Guyana Flag Cichlid Tank Mates

Guyana Flag Cichlid is semi-aggressive, so its tank mates need choosing with care. Here are the 19 freshwater species that pair well with a guyana flag cichlid — plus the 63 to avoid — with a live checker you can tune to your own tank.

By The Aquarium DB Team • Updated June 7, 2026 • Full Guyana Flag Cichlid care guide →
Best matches

The best tank mates for a guyana flag cichlid

  • Porthole Catfish ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 10 cm · 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.
  • Upside-down Catfish ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 10 cm · 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.
  • Bristlenose Pleco ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 12 cm · 23–30 °C (73–86 °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.
  • Giant Kuhli Loach ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 12 cm · 24–30 °C (75–86 °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.
  • Rubber Lip Pleco ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 12 cm · 20–26 °C (68–79 °F)
    Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 24–26 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Marbled Hoplo ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 14 cm · 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.
  • Spotted Talking Catfish ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 15 cm · 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.
  • Weather Loach ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 25 cm · 5–24 °C (41–75 °F)
    Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here, and their water overlaps around 24–24 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Pantanal Corydoras ✅ Compatible
    Medium care · Peaceful · 8 cm · 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.
  • Clown Pleco ✅ Compatible
    Medium care · Peaceful · 9 cm · 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.
  • Leopard Frog Pleco ✅ Compatible
    Medium care · Peaceful · 9 cm · 25–30 °C (77–86 °F)
    Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here, and their water overlaps around 25–30 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Bearded Corydoras ✅ Compatible
    Medium care · Peaceful · 10 cm · 18–24 °C (64–75 °F)
    Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 24–24 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Medusa Pleco ✅ Compatible
    Medium care · Peaceful · 12 cm · 26–30 °C (79–86 °F)
    Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 26–30 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Spotted Rubbernose Pleco ✅ Compatible
    Medium care · Peaceful · 12 cm · 20–26 °C (68–79 °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.
  • Striped Eel Loach ✅ Compatible
    Medium care · Peaceful · 12 cm · 24–28 °C (75–82 °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.
  • Banjo Catfish ✅ Compatible
    Medium care · Peaceful · 15 cm · 20–26 °C (68–79 °F)
    Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 24–26 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Snowball Pleco ✅ Compatible
    Medium care · Peaceful · 16 cm · 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.
  • Zebra Pleco ✅ Compatible
    Hard care · Peaceful · 10 cm · 26–30 °C (79–86 °F)
    Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here, and their water overlaps around 26–30 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Discus ✅ Compatible
    Hard care · Peaceful · 20 cm · 28–31 °C (82–88 °F)
    Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 28–30 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
With caution

Guyana Flag Cichlid tank mates that can work with care

  • Adolf's Cory ⚠️ With caution
    Medium care · Peaceful · 5.5 cm · 22–26 °C (72–79 °F)
    Guyana Flag Cichlid may bully the smaller Adolf's Cory, though its armour makes it a hard meal — give it caves and driftwood to retreat into.
  • Afra Cichlid ⚠️ With caution
    Medium care · Semi-aggressive · 10 cm · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    Different pH ranges (5.5–7.5 vs 7.8–8.6); doable if you sit in the shared band, but not ideal long-term.
  • African Butterfly Cichlid ⚠️ With caution
    Medium care · Semi-aggressive · 8 cm · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
    Both are a bit pushy (semi-aggressive + semi-aggressive) — workable only in a larger tank with cover and broken sight lines.
  • African Dwarf Frog ⚠️ With caution
    Medium care · Peaceful · 4 cm · 22–26 °C (72–79 °F)
    African Dwarf Frog is small enough to tempt Guyana Flag Cichlid; only risk it in a densely planted setup with hiding spots.
  • Agassiz's Corydoras ⚠️ With caution
    Easy care · Peaceful · 6 cm · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
    Guyana Flag Cichlid may bully the smaller Agassiz's Corydoras, though its armour makes it a hard meal — give it caves and driftwood to retreat into.
  • Agassiz's Dwarf Cichlid ⚠️ With caution
    Medium care · Semi-aggressive · 9 cm · 24–30 °C (75–86 °F)
    Guyana Flag Cichlid and Agassiz's Dwarf Cichlid can both be territorial; doable with space and dense planting, but watch for chasing.
  • Altifrons Geophagus ⚠️ With caution
    Medium care · Semi-aggressive · 25 cm · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    Guyana Flag Cichlid and Altifrons Geophagus can both be territorial; doable with space and dense planting, but watch for chasing.
  • Amano Shrimp ⚠️ With caution
    Easy care · Peaceful · 5 cm · 18–28 °C (64–82 °F)
    Guyana Flag Cichlid may eat Amano Shrimp or pick off its shrimplets — a densely planted tank with moss gives them a fighting chance.

