Top 10 Most "Peaceful" Cichlids
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- čas přidán 27. 06. 2024
- Our Top 10 most peaceful cichlids! We have kept a wide variety of cichlids, and in today's video, we compiled a list of our current favorites when it comes to the less aggressive species. Most of the cichlids on this list are relatively peaceful, and many will do well in community or planted aquariums. All cichlids have their own personality though, so even the "peaceful" cichlids in this video can still have a rogue or aggressive individual.
A few tips to reduce risk of aggression with any cichlid: proper tank mates, larger tanks with more territory, ideal Male/Female ratios, and avoiding pairs breeding in the tank.
If you're interested in any of the products we use in our aquarium setups, feel free to check out the affiliate links below.
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Thanks for watching, and we'll see you next week!
Hi all! In the video, I briefly mention a few things you can do to avoid aggression with cichlids. If you're having trouble with aggression issues, I would check out the video below. Thanks for watching!
czcams.com/video/YNOasFFzogw/video.html
Can king kong parrot fish live with other peaceful cichlid comfortably like Severum, neon blue acara or geophagus cichlid or will it have any issues. Please tell as I am willing to buy one.
I really like the introduction - "all cichlids can be agressive". To that, I would like to add that aggression level can vary even within the same species. I definitely agree with the rams and the keyhole being "peaceful", but I am sceptic around N. multifasciatus. They have even attacked my hands and also fully grown frontosa. But ok, they don´t follow up, they just protect their space.
Some other peaceful cichlids (for being cichlids) are Apistogramma borelli and Laetacara curviceps. They usually also only defend their space and seldom go crazy. They also both have small mouths and can not be considered as fish eaters.
Last but not least: no fish have ever read the books or watched any video on how they should behave. Even with good recommendations and intentions, one might end up with a "peaceful" cichlid that is batshit crazy.
Agreed
Great video guys! I keep a lot of the fish you talked about in a "less aggressive" large south/central American cichlid tank.. I have a festivum and he is super docile as well. I work at a large fish store and they have worked extremely well with sevrums acaras firemouths ect
Definitely needed this. Thanks!!
This was exactly what I was searching for peaceful cichlids you guys nailed it thank you
Glad it was helpful!
Keyhole cichlids are just amazing. I kept 4 in a community planted tank and they did great. I also had two Rams and they just got along fine. These little guys have a great temperament and playful nature.
One peaceful SA dwarf that often gets overlooked are the Laetacara - especially Curviceps and Dorsigera. They're a great substitute for the Bolivian Ram, and do fantastic with small tetras.
My curviceps tried to kill the third wheel and at the moment are harassing a baby jag although it’s able to hold its own. They’re a handful when they pair up.
Love Keyhole Cicjlids. They rarely if ever show aggression towards each other, let alone to other species even when breed.
Agreed! Awesome to keep
I had 4 keyholes all male who all got super aggressive out of the blue and chased my rainbow cichlid everywhere.
Great video. You’ve talked me into adding an Electric Blue Acara to my 125. My addition to the list would be the Uaru. Their transformation from juvenile to adult alone is amazing.
Awesome! Great addition too 👍🏻
I loved this! I have Severum, Electric Blue Acara, Apistos, Rams and Bolivian Rams all in the same tank together.....lol. I love them all and have never had any issues with aggression. I make sure there are lots of places for them to hide and provide lots of line of sight breaks
Thanks, Audra! Sounds like a great tank 👍🏻
How big is your tank! I have been hoping for this comment 😁 because it's exactly what I want minus the severum.
@Samantha Bose Hi 👋 Things have changed a little in the past few months. The apistos have been rehomed. I felt they would do better together elsewhere so they could breed and the fry survive. The rest are still doing great and in a 55 gallon. 😊
I use apistos as bait fish for catfish
@@peekaboo9976 That is kind of a bummer as apistos are fantastic beauties. But everything needs to eat I guess 🤷♀️
I have a keyhole , he is the most peaceful shy fish, in with neon tetras, albino Cory's, rummy noses and 2 torpedoes. He is my favourite, so I was happy to see they are no.1 on your list
Great vid! Love to see the EB Acara on the list.
Thank you!
Frontosa are my number one favorite fish. Mine were definitely gentle giants. My tied for second place are Rams (all of them) and Yellow Labs. I'm glad you kept your list short, because there are so many fantastic chiclids!
They are so beautiful scared as they need such a huge tank
Surprisingly I had a killer Frontosa that took out 3 peacocks - and not small ones either - but yeah that’s unusual and they are one of the best fish IMO!
