What type of fish can I add

Question
Hello Karen,

I have a 115 liter diamon shaped tank which is about 450mm deep I currently keep 2 parrot chiclids, 3 black pangasius catfish and 1 blue acara chichlid, I want to know what other fish I can put in there.I want to get a pleco for my tank as the algae needs to be sorted out. I maybe just want maybe another 3-4 fishes in there please recommend a few to me. The tank has plenty filtration it has a Hagen aquaclear200  filter plus a internal power head filter which also does about the same gallons per liter also have a air filter inside. so my filtration is overkill in there. Maybe want some more colorful fish in there. Please help me in choosing the right fish, I don't want to buy fish put them in there and then the 3rd world war breaks out inside my fish tank.

Thanks for your help.

Regards
Hannes
South Africa.


Answer
Hello Hannes,
I must first apologize for being so late. But I have been very busy with helping some of my relatives move into a new house and the whole time I've really been worrying about answering these questions so do know that I sincerely Apologize.

Being that your aquarium is not -very- large. You'll have to be careful with what and how many fish you do stock it with. Three pangasious have the potential outgrow the tank themselves, each fish capable of growing more than 24 inches (about 61 Cm)long.

As far as plecos. The best species you could get would be the Bristlenose or "Ancistrus" catfish/pleco. These fish do not outgrow your aquarium and mature at a size of around 4-5 inches (10-12 cm or so)  unlike the common pleco which can reach lengths of 12 inches (30 cm)

It's very possible depending upon how big your cichlids are and how long they have been living in the tank that they may not welcome new fish very well--mainly if its other cichlids. Tankmates like larger tough tetras (Buenos aires, black skirt...) Rosy, tiger, or gold barbs. And some species of rainbowfish would be fine. Corydoras should also be left alone as well.

Adding another young cichlid may cause the other fish to bully him. You could try rearranging the tank around when adding the new fish and feeding the current cichlids while introducing the new additions.

Some other cichlids that should be compatible are-

*Severum
*Firemouth
*Jewel Cichlid
*Kribensis
*Rainbow cichlid

In a small aquarium like this. You might be better off keeping even more gentle cichlid species like Keyholes, Curviceps, Bolivian rams.

You'll have to be careful. And you might want to think about upgrading in the future to a larger tank as your fish grow.

Unfortunately there is no guarantee that any fish I've suggested will live in peace with your current cichlids. Each fish's temperament is different and it tends to be a gamble when trying to mix species. All you can do is try and see.

I hope this helps and best of luck!
Karen~