Mixing Non-Cichlids with African Cichlids?

[Ron]

Who has mixed non-cichlids with african cichlids?

What did you mix and what kind of cichlids did you keep?

How did it turn out (for better or worse)?

[Marty]

I have Denison barbs with peacocks and labs with no issues.  I've also kept rainbows with a number of different Africans with no problems.  It probably helps that they're fast swimmers.

[Ron]

Some things I've tried:

Chinese Algae Eater (CAE) - was alright while it was smaller, but around 4" became a mean SOB, would fight with mbuna, and some cichlids ended up with sucker-type marks on their sides overnight. I got rid of the CAE.

Red-tailed shark - small ones are too timid sometimes to compete well, but larger ones can be pretty assertive, so a 4'+ tank works best.

Plecos typically worked alright so long as they got food.

Loaches - clowns worked well provided they have a space to get away to. I've kept a few other botias and they worked alright so long as they weren't too small.

[jcunningham0295]

I just have Giant danios with some of my african cichlids to help with agression and seems to be fine.

[sirocs]

Iv'e done it for years with little to no issue. I noticed that it really depended on the personalities of the fish. Sometimes it worked and sometimes they fought. If they did fight then I would try another fish of the same type and usually it would work. I went through many bullies though. It's worth a shot! Good luck!

[Bremmon]

I have dozens of tanks with mixed malawi and haps/peacocks... I have clown loaches and a few other odd balls in the mix too... I haven't had any problems with aggression in years. Usually If I get a couple fish that are not getting along, I will move one to another tank... But for the most part I never have cross species aggression. Usually same or similar species fighting when it happens.