+ 250 more “with caution” pairings — see the interactive checker above.

Avoid

Fish to avoid keeping with a guyana flag cichlid

  • Wels Catfish ⛔ Avoid
    Hard care · Aggressive · 300 cm · 15–25 °C (59–77 °F)
    Two assertive fish, one genuinely aggressive: Guyana Flag Cichlid and Wels Catfish will hold territory and clash.
  • Alligator Gar ⛔ Avoid
    Hard care · Aggressive · 250 cm · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    Two assertive fish, one genuinely aggressive: Guyana Flag Cichlid and Alligator Gar will hold territory and clash.
  • Redtail Catfish ⛔ Avoid
    Hard care · Aggressive · 120 cm · 24–27 °C (75–81 °F)
    Two assertive fish, one genuinely aggressive: Guyana Flag Cichlid and Redtail Catfish will hold territory and clash.
  • Fire Eel ⛔ Avoid
    Medium care · Semi-aggressive · 100 cm · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    Size gap is too large (100 vs 18 cm): Fire Eel will treat Guyana Flag Cichlid as food.
  • Clown Knifefish ⛔ Avoid
    Hard care · Aggressive · 90 cm · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    Guyana Flag Cichlid and Clown Knifefish are both territorial and at least one is outright aggressive — expect serious fighting.
  • Koi ⛔ Avoid
    Medium care · Peaceful · 90 cm · 4–28 °C (39–82 °F)
    Koi (90 cm) is big enough to swallow the 18 cm Guyana Flag Cichlid whole.
  • Spotted Gar ⛔ Avoid
    Hard care · Aggressive · 90 cm · 18–26 °C (64–79 °F)
    Two assertive fish, one genuinely aggressive: Guyana Flag Cichlid and Spotted Gar will hold territory and clash.
  • Wolf Cichlid ⛔ Avoid
    Hard care · Aggressive · 72 cm · 24–30 °C (75–86 °F)
    Guyana Flag Cichlid and Wolf Cichlid are both territorial and at least one is outright aggressive — expect serious fighting.

+ 55 more to avoid — the checker above flags every one.

Interactive tool

Check any fish against a guyana flag cichlid

Dial in your exact tank size and filter by result — the checker scores every species in our database against a guyana flag cichlid, with the reasoning for each verdict.

Tank-mate checker

Will it live with a Guyana Flag Cichlid?

We compare each fish against your guyana flag cichlid on temperament, size, water parameters and swimming zone. Set your tank size and filter the results.

