As of right now I got a 40 Gallon Tank with two Africans but I would like to have more. I know they are a aggresive fish and very territorial. I Have two males ones about 5" and the other 4". Iv'e had a couple Pleco's in my tank but they never seem to make it. I need help i want to expand my tank!

Plecos are actually decent tank mates - assuming they've been acclimated to the hard water the cichlids usually are kept in. Having armour and just generally being aloof makes the pleco a good tank mate. The majority of plecos get quite large, though, and again need to be fully acclimated to the warmer, harder water that an African cichlid is kept in.

Other than that Syno Cats are great tank mates usually. They tend to be gorgeous for a cat fish and hold their own against most cichlids. Though they can become territorial among themselves and even towards some cichlids. So make sure everyone has room to play and room to hide.

Here are some pictures and some info on some syno cats that you may dig.

Synodontis euptera • Mochokidae • Cat-eLog • PlanetCatfish • PlanetCatfish.com

Good luck!

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I like big fish tanks and I can not lie. You other brothers can't deny.

loaches can be a good tank mate for cichlids too, clowns get really big but i would suggest yoyo or zebra loaches as they stay a little bit smaller.

by the way i laughed at your title

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Tank
125g african cichlids making it work
75g rimless Reef in progress

Large, African Cichlids would be very territorial. If you add new fish you need a rock pile or plants for the new fish to hide in. A large Red-Tailed Shark would do fine, as well as a large Catfish. Large Rainbows and a Large Leaf Fish would also do OK.

I've got a redtail shark in with mine Africans and also three of the Synos cats as well.

Everybody gets along, most of the time anyway.



I put a clone loach, but he was picked on too much so moved to another tank.

I had plecos for while but they got too big and messy.

Chiming in with a question here.

logan84: "Plecos are actually decent tank mates - assuming they've been acclimated to the hard water the cichlids usually are kept in."

What is the procedure to assure that the plecos are acclimated to their new environment, assuming they just came from the LFS?

Thanks.

A drip acclimation is the best for taking a fish from one environment and throwing it into a completely different set up. Most plecos are kept in softer water but most African cichlids are kept in hard water with mostly rocks for decoration. So they certainly need a little help getting used to the new water. Thankfully most plecos are completely capable of enjoying some harder water - but don't go throwing one of those $200 fancy plecos in!

Another thing to keep an eye out for with a pleco in a African set up is that they are eating. An all rock environment will lack driftwood which the plecos rasp on. So unless they're getting sufficient greens or wafers they can starve.

But that's just my two cents! ^_^

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I like big fish tanks and I can not lie. You other brothers can't deny.