Rusty Cichlid Tank Mates

• Blue Turbo Snail✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 5 cm · Medium care · 25–30 °C (77–86 °F)
  • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 25–28 °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.
• Boesemani Rainbowfish✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 11 cm · Medium care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °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 Boesemani Rainbowfish in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Corydoras Catfish✅ 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 Corydoras Catfish in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Japanese Trapdoor Snail✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 5 cm · Easy care · 10–28 °C (50–82 °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.
• 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.
  • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
• Murray River Rainbowfish✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 11 cm · Easy care · 15–26 °C (59–79 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here, and their water overlaps around 24–26 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Keep Murray River Rainbowfish 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, 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 Spotfin Corydoras in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• 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.
  • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
• 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.
  • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
• Afra Cichlid⚠️ With caution
  Semi-aggressive · 10 cm · Medium care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
  • Rusty Cichlid and Afra Cichlid can both be territorial; doable with space and dense planting, but watch for chasing.
  • Keep Afra Cichlid in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Bearded Corydoras⚠️ With caution
  Peaceful · 10 cm · Medium care · 18–24 °C (64–75 °F)
  • Different pH ranges (7.8–8.5 vs 6–7.6); doable if you sit in the shared band, but not ideal long-term.
  • Keep Bearded Corydoras in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Clown Rasbora⚠️ With caution
  Peaceful · 10 cm · Medium care · 23–28 °C (73–82 °F)
  • Different pH ranges (7.8–8.5 vs 5.5–7); doable if you sit in the shared band, but not ideal long-term.
  • Rusty Cichlid is semi-aggressive and may chase or nip the smaller Clown Rasbora — plant heavily and break up sight lines.
  • Keep Clown Rasbora in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Daffodil Cichlid⚠️ With caution
  Semi-aggressive · 10 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.
• Electric Yellow Cichlid⚠️ With caution
  Semi-aggressive · 10 cm · Medium care · 23–26 °C (73–79 °F)
  • Rusty Cichlid and Electric Yellow Cichlid can both be territorial; doable with space and dense planting, but watch for chasing.
  • Your 150 L tank is below the ~200 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
• Giant Danio⚠️ With caution
  Peaceful · 10 cm · Easy care · 20–27 °C (68–81 °F)
  • pH preferences only just meet (Rusty Cichlid 7.8–8.5 vs Giant Danio 6.5–7.5) — target the overlap and acclimate slowly.
  • Rusty Cichlid and Giant Danio are close in size, but the semi-aggressive one tends to dominate — add giant danio in a group to spread the pressure.
  • Keep Giant Danio in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Golden Wonder Killifish⚠️ With caution
  Semi-aggressive · 10 cm · Easy care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
  • pH preferences only just meet (Rusty Cichlid 7.8–8.5 vs Golden Wonder Killifish 6–7.5) — target the overlap and acclimate slowly.
  • Rusty Cichlid and Golden Wonder Killifish can both be territorial; doable with space and dense planting, but watch for chasing.
• Keyhole Cichlid⚠️ With caution
  Peaceful · 10 cm · Easy care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
  • Different pH ranges (7.8–8.5 vs 6–7.5); doable if you sit in the shared band, but not ideal long-term.
  • Rusty Cichlid is semi-aggressive and may chase or nip the smaller Keyhole Cichlid — plant heavily and break up sight lines.
• Kribensis⚠️ With caution
  Semi-aggressive · 10 cm · Easy care · 24–27 °C (75–81 °F)
  • Different pH ranges (7.8–8.5 vs 6–7.5); doable if you sit in the shared band, but not ideal long-term.
  • Both are a bit pushy (semi-aggressive + semi-aggressive) — workable only in a larger tank with cover and broken sight lines.
• Kuhli Loach⚠️ With caution
  Peaceful · 10 cm · Easy care · 24–30 °C (75–86 °F)
  • pH preferences only just meet (Rusty Cichlid 7.8–8.5 vs Kuhli Loach 5.5–7) — target the overlap and acclimate slowly.