If there is a next time illl just do a Frontosa only tank!
Wooow thats cichlid so beautiful.
Nice list. Thanks!
Thanks!
Another excellent video. Just can’t wait for a list of the 10 most aggressive ones 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
You read our minds! Probably will be our next top 10!
@@CichlidBros Cannot wait 👍🏼
cheers thks for this video
My fav is the apisto! Just picked one up to add to my planted tank
Great looking fish 🐠 🐠. All of them.
Thank you to explaining about a nice fish 🐠
Hey Troy nice to see you my friend (Terry Moore formerly beyond the reef) The most peaceful cichlid I know of is the checkerboard cichlids they can even go in with nano shrimp also cichlasoma sajica are pretty peaceful also great video little brother.
Hey Terry, hope all is well! Missed seeing you at BTR lately. Definitely good additions to the list. Sajica have been on my list to keep for awhile now!
Thanks😊
I have Electric blue acaras,Keyhole ciklids and Kongo tetras together in my 350 liters tank.And it works very well.
Greetings from Sweden🐟
Sounds like a great setup!
Sounds cool ! I had Congo tétras and dwarf rainbowfish they would school together. I never expected it to happen. It's awesome.
Thank you. I agree with you about angels. I found they stressed my community tanks.
I have to admit presently, due to a tank burst, I have 3 Bolivian rams,an adult EB acara and his younger sister! 50g tank with,,,,
Ember,bloodfin,black neon ,gold tetras, mountain minnows harlequins glass fish and debate catfish!
All good.
Great video! I also love my EBA. I would also recommend Blood Parrots as peaceful (not to mention how intelligent and personable they are)
Thank you, and great mention!
I'd stay away from the Convict Parrot Cichlids.... they are instigators !! My Blood Parrot Cichlid is very low key in comparison.
Great video, I have a couple of threadfin acara's (heckelii), and they are very peaceful, much more peaceful than the krib I have. Thanks for the video
Thanks for watching!
Have Dwarf Flag Cichlids in with my small angel and they are super chill and colorful. Have had struggles with “peaceful” cichlids, but have loved these guys and my angels. Great list though. Love rams
Thanks, Douglas! Flag cichlids are a good addition for sure
great video. you guys have me thinking ablout a few blue acaras :)
Thanks - i'd definitely recommend!
I have an electric blue ram and a triple red Apistogramma ( both males) in a fluval 18 and they love it. I hand feed them dried worms and flakes. Amazing fish
Loved my keyhole, EBA and opal apistos. All of them get along. Trying to add a Ram, but have a hard time finding a good source. Got one from a LFS that had ick. Outside of that all these suggestions are really great. Maybe I’ll try a Bolivian instead of the German blue.
Great video
Thanks!
A few others that could have made the list or honorable mention are Kribensis, Geophagus daemon, Festivum and Aequidens Metae.
Great list. Only surprise to me that wasn't on the list is the kribensis. They can get a little feisty when they have fry though. Also, the mutli is my favorite cichlid; I have a colony in a 75. Started with 10 mostly juvenile fish March of 2020 and now around 50.
Thanks! That’s a good one
Great vid
Thanks!
Surprised Kribs (kribensis) weren't mentioned. In my experience, they are great community tank cichlids. They from close pair bonds, are excellent parents, and go about their business without terrorizing their neighbors... plus they are a pretty fish. (merge the blue and Bolivian rams into one spot and slip in the kribs ;) )
A great addition to the list!
Love your videos, guys. Informative, helpful, and fun. (I just wanted to give Kribs a "shout out")
I think i have a gangsta krib… hes a jerk😂
I agree
Uaru!!!
My absolutely favorite
Great choice for sure!
Honestly, from experience I've never had any issues of anything from a keyhole and consider them for sure absolutely peaceful. Mine have lived with corydoras for a long while, they don't mind them or any other fish in there. Rather, they get along with everything there including the botias and oddly enough they like the gourami (Samurai gourami, dwarf) like there's no fin nipping or anything and they've shared the tank for more than a year without any issues, so I wouldn't say they're "peaceful", but actually peaceful. And I've kept over 30 keyholes with a few 55+ tanks all having them.
Genus Krobia: Krobia xinguensis from Brazil. Very peaceful and beatiful cichlid! Peixe bem legal aqui do Brasil!
That’s a good one!
Your videos are the best. Greetings from Serbia.
Thank you!
