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would they cohabitate in a 40L tank together? There are 5 German Blues in there now with 2 syno's and 2 pictus cats. Thinking about adding 5 bolivians. I could set up a separate tank if needed......
oh well, nobody's going in there right now, came home today and found that I've got a budding case of Ich . Hopefully I'm starting treatment (raising temp and adding maracide) in time to keep it from getting out of control, everyone still seems lively and eager to see me.
Personally, I've never had any problems keeping blues and bolivians together. My bane has been trying to keep those nasty little pictus with anything softer than a rock. Nassssty Pictusssessss, we hatessss them.
10 dwarf cichlids in a 10-gallon tank? Frankly I think this tank is already well overstocked. The smallest synodontid is about 3" long, pictus cats reach 5" in length, and both are way too active to be housed in a 10G!
Bioload-wise your tank can certainly handle it, but it then becomes a question of aesthetics. These species are not schooling fish per se, as they'd rather define their own territories. It's part of their charm, IMO. When you put a lot of them in tank of a size that's inadequate for all of them to claim a little territory, you lose that behavior and thus part of their charm. Additionally, it may turn out that only one pair will be able to claim a territory (becoming the alpha-pair), and they'll suppress the others' ability to attain full coloration by their dominant behavior. Personally, I think going with a pair of each would be much more enjoyable, but that's just my opinion.
I'll probably set up another tank before I get the new fish. 2 pairs of rams have formed up in the current tank, I'll have to find a place for a 3rd female I have that's getting chased alot in the middle. thanks.