  • One likes softer water and the other harder (10–20 vs 1–8 dGH) — a compromise, not a perfect match.
• Molly⚠️ With caution
  Peaceful · 10 cm · Easy care · 23–28 °C (73–82 °F)
  • Rusty Cichlid is semi-aggressive and may chase or nip the smaller Molly — plant heavily and break up sight lines.
• Porthole Catfish⚠️ With caution
  Peaceful · 10 cm · Easy care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
  • Different pH ranges (7.8–8.5 vs 6–7.5); doable if you sit in the shared band, but not ideal long-term.
• Rosy Barb⚠️ With caution
  Semi-aggressive · 10 cm · Easy care · 18–26 °C (64–79 °F)
  • Rusty Cichlid and Rosy Barb can both be territorial; doable with space and dense planting, but watch for chasing.
  • Keep Rosy Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Tanganyikan Butterfly Cichlid⚠️ With caution
  Semi-aggressive · 10 cm · Hard 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.
• Topaz Cichlid⚠️ With caution
  Semi-aggressive · 10 cm · Medium care · 23–28 °C (73–82 °F)
  • pH preferences only just meet (Rusty Cichlid 7.8–8.5 vs Topaz Cichlid 6.5–7.5) — target the overlap and acclimate slowly.
  • Rusty Cichlid and Topaz Cichlid can both be territorial; doable with space and dense planting, but watch for chasing.
• Zebra Pleco⚠️ With caution
  Peaceful · 10 cm · Hard care · 26–30 °C (79–86 °F)
  • Different pH ranges (7.8–8.5 vs 6.5–7.5); doable if you sit in the shared band, but not ideal long-term.
• Alligator Gar⛔ Not recommended
  Aggressive · 250 cm · Hard care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
  • Rusty 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 10 cm Rusty Cichlid whole.
  • Your 150 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: Rusty Cichlid and Clown Knifefish will hold territory and clash.
  • Size gap is too large (90 vs 10 cm): Clown Knifefish will treat Rusty Cichlid as food.
  • pH preferences only just meet (Rusty Cichlid 7.8–8.5 vs Clown Knifefish 6–7.5) — target the overlap and acclimate slowly.
  • Your 150 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 10 cm Rusty Cichlid whole.
  • pH preferences only just meet (Rusty Cichlid 7.8–8.5 vs Fire Eel 6.5–7.5) — target the overlap and acclimate slowly.
  • Rusty Cichlid and Fire Eel can both be territorial; doable with space and dense planting, but watch for chasing.
  • Your 150 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 10 cm Rusty Cichlid whole.
  • Your 150 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)
  • Rusty Cichlid and Redtail Catfish are both territorial and at least one is outright aggressive — expect serious fighting.
  • Redtail Catfish (120 cm) is big enough to swallow the 10 cm Rusty Cichlid whole.
  • Different pH ranges (7.8–8.5 vs 6–7.5); doable if you sit in the shared band, but not ideal long-term.
  • Your 150 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)
  • Rusty Cichlid and Spotted Gar are both territorial and at least one is outright aggressive — expect serious fighting.
  • Rusty Cichlid is bite-sized to a 90 cm predatory spotted gar — it will be eaten.
  • Different pH ranges (7.8–8.5 vs 6.5–7.5); doable if you sit in the shared band, but not ideal long-term.
  • Your 150 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)
  • Rusty Cichlid and Wels Catfish are both territorial and at least one is outright aggressive — expect serious fighting.
  • Size gap is too large (300 vs 10 cm): Wels Catfish will treat Rusty Cichlid as food.
  • Different pH ranges (7.8–8.5 vs 6.5–7.5); doable if you sit in the shared band, but not ideal long-term.
  • Your 150 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: Rusty Cichlid and Wolf Cichlid will hold territory and clash.
  • Rusty Cichlid is bite-sized to a 72 cm predatory wolf cichlid — it will be eaten.
  • Your 150 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.