My Electric Blue Acara lives with about 30 cardinal tetras. I love him, I will definitely be looking for a Keyhole cichlid.
i have T-bar cichlid he seems really calm.
I have an mbuna tank with Blue cobalts, Snow whites, Labeotropheus Fuellborni, Rusties, and Yellow Labs. The majority of the mbuna I keep are larger, moderate/aggressive w/ exception on the yellow labs. I had rusty cichlids, but had to rehome them since they were biting the sides of other fish, chasing them incessantly until exhaustion, and a lot of fin nipping.. That species was the most aggressive in the tank even when only one rusty was in the tank. Using this experience, I would put the rusties in a more aggressive tank in the future.
I have been able to keep kribensis with other fish. I'm planning a tank with with kribensis and congo tetras, well planted with mostly val.
Good video, surprised you didn’t include the brichardi, mine doesn’t bother anyone other than an occasional approach to check ‘em out….
I have a 110 gallon with 2 gold/red spot severum, a green severum, 2 electric blue acara, and 2 rainbow cichlids. I also have a 47 with 2 german blue rams and 2 bolivian rams. Love that many of my fish are on this list.
Sounds like an awesome tank! Thanks for watching
You should do a video of the 10 Best Cichlids for Planted Tanks.
On the list to do soon!
Wow
Ellioti cichlid (Thorichthys Maculipinnis) although related to the fire mouth Elliotis are usually more peaceful and can be kept with some community fish
my rotkeil sevs are really peaceful even when spawning they're not bad, guianacara are another that could be on this list from my experience but not seen so often.
My pair of keyhole cichlids live in planted 20 gallon with Red Golden Pencil tetras, Serpae, Orange Von Rio, and glowlight tetras, plus several whiptail catfish and a bristle nose. Keyhole cichlids are perfect angels n won't hurt anything and usually ignore fry of other fish too. I wish they would spawn being they're several years old n are a mated pair!
You forgot the Festivum or Flag Cichlida surface dwelling triangular shaped fish similar to an angelfish but with one strip from eye to tail running paralell to its back. These guys go great with jeyhole cichlids, discus, angelfish, and med sized tetras and corydoras catfish.
Great options for sure!
I looove my keyholes, they are the most precious little things! My Bolivian Ram is a tyrant, so I put him in the community tank with my gold red spot Severum, electric blue acara, blood parrots, huge blue angelfish, ect, and he has no fear whatsoever, tries to run off the bigger fish. Lucky for him, I seem to have the nicest, most chill cichlids ever, so they pay his antics no mind lol They don't even bother the elderly Harlequin Rasboras I "retired" into that tank or a baby eating guppy mama!
Cyprichromis & Paracyprichromis, the sardine cichlids, are probably the most peaceful cichlids around. There are several other Tanganyikans that have peaceful dispositions. Nannacara anomala is an easy dwarf pretty SA that should be kept more. Most West African are analogous to apistos. Domestic angels kept at 75°F. are pretty peaceful. I love EBAs but they can get boisterous behind mating activities. Geophagus are a peaceful and beautiful group. Really want to try G.sveni. Vieja breidhori and Amitlania nanolutea are two peaceful CAs.
I have quite a few Severums, the only one who’s fairly aggressive is my Green and he’s the boss in my 90 gallon tank. For the most part they play the part of the bouncers of the tank getting in the middle of scuffles. My Electric Blue Acara is pretty mild mannered as well. One fish I would have added to the list is a Festivum, mine is one of the coolest fish I’ve ever kept. Every now and than him and the Rotkeil Severum will bump heads for a few seconds, but only at dinner time. Other wise he’s as laid back as they come. For those asking about Red Head Topajos Geos, they are pretty nuts in my experience with them. I have a squad in each of my tanks. And they are relentless towards each other, and as they get bigger I catch them every now and than squaring off with my Blue Acara. Most of the time started by one of the Geos🤷🏻♂️ A lot of people say they are all bark no bite, I say otherwise. My biggest Red Head Geo is probably second in command to my much bigger Green Sev and I’ve yet to see him back down from any fish he’s been in with.
Agreed with all of the above! I actually have never kept the festivum (Want to soon), which is the main reason it wasn’t on the list, but based on others’ experience it definitely deserves a spot. Thanks, Sean!
@@CichlidBros I have one in the 50 gallon and he’s just a cool laid back fish for the most part. Very active, chills at the top most of the time and from what I’ve seen so far just a very nice addition to any peaceful aquarium👌🏼
Any opinion on the T-Bar cichlid?
Hello from 🇬🇧 .
