Banded Dwarf Cichlid Tank Mates

• Adolf's Cory✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 5.5 cm · Medium care · 22–26 °C (72–79 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here, and their water overlaps around 24–26 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
  • Keep Adolf's Cory in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Agassiz's Corydoras✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 6 cm · Easy care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here, and their water overlaps around 24–28 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
  • Keep Agassiz's Corydoras in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Bamboo Shrimp✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 8 cm · Medium care · 22–27 °C (72–81 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
• Black Kuhli Loach✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 8 cm · Easy care · 23–28 °C (73–82 °F)
  • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 24–28 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
• Blood Red Tiger Pleco✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 6 cm · Medium care · 24–29 °C (75–84 °F)
  • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 24–29 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
• Bolivian Ram✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 8 cm · Medium care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
  • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 24–28 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
• Brilliant Rasbora✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 9 cm · Easy care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
  • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 24–28 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Keep Brilliant Rasbora in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Butterfly Hillstream Loach✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 6 cm · Hard care · 18–24 °C (64–75 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
  • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
• Corydoras Catfish✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 6.5 cm · Easy care · 22–26 °C (72–79 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here, and their water overlaps around 24–26 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
  • Keep Corydoras Catfish in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Duplicareus Corydoras✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 5.5 cm · Medium care · 23–27 °C (73–81 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
  • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
  • Keep Duplicareus Corydoras in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Elegant Cory✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 6 cm · Easy care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
  • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
  • Keep Elegant Cory in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• False Julii Corydoras✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 6 cm · Easy care · 22–26 °C (72–79 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
  • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
  • Keep False Julii Corydoras in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• German Blue Ram✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 6 cm · Hard care · 27–30 °C (81–86 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
  • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
• Gold Barb✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 7.5 cm · Easy care · 18–26 °C (64–79 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
  • Keep Gold Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Hillstream Loach✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 6 cm · Hard care · 20–24 °C (68–75 °F)
  • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 24–24 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
• Narcissus II Cory✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 5.5 cm · Medium care · 22–26 °C (72–79 °F)
  • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 24–26 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
  • Keep Narcissus II Cory in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Peppered Corydoras✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 7 cm · Easy care · 18–26 °C (64–79 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here, and their water overlaps around 24–26 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
  • Keep Peppered Corydoras in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Rio Negro Checkerboard Cichlid✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 7 cm · Hard care · 24–29 °C (75–84 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
  • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
• Rust Corydoras✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 5.5 cm · Easy care · 23–27 °C (73–81 °F)
  • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 24–27 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
  • Keep Rust Corydoras in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Slate Corydoras✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 6 cm · Medium care · 23–28 °C (73–82 °F)
  • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 24–28 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
  • Keep Slate Corydoras in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Splashing Tetra✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 8 cm · Medium care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here, and their water overlaps around 24–28 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Keep Splashing Tetra in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Spotfin Corydoras✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 6.5 cm · Easy care · 22–26 °C (72–79 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
  • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
  • Keep Spotfin Corydoras in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Spotted Corydoras✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 7 cm · Easy care · 22–27 °C (72–81 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
  • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
  • Keep Spotted Corydoras in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Sterbai Corydoras✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 6.5 cm · Medium care · 24–30 °C (75–86 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here, and their water overlaps around 24–30 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
  • Keep Sterbai Corydoras in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Ash Lipped Apisto⚠️ With caution
  Semi-aggressive · 7 cm · Hard care · 24–29 °C (75–84 °F)
  • Both are a bit pushy (semi-aggressive + semi-aggressive) — workable only in a larger tank with cover and broken sight lines.
  • Your 75 L tank is below the ~80 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
• Betta⚠️ With caution
  Semi-aggressive · 6.5 cm · Easy care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
  • Both are a bit pushy (semi-aggressive + semi-aggressive) — workable only in a larger tank with cover and broken sight lines.
• Bleeding Heart Tetra⚠️ With caution
  Semi-aggressive · 7 cm · Medium care · 23–28 °C (73–82 °F)
  • Both are a bit pushy (semi-aggressive + semi-aggressive) — workable only in a larger tank with cover and broken sight lines.
  • Your 75 L tank is below the ~80 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Keep Bleeding Heart Tetra in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Bright Diamond Tetra⚠️ With caution
  Peaceful · 7 cm · Hard care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
  • Banded Dwarf Cichlid is semi-aggressive and may chase or nip the smaller Bright Diamond Tetra — plant heavily and break up sight lines.
  • Your 75 L tank is below the ~80 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Keep Bright Diamond Tetra in a shoal of 8+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Buenos Aires Tetra⚠️ With caution
  Semi-aggressive · 7 cm · Easy care · 18–26 °C (64–79 °F)
  • Both are a bit pushy (semi-aggressive + semi-aggressive) — workable only in a larger tank with cover and broken sight lines.
  • Your 75 L tank is below the ~80 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Keep Buenos Aires Tetra in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Celebes Rainbowfish⚠️ With caution
  Peaceful · 7 cm · Medium care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
  • Water hardness preferences differ (Banded Dwarf Cichlid 0–8 vs Celebes Rainbowfish 10–20 dGH).
  • Banded Dwarf Cichlid is semi-aggressive and may chase or nip the smaller Celebes Rainbowfish — plant heavily and break up sight lines.
  • Keep Celebes Rainbowfish in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Costa's Tetra⚠️ With caution
  Peaceful · 7 cm · Easy care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
  • Expect Banded Dwarf Cichlid to harass Costa's Tetra at times; give dense cover and watch them at feeding.
  • Keep Costa's Tetra in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Croaking Gourami⚠️ With caution
  Peaceful · 7 cm · Easy care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
  • Expect Banded Dwarf Cichlid to harass Croaking Gourami at times; give dense cover and watch them at feeding.