  • Banjo Catfish✅ Compatible
    Peaceful · 15 cm · Medium care · 20–26 °C (68–79 °F)
    • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 24–26 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Bearded Corydoras✅ Compatible
    Peaceful · 10 cm · Medium care · 18–24 °C (64–75 °F)
    • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 24–24 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
    • Keep Bearded Corydoras in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
  • Bristlenose Pleco✅ Compatible
    Peaceful · 12 cm · Easy care · 23–30 °C (73–86 °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.
  • Clown Pleco✅ Compatible
    Peaceful · 9 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.
  • Discus✅ Compatible
    Peaceful · 20 cm · Hard care · 28–31 °C (82–88 °F)
    • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 28–30 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
    • Both favour the middle of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
    • Keep Discus in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
  • Giant Kuhli Loach✅ Compatible
    Peaceful · 12 cm · Easy care · 24–30 °C (75–86 °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.
  • Leopard Frog Pleco✅ Compatible
    Peaceful · 9 cm · Medium care · 25–30 °C (77–86 °F)
    • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here, and their water overlaps around 25–30 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Marbled Hoplo✅ Compatible
    Peaceful · 14 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.
  • Medusa Pleco✅ Compatible
    Peaceful · 12 cm · Medium care · 26–30 °C (79–86 °F)
    • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 26–30 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Pantanal Corydoras✅ 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.
    • Keep Pantanal Corydoras in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
  • Porthole Catfish✅ Compatible
    Peaceful · 10 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.
  • Rubber Lip Pleco✅ Compatible
    Peaceful · 12 cm · Easy care · 20–26 °C (68–79 °F)
    • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 24–26 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Snowball Pleco✅ Compatible
    Peaceful · 16 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.
  • Spotted Rubbernose Pleco✅ Compatible
    Peaceful · 12 cm · Medium care · 20–26 °C (68–79 °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.
  • Spotted Talking Catfish✅ Compatible
    Peaceful · 15 cm · Easy 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.
  • Striped Eel Loach✅ Compatible
    Peaceful · 12 cm · Medium care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °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.
  • Upside-down Catfish✅ Compatible
    Peaceful · 10 cm · Easy 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.
  • Weather Loach✅ Compatible
    Peaceful · 25 cm · Easy care · 5–24 °C (41–75 °F)
    • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here, and their water overlaps around 24–24 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Zebra Pleco✅ Compatible
    Peaceful · 10 cm · Hard care · 26–30 °C (79–86 °F)
    • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here, and their water overlaps around 26–30 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Angelfish⚠️ With caution
    Semi-aggressive · 15 cm · Medium care · 24–30 °C (75–86 °F)
    • Both are a bit pushy (semi-aggressive + semi-aggressive) — workable only in a larger tank with cover and broken sight lines.
  • Blood Parrot Cichlid⚠️ With caution
    Semi-aggressive · 20 cm · Medium care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    • Guyana Flag Cichlid and Blood Parrot Cichlid can both be territorial; doable with space and dense planting, but watch for chasing.
  • Blue Flash Cichlid⚠️ With caution
    Semi-aggressive · 15 cm · Medium care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    • Guyana Flag Cichlid and Blue Flash Cichlid can both be territorial; doable with space and dense planting, but watch for chasing.
    • Your 200 L tank is below the ~210 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Clown Barb⚠️ With caution
    Semi-aggressive · 15 cm · Medium care · 24–30 °C (75–86 °F)
    • Both are a bit pushy (semi-aggressive + semi-aggressive) — workable only in a larger tank with cover and broken sight lines.
    • Clown Barb is a notorious fin-nipper — even though Guyana Flag Cichlid is larger, an active shoal will harass its trailing fins. Only safe in a full group of 6+ with plenty of cover.
    • Keep Clown Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
  • Denison Barb⚠️ With caution
    Peaceful · 15 cm · Medium care · 18–25 °C (64–77 °F)
    • Expect Guyana Flag Cichlid to harass Denison Barb at times; give dense cover and watch them at feeding.
    • Keep Denison Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
  • Electric Blue Acara⚠️ With caution
    Semi-aggressive · 16 cm · Medium care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
    • Both are a bit pushy (semi-aggressive + semi-aggressive) — workable only in a larger tank with cover and broken sight lines.
  • Electric Blue Hap⚠️ With caution
    Semi-aggressive · 20 cm · Medium care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    • pH preferences only just meet (Guyana Flag Cichlid 5.5–7.5 vs Electric Blue Hap 7.8–8.5) — target the overlap and acclimate slowly.
    • Guyana Flag Cichlid and Electric Blue Hap can both be territorial; doable with space and dense planting, but watch for chasing.
    • Your 200 L tank is below the ~250 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Emperor Peacock Cichlid⚠️ With caution
    Semi-aggressive · 16 cm · Medium care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    • pH preferences only just meet (Guyana Flag Cichlid 5.5–7.5 vs Emperor Peacock Cichlid 7.6–8.6) — target the overlap and acclimate slowly.
    • Guyana Flag Cichlid and Emperor Peacock Cichlid can both be territorial; doable with space and dense planting, but watch for chasing.
    • Your 200 L tank is below the ~210 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Fire Blue Empress Cichlid⚠️ With caution
    Semi-aggressive · 18 cm · Medium care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    • Guyana Flag Cichlid and Fire Blue Empress Cichlid can both be territorial; doable with space and dense planting, but watch for chasing.
    • Your 200 L tank is below the ~400 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Goldie Pleco⚠️ With caution
    Semi-aggressive · 20 cm · Medium care · 24–29 °C (75–84 °F)
    • Guyana Flag Cichlid and Goldie Pleco can both be territorial; doable with space and dense planting, but watch for chasing.
  • Green Severum⚠️ With caution
    Semi-aggressive · 20 cm · Medium care · 23–29 °C (73–84 °F)
    • Both are a bit pushy (semi-aggressive + semi-aggressive) — workable only in a larger tank with cover and broken sight lines.
    • Your 200 L tank is below the ~208 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Honeycomb Pleco⚠️ With caution
    Semi-aggressive · 21 cm · Medium care · 24–29 °C (75–84 °F)
    • Guyana Flag Cichlid and Honeycomb Pleco can both be territorial; doable with space and dense planting, but watch for chasing.
    • Your 200 L tank is below the ~280 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Platinum Acara⚠️ With caution
    Semi-aggressive · 20 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.
  • Spanner Barb⚠️ With caution
    Semi-aggressive · 18 cm · Medium care · 23–29 °C (73–84 °F)
    • Both are a bit pushy (semi-aggressive + semi-aggressive) — workable only in a larger tank with cover and broken sight lines.
    • Your 200 L tank is below the ~208 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
    • Keep Spanner Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
  • Striped Raphael Catfish⚠️ With caution
    Semi-aggressive · 20 cm · Medium care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    • Guyana Flag Cichlid and Striped Raphael Catfish can both be territorial; doable with space and dense planting, but watch for chasing.
  • Tiger Loach⚠️ With caution
    Semi-aggressive · 20 cm · Medium care · 23–27 °C (73–81 °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)
    • Two assertive fish, one genuinely aggressive: Guyana Flag Cichlid and Alligator Gar will hold territory and clash.
    • Alligator Gar (250 cm) is big enough to swallow the 18 cm Guyana Flag Cichlid whole.
    • Your 200 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)
    • Guyana Flag Cichlid and Clown Knifefish are both territorial and at least one is outright aggressive — expect serious fighting.
    • Size gap is too large (90 vs 18 cm): Clown Knifefish will treat Guyana Flag Cichlid as food.
    • Your 200 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)
    • Size gap is too large (100 vs 18 cm): Fire Eel will treat Guyana Flag Cichlid as food.
    • Both are a bit pushy (semi-aggressive + semi-aggressive) — workable only in a larger tank with cover and broken sight lines.
    • Your 200 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)
    • Koi (90 cm) is big enough to swallow the 18 cm Guyana Flag Cichlid whole.
    • Your 200 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)
    • Two assertive fish, one genuinely aggressive: Guyana Flag Cichlid and Redtail Catfish will hold territory and clash.
    • Guyana Flag Cichlid is bite-sized to a 120 cm predatory redtail catfish — it will be eaten.
    • Your 200 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)
    • Two assertive fish, one genuinely aggressive: Guyana Flag Cichlid and Spotted Gar will hold territory and clash.
    • Guyana Flag Cichlid is bite-sized to a 90 cm predatory spotted gar — it will be eaten.
    • Your 200 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)
    • Two assertive fish, one genuinely aggressive: Guyana Flag Cichlid and Wels Catfish will hold territory and clash.
    • Wels Catfish (300 cm) is big enough to swallow the 18 cm Guyana Flag Cichlid whole.
    • Your 200 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)
    • Guyana Flag Cichlid and Wolf Cichlid are both territorial and at least one is outright aggressive — expect serious fighting.
    • Wolf Cichlid (72 cm) is big enough to swallow the 18 cm Guyana Flag Cichlid whole.
    • Your 200 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.

