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Since I'm getting a new tank soon and going to separate my cichlids, I'll probably end up with a single Green Terror in one tank. He isn't mean but getting more and more territorial, and I just doubt any of the other 3 (Oscar, Nic, Firemouth) could hold their own against him once it got serious (well, the firemouth found out already).

So I was thinking about a smaller but tough fish I could put in with the green terror. Maybe a convict would work, but I've always loved the looks of Salvini, so was wondering if there's a chance that could work? I read they can be very aggressive when breeding but would they be the same if kept as single fish? I know there are differences in personality anyway for individual cichlids of one species but a very rough guess would be welcome, just like whatever experiences people might have with salvini.

Never kept these two fish myself, but do tell us how you get on if you do attempt it.

I think it is really trial and error. They might live in harmony, on the other hand, the maybe carnage in the tank

So seems no one's keeping these.

Thank you Penn, I'll probably try to get one once the new tank is set up and will tell how it goes then. Just hope they have any at the LFS so it won't be again like I go to get a certain fish and come back with something completely different, lol. I gave my firemouth to a friend the other day to live with its former tankmate (other firemouth, probably sibling) in a tank of the size my current one is, hoping it has a higher chance there not to be picked on that much resp. being able to hold its own. It had healed quite well already. I gotta call later and ask how it goes. If it works, there is one less worry in case I add a salvini, and more possibilites to swap fish between tanks later in case of trouble.

I have 2 small salvini about 2 inches but they are not aggressive, I also used to have one that got to about 5 inches and it lived with an oscar fine- no bother. Green terrors can be really aggressive. Some are worse than others. If you have a bad one then he will batter most fish except the ones that will batter it

I would suggest leaving the terror in with your fish as see what happens. If he starts nipping the others or making their lives a misery (chasing all the time, or the other fish hiding all the time) then either get rid of him or house it on its own

Oh thank you Delboy, that helped!

Thinking I could try a salvini then even. Meant it to go in with the green terror though because I definitely have to separate that one from the firemouth soon ... well did already but got a different firemouth in the tank now. I wouldn't call him mean at all (yet) but he's neither the kind that would back off ever when being challenged. Also there is trouble ahead soon with the terror and the Nic - with the Nic being way bigger still, they're even now but both keep trying to impress each other. (I keep reading how Nic's are hardly aggressive, that isn't true for mine really.) And can't know how things will be about the Oscar and terror in a year or two, so I better be safe.

Well if I manage to find a salvini and it can't cope with the terror, I can still try to arrange the fish in the two tanks in a way that hopefully would work.

The reason i had no bother with the salvini that was with my oscar was because they were both non aggressive to each other. If your terror gives your oscar grief then he will certainly give your salvini grief too. Only buy the salvini if you can house all your fish with your terror on its own