Very interesting. What size does #6 get to?
You nention the nax size of some but not all. Would have been nice if you had. Is it fair to say ALL Rams could have been in this list? If not, why?
Thanks
Great video! How are electric blue acara’s in schools? Is the male/female ratio still a concern? Thanks!
Thanks! They usually do well if there are more females than males
What about yellow acaras and krobia xinguensis?
How about chocolate chiclids for peaceful?Mine are with geophagus and bother nobody...graceful and change colors from lifght to dark patch brown and green..my fave!!!
Most of the time they are peaceful, especially if you have an appropriate tank size!
I bought two electric blue acara. The bonus is one happened to be male and the other one is female..They are really enjoying each other. I have them in a 55. I have a question. What fish can I put in with them? I'm looking for something with red or yellow that would really go well with the eba. I was thinking rummy nose but really want something with a bit more color..Any suggestions would be appreciated..
Hi there, i'm a beginner in chiclids. My fish tank is small (35x35x21 = more or less 21 lt). How many chiclids i should keep in my tank? And what kind of chiclids that i can put together in it? Tq. By the way, i love your chiclids collection!! :)
Would the electric blue acara be ok living with a bunch of rummy nosed tetras? And would the Bolivian and German blue ram be ok living with neon tetras ? Thanks for the video !
The one you missed ... Anomalochromis thomasi. This is possibly THE best Cichlid for a beginner, as it's an outright pacifist compared even to some of the Apistogramma species. Lovely colours, and easy to breed too. I would recommend this one above ALL of the others in your list.
I have 10 parrot fish. Peaceful. 9 out of 10 lol.
I have a mouth brooder Severum, green, turquoise, gold red spot, gold, and red shoulder and orange shoulder, iniridae, and red tiger curare. My green one is a bad butt! My keyholes are very peaceful, so are rainbow cichlids. My heckelii is a peaceful one as well.
How peaceful is your rainbow cichlid?
I’m so confused. I love the cichlids very much. I want to add maybe 5 different species to my tank but not sure which 5 would work together. I also have silver dollars and a couple school fish. Thanks if you can help
hi, howmany gals and brand is your freshwater tank?
Can king kong parrot fish live with other peaceful cichlid comfortably like Severum, neon blue acara or geophagus cichlid or will it have any issues. Please tell as I am willing to buy one.
What is the cichlid on the right side of the keyhole cichlid that has a single black line on its body at 10:07?
What about the albino heckelli? Somewhat hard to find and expensive, but mine have shown to have the same temperament as my electric blue acara's. My much younger severum quickly outgrew them though and became the tank boss, so I am hesitant to add more because they are so passive.
Yep, that’s a great one. Usually very peaceful
You missed Oscars I am gust kidding
I have a 55 with a 1 kribensis 6 rainbowfish 5 cherry barbs 10 skirt tetras and 4 pearl gouramis could I add a blue acara
Good show. I am thinking of getting a 6 foot x 3 foot tank . I have decided to get 1 severum , one convict , one blue acara , one firemouth , one female salvini , one t bar , these will be all male with the exception of the female salvini. Plenty of rocks and caves to avoid aggresion. What do you think?
Sounds like a great set up. The only one I'd keep an eye on is the Salvini. They can get very aggressive as they mature, but the tank size should help mitigate most of those concerns.
You guys always make great videos but I will have to disagree with the fact that Mbunas and Severums are peaceful cichlids. I’ve been in the aquarium hobby for over 20 years particularly dealing with cichlids and Severums and Mbunas are not peaceful by any means. Severums are not highly aggressive such as a Flowerhorn or Jaguar but they are not peaceful or timid either. No matter how small they are they will always find a way to nip and chase others to claim dominance.
Keep up creating awesome videos!!!! Can’t wait to see more.
I have a bolivian ram, 2 electric blue acaras and a severum in my cichlid community and are actually almost the most aggressive ones😭 and this is a tank with parrot cichlids and a jack dempsey and my bolivian ram will charge the larger fishes tails and push them on the side
What does the orange dot fish do to anther fish
I am surprised you included Mbunas, my Yellow Labs are pretty aggressive, even dominating my albino zebras. I would have included Discus and Angelfish in the list, those are pretty mellow compared to most other cichlids. You know if Festivums are still around? they used to be common 30 years ago and nowadays are non-existent. Those were pretty chill fish too and schooled very well with Angelfish
Yeah I think these are always rough guides only. I had a 3-4 month old Rusty Cichlid that started slaughtering every other juv while in my quarantine & a single yellow cichlid that dominated my full grown peacocks!