• Hongsloi Dwarf Cichlid⚠️ With caution
  Semi-aggressive · 7 cm · Medium care · 24–29 °C (75–84 °F)
  • Banded Dwarf Cichlid and Hongsloi Dwarf Cichlid can both be territorial; doable with space and dense planting, but watch for chasing.
• Melon Barb⚠️ With caution
  Peaceful · 7 cm · Easy care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
  • Banded Dwarf Cichlid is semi-aggressive and may chase or nip the smaller Melon Barb — plant heavily and break up sight lines.
  • Your 75 L tank is below the ~80 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Keep Melon Barb in a shoal of 8+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Peacock Gudgeon⚠️ With caution
  Peaceful · 7 cm · Medium care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
  • Banded Dwarf Cichlid and Peacock Gudgeon are close in size, but the semi-aggressive one tends to dominate — add peacock gudgeon in a group to spread the pressure.
• Rounded Filament Barb⚠️ With caution
  Peaceful · 7 cm · Medium care · 22–27 °C (72–81 °F)
  • Banded Dwarf Cichlid is semi-aggressive and may chase or nip the smaller Rounded Filament Barb — plant heavily and break up sight lines.
  • Your 75 L tank is below the ~80 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Keep Rounded Filament Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Roundtail Paradise Fish⚠️ With caution
  Semi-aggressive · 7 cm · Easy care · 10–26 °C (50–79 °F)
  • Banded Dwarf Cichlid and Roundtail Paradise Fish can both be territorial; doable with space and dense planting, but watch for chasing.
• Sumo Loach⚠️ With caution
  Semi-aggressive · 7 cm · Medium care · 22–26 °C (72–79 °F)
  • Both are a bit pushy (semi-aggressive + semi-aggressive) — workable only in a larger tank with cover and broken sight lines.
• Tiger Barb⚠️ With caution
  Semi-aggressive · 7 cm · Easy care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
  • Banded Dwarf Cichlid and Tiger Barb can both be territorial; doable with space and dense planting, but watch for chasing.
  • Your 75 L tank is below the ~95 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Keep Tiger Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Umbrella Dwarf Cichlid⚠️ With caution
  Semi-aggressive · 7 cm · Medium care · 20–26 °C (68–79 °F)
  • Both are a bit pushy (semi-aggressive + semi-aggressive) — workable only in a larger tank with cover and broken sight lines.
• Alligator Gar⛔ Not recommended
  Aggressive · 250 cm · Hard care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
  • Banded Dwarf Cichlid and Alligator Gar are both territorial and at least one is outright aggressive — expect serious fighting.
  • Alligator Gar (250 cm) is big enough to swallow the 7 cm Banded Dwarf Cichlid whole.
  • Your 75 L tank is below the ~3785 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
• Clown Knifefish⛔ Not recommended
  Aggressive · 90 cm · Hard care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
  • Two assertive fish, one genuinely aggressive: Banded Dwarf Cichlid and Clown Knifefish will hold territory and clash.
  • Clown Knifefish (90 cm) is big enough to swallow the 7 cm Banded Dwarf Cichlid whole.
  • Your 75 L tank is below the ~750 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
• Fire Eel⛔ Not recommended
  Semi-aggressive · 100 cm · Medium care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
  • Fire Eel (100 cm) is big enough to swallow the 7 cm Banded Dwarf Cichlid whole.
  • Banded Dwarf Cichlid and Fire Eel can both be territorial; doable with space and dense planting, but watch for chasing.
  • Your 75 L tank is below the ~380 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
• Koi⛔ Not recommended
  Peaceful · 90 cm · Medium care · 4–28 °C (39–82 °F)
  • Size gap is too large (90 vs 7 cm): Koi will treat Banded Dwarf Cichlid as food.
  • One likes softer water and the other harder (0–8 vs 9–18 dGH) — a compromise, not a perfect match.
  • Your 75 L tank is below the ~3800 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
• Redtail Catfish⛔ Not recommended
  Aggressive · 120 cm · Hard care · 24–27 °C (75–81 °F)
  • Banded Dwarf Cichlid and Redtail Catfish are both territorial and at least one is outright aggressive — expect serious fighting.
  • Size gap is too large (120 vs 7 cm): Redtail Catfish will treat Banded Dwarf Cichlid as food.
  • Your 75 L tank is below the ~5700 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
• Spotted Gar⛔ Not recommended
  Aggressive · 90 cm · Hard care · 18–26 °C (64–79 °F)
  • Banded Dwarf Cichlid and Spotted Gar are both territorial and at least one is outright aggressive — expect serious fighting.
  • Banded Dwarf Cichlid is bite-sized to a 90 cm predatory spotted gar — it will be eaten.
  • Your 75 L tank is below the ~600 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
• Wels Catfish⛔ Not recommended
  Aggressive · 300 cm · Hard care · 15–25 °C (59–77 °F)
  • Banded Dwarf Cichlid and Wels Catfish are both territorial and at least one is outright aggressive — expect serious fighting.
  • Size gap is too large (300 vs 7 cm): Wels Catfish will treat Banded Dwarf Cichlid as food.
  • Your 75 L tank is below the ~20000 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
• Wolf Cichlid⛔ Not recommended
  Aggressive · 72 cm · Hard care · 24–30 °C (75–86 °F)
  • Two assertive fish, one genuinely aggressive: Banded Dwarf Cichlid and Wolf Cichlid will hold territory and clash.
  • Wolf Cichlid (72 cm) is big enough to swallow the 7 cm Banded Dwarf Cichlid whole.
  • Your 75 L tank is below the ~760 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.

Compatibility is computed from each species' care data — a strong starting point, not a guarantee. Individual temperament varies, so always introduce new fish slowly and watch them.