Out of the loop for so long

[Sean70]

I originally had a 29 gal which housed kissing gouramis. Loved 'em. Dabbled in saltwater until a sea apple killed $300 worth of fish by dying and poisoning the tank due to my ignorance.

20 years later, I'm older(like to think a little smarter) and although I've been researching aquariums, filters and fish...i wanna do this the right way this time and ask ppl in the know.

So here goes...

I have a 75 ga. aquarium which is cycled and use a wet/dry(crappy lighting I intend to replace)

I wish to go tropical but larger than last time.

I would like to keep (all male btw) a Jack Dempsey, Convict, Red Tail Shark and a Gold Nugget Pleco. Looked into a 5th but I want them to all b distinctly different.

First, I'd like to know if the 4 I mentioned r compatible if all introduced at the same time and as juveniles.

Second, is there a 5th I could add that would b distinctly different in appearance.

Third, your opinions on lighting.

Thx for your input. This old-timer appreciates it.

For what it's worth, the JD and the Gold Nugget r the 2 I truly have my heart set on...judt beautiful. The others r open to change. Sure hope those 2 can cohabitate.

 

[Colin_T]

Hi and welcome to the forum

A Wet n Dry trickle filter is a nice way to go with cichlids because it lets them dig up the substrate and not stuff up the filter. I assume the filter is from your old marine tank?

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If you don't want live plants in the tank then low level lighting is fine. It will probably even be suitable for floating plants like Water Sprite (Ceratopteric thalictroides). If you want other plants that grow in the substrate they might not do well due to the cichlids digging up the gravel. However, you could try.

These days there are LED spotlights available from lighting or hardware stores. They are cheap to run and can provide lots of light. With LEDs you generally need double the wattage of fluorescent lighting. eg: 50watts of fluoro means you want about 100 watts of LED.

If you buy something from a hardware you can take it home and hang it above the tank and turn it on and see how much light there is. If there's not enough take it back and get something brighter or get a couple of them.

If you buy from a petshop they should let you try the light in the shop. Just find a tank that is the same height as yours and put the light 12 inches above it. If you place your hand on the water surface under the light, and it casts a shadow on the bottom of the tank, then it is bright enough

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Jack Dempsey cichlids get big and might cause problems to the other fishes in the tank. A mature convict would be no match for a Jack Dempsey (JD) if they fight. If they are small and grow up together there should be less issues with fighting, but there is no guarantee. Same with the other fishes, if the JD gets angry he could kick hell out of the shark and pleco. You would have to get them and grow them up and monitor them for aggression, and hope you get a peaceful JD

Geophagus brasiliensis are a nice peaceful fish that can reach 6 inches long and are completely different coloured to the others. It should be big enough to cope with the JD.

Jewel cichlid (Hemichromis-bimaculatus) grows to about 5 inches and are agro buggers and can hold their own with most cichlids.

Parrot cichlid (Hypsophrys nicaraguensis) formerly Cichlasoma nicaraguensis are reasonably pleasant growing to about 6 inches.

Blue acara (Aequidens pulcher) is sort of similar in colour to the JD but only grows to half the size.

If you drop the JD you could probably have the Geophagus, parrot, blue acara and maybe even the jewel, in addition to the pleco and shark

 

[seangee]

I really wanted to keep a JD for similar reasons to you. Ended up taking him back because vicious is about the only word I could use to describe him. Not saying they are all like that but there has to be a reason for the name

 

[Sean70]

The wet/dry is from my old marine aquarium. Blue Scars has similar colors and as much as I'd love the JD. ..i came here 4 a reason and I intend to listen. Thx so much.

Isn't a jewel an African cichlid ? Hard water, high ph ? Opposite of what the others need or am I mistaken ?

 

[Sean70]

Whoops...Blue Acara*. Autocorrect ftl.

 

[Colin_T]

Jewel cichlids are African but not African Rift Lake cichlids. They are pretty tough and live in most conditions. We use to keep them with medium sized South American cichlids and they didn't really care about water chemistry. And most central American cichlids have been captive bred for years and will live in just about anything. I had Geophagus brasiliensis breeding in hard alkaline water (pH 8.6, GH about 350ppm), and they did really well in the Swan River and its tributaries. The river was brackish in summer and soft neutral in winter.

Convicts are the same and live in anything and so will blue acaras and the parrot.