Luck of the draw huh!?
Would apistos go well with Bolivan rams ? In a 65g tank. Tia
Yep 👍🏻
Also I have a tropical freshwater tank
I currently have an electric blue acara in quarantine that I'm adding to my 125g molly/platy/variatus tank tomorrow. Are there any of these other fish on this list that would work with what I have?
I would say most of these would. The keyholes, festivum and rams would especially
I
have angle fish but I only have one so can I put him in??
What about large fish to go with Severums?
German blue rams and discus would probably be the best cichlids for community tanks, imo, if they didn't prefer being in such high temperature water. People tend to keep them between 82 and 86 degrees which is just too high for most other fish's comfort levels.
Ive bred Firemouths in a community tank with neon, cardinal tetras ect. and a huge breeding colony of mixed feeder n fancy guppies. The Firemouths never bothered anyone and completely ignored the tons of baby guppies. Firemouths get a bad wrap even tho they're really unaggressive when not defending themselves from meaner cichlids.
I've successfully kept Firemouths in community tanks also. They aren't predatory, and they aren't aggressive to fish they don't see as competition or as a threat, which makes small schooling fish safe to keep with them. They will show more aggression in tanks with other cichlids (or gouramis), but I think a lot of people would be surprised at how calm they are when they're kept as an only cichlid with schooling fish.
I need help please. How can you term the difference between keyhole cichlid vs bolivian ram. At first i thought i had a Ram now i wonder if it is a keyhole/guianacara?
The keyhole will be plain tan/yellow with a single black stripe down the eye. The bolivian ram will have some reds/oranges in fins and will have a more "spiked" dorsal fin
I can see you got electric blue with harlequins. You never had any issue ? I am thinking to get one for my community tank but I am a bit worried for the cardinals and harlequins when it become adult size
I wouldn’t recommend them with Harlequins long term. They worked out fine for a year or so before a separated tbem
I just came across you channel. subscribed. I have a question for you. I had labs and blue moori for almost 7 years. they all died recently, guess old age. I am trying to start a new school again. I have seen even labs chasing each other and it was frustrating to watch. are there any peaceful african? can I try south american? I have sand substrate with lots of rocks.
Welcome to the channel! Even the more "peaceful" Africans can still be aggressive in some situations. I would say that in general, there are more peaceful options when keeping South Americans. I'd check out this video if you are having issues: czcams.com/video/YNOasFFzogw/video.html
I want an Acara so bad its beautiful I just hate that it's not aggressive 😭 now ima set up a whole another tank
Kribs?
Thomasi Cichlids are a great peaceful west African cichlid that stays alot smaller than most
Pelmatochromis Kribensis, I think.
if I dont have sand will they still breed? I have a bare bottom
I just picked up 4 keyholes at my local pet** the manager said they where there for a while and I got them half off. they had paired off in the tank in the store so I didn't want to separate them. I had no idea about them but after searching for the normal colored angel fish for a year now locally I figured I would give these a try as a centerpiece species for my south American themed tank...they where malnourished after a few weeks of high protein food frozen foods they all look great now and are not skidish at all. I think I am going to be very happy with this fish in the long run. Do you have any info on keeping them?
Awesome! Here’s a care guide we did on them awhile back: czcams.com/video/Jnf4gOpqqko/video.html
@@CichlidBros thank you...there is not much info on them that I can find.
Electric blue acara versus blue acara,
What difference between them?
I love blue accent in my tanks
Fairly similar across the board. Just a color difference as the blue acara is more brown/tan/grey in the body, while electric blue acaras are bright blue throughout
Blood Parrot Cichlid for sure
Frontosa should be on the list
I have an so agressive yellow lab
Hence the caveats mentioned in the video
Hi i want to know whice fish the best under 30 g
Apistogramma, kribensis, or shell dwellers
If there are any more fish you can reccomend to go with them please feel free to tell me. Thanks
I have masked Julie in one tank with snails & shrimp
Other tank has koi guppy, swordtail & mutt guppy, along with snails & shrimp
Could I put them all together ?
Hi im looking to set up a Cichlid tank 450 liters UK and ive already got a Blue Acara in a community tank, is it possible you could name a group of Cichlids that i could put in this tank with this Blue Acara please.
Severums, Geophagus, angels
Can The yellow lab go with south american cichlids?
I'm sure it's been done, but it's generally frowned upon in the hobby. Potentially volatile. And unsure about possible hybridization.