for all 6, and because all come from similar water chemistry, and temp, none of that would not pose a problem.

 

[CtenopomaKeeper]

Alright. I'm so glad to hear that. The only other thing i should bother to ask is how well do Geophagus do with other species of Geophagus? One of my friends had many others and gave me some after he decided he over did it on his tank stock. He gave me a 5 inch Demon Eartheater, and a 3 inch Geophagus balzani which i know the Balzani needs a cool off period. Just wondering after adding these fish will this be fine? they haven't attacked each other, and they seem to school together a bit.

 

[duanes]

My Acarichthys were fine with other eartheaters, whether the the Guianacara a few posts above, or one from a braziliensus group here.

Acarichthys heckelli prefer fairly warm water, high 80s. In the book South American Eartheaters by Weidner, it is suggested that during certain seasons in their natural habitat, 90sF are not out of the norm.
Gymnogeophagus balzani are from much farther south, and prefer much cooler temps.
Temporarily housed together could work, but I find my balzani did much better without any heaters in the tank at all. They seemed prone to bacterial and fungal diseases when kept constantly warm.

 

[CtenopomaKeeper]

Thank you. Yeah i'm not planning to keep the Balzani in the tank long. Maybe 4- 6 months at a time. Then the other 6- 8 months in an unheated tank. But i'm so glad to hear they should be fine together. Thank you for all the info on these little guys.

 

[CtenopomaKeeper]

I was wondering does anyone think Kribensis would be good to put in with Geophagus? I've seen others on Youtube put them together but i know one is South American, and the other is West African. I'm just looking for an easy to breed without too much damage being done to my other fish. Because of the majority of my tank being South american Geophagus i wasn't sure.