Setting up a guyana flag cichlid community tank

Give the group a stable, planted 200 L+ tank with a gentle filter, a reliable heater and plenty of cover — broken sight lines and hiding spots let mid-water and bottom dwellers keep out of each other's way. Cycle it fully and stock gradually.

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases — buying through these links costs you nothing extra.

How to choose

How to choose the right tank mates for a guyana flag cichlid

Being semi-aggressive, guyana flag cichlid can nip or harass smaller, slower or long-finned fish — give it space, broken sight-lines and similarly robust companions. It mostly occupies the middle of the tank, so it pairs naturally with species that use the other levels.

Guyana Flag Cichlid grows to about 18 cm, so avoid tank mates small enough to be seen as food — as a rule of thumb, skip anything under roughly 9 cm. Match its water, too: aim for 24–30 °C (75–86 °F), pH 5.5–7.5 and 1–12 dGH. Fish needing very different conditions — coldwater species, or hard-water lovers against a soft-water fish — rarely thrive side by side.

Guyana Flag Cichlid doesn't need its own kind to feel secure; think twice before keeping more than one if it is territorial. Whatever you add, introduce new fish slowly, watch for bullying in the first days, and have a backup plan if temperaments clash.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Can a guyana flag cichlid live with other fish?

Yes — with the right companions. Our checker finds 19 compatible freshwater species for guyana flag cichlid. Pick calm, similarly-sized fish that share its water needs and add them to a mature, well-planted tank.

What is the best tank mate for a guyana flag cichlid?

Easy, peaceful, similarly-sized species top the list — for example Porthole Catfish, Upside-down Catfish, Bristlenose Pleco. Use the checker above to match against your own tank size.

What fish should you avoid keeping with a guyana flag cichlid?

Avoid Wels Catfish, Alligator Gar, Redtail Catfish and similar — usually a temperature, size or temperament clash. The full "avoid" list below gives the reason for each.

How big a tank do guyana flag cichlid tank mates need?

Start from Guyana Flag Cichlid's own minimum and scale up with every addition. The checker above defaults to a 200 L community tank and flags pairings that need more room — drag the slider to match your setup.

← Back to the full Guyana Flag Cichlid care guide