75 Gallon Jds? Pictus? Plants?

[jaimemuffin]

Hello all,
after some heartbreaking unexpected fatalities due to an overheating heater- i have an empty 75 gallon tank. It has one lowly lily plant in it at the moment. 
 
Im at a loss as to what to put in there... I really like pictus cats, and i like Jack dempseys. When i looked up dempseys, i saw firemouths and green terrors, and i liked those as well. Could all of these co-habitate? im fine with 1 of each of the cichlids, and 1 or 3 pictus? I also like black ghost knives, but i think they might be a bit too expensive for me. What elso could i add? or would you do something else entirely? i might throw in some of the multitude of guppies i have too, but thats whatever. 
 
Secondly- Im thinking it would be a good idea to get a whole bunch of fast growing hardy plants and letting them take over for a bit before i add anything. so far i was thinking java fern, wisteria, Alternanthera reineckii 'rosaefolia', hornwart, ambulia, creeping jenny, P. Gayi, Rotala Nanjenshan, Rotala wallichii, Hygrophila corymbosa, maybe cabomba? Would these all work out? I know cichlids will do what they want to the plants, and the catfish will move them, but im hoping if they can grow fast enough theyll be all right. I was also thinking about having them grow in my other 2 tanks so i can replace if i need to. 
 
Suggestions?

 

[sawickib]

First off sorry for your losses
 
Im not sure on dempseys or firemouths, but pictures doesnt mean its ok i can tell you that. Pictus catfish prefer a school of 6 or more. BGK need a 129+ gallon tank to house them for life im afraid. I would add bichirs most of the upper jaw work in a 75 gallon, and can work with pictus cats, and you could maybe do a pair of angels or pearl gouramis on the top

 

[jaimemuffin]

Thanks
 
I just meant that i like them from pictures ive seen, not that they get along. Google told me that part haha. I also read pictus either like to be alone or 3+? And yeah, i dont think a BGK is plausible   You would add bichirs to the JD?

 

[Ninjouzata]

So sorry for your loss  

 
I havn't kept any of those cichlids, so until someone with more experience comes along take this with a grain of salt.
 
I think the green terror would be a no go as I believe I usually read of them as a single wet pet in a 75g.
I don't think they're called terrors for nothing

And just looked them up, seems a bigger tank would be needed for it anyways. HERE is what I'm referring to. That's a good place to look up fish you're interested in btw.
 
Jack Dempsey's are on my must have (someday) list, just beautiful! It seems their personalities can range a lot. It might be okay with the firemouth or it might kill everything in the tank.
 
HERE is more info on the pictus cats, which you'll notice about the groups of 6+ Saw recommended. It also mentions they may bother slower moving fish (such as most cichlids) so not sure on the compatibility there.
 
Bichirs mainly stay on the bottom so I would think they'd be fine with the other fish.
As Saw said you want to stick to upperjaws (except for ornate, weeksi & teugelsi) so: Senegal, delhezi, palmas palmas, palmas buettikoferi, palmas polli, retropinnis, mokelembembe are your choices.
 
Some knives that might work would be african brown (xenomystus nigri) or brown ghost (apteronotus leptorhynchus), though I'm unsure of how well they'd do with the cichlids, especially the brown ghost as they can be quite shy.

 

[Stu4648]

I like Synodontis cats, although I still have not gotten around to getting any yet myself so cannot say too much on how hard they are to keep. They seem to be pretty active though anytime I have seen them in the LFS, so they may add some activity to the bottom of your tank. I like S. granulosus as they are black with white markings on their fins and barbels and look pretty cool although they like water of a relatively high pH so may or may not fit in with your current water parameters.
 
Regarding plants and cichlids, floating plants can work pretty well if you are after a handy nitrate sponge although they may have a pop at them from time to time but generally not to the same extent as ones planted in the substrate or attached to driftwood etc...

 

[jaimemuffin]

According to AqAdvisor my tank would be good to go with 1 JD, 1 Firemouth, 1 green terror, 3 Pictus, 1 red tailed shark, and 6 penguin tetras. Again, im not wanting to do any fish for a while, but want to get the plants going. Im willing to drop the terror, it was more as a 3rd wheel so no one gets picked on all the time? Should i replace it with something else or would the JD and the Firemouth be fine one on one?
 
Plants im thinking ill be planting them in pots and having floating ones, as well as java ferns tied throughout...

 

[Stu4648]

I have never kept any Green Terrors, the only one of those fish you have listed that I have kept would be the Red Tailed Black Shark. I have done a bit of research into the terrors though as it is a fish I would like to keep at some stage. From what information I have gathered much of the reputation of the fish is based on a different species that was also called a Green Terror but different from the one currently recognised as the Green Terror; Aequidens rivulatus. That is not to say that A. rivulatus is not aggressive also but maybe not to the extent that the predecessor had built up. As with all big cichlids there will always be that risk but most sources I have read suggest a Jack Dempsey and / or Firemouth should be ok with a Green Terror.
 
As I said though, that is just my interpretation of what I have read and I am guessing there are many out there who would probably disagree. Someone with first hand experience of the combination as always will be your best bet for a more definitive answer.

 

[jaimemuffin]

I think out of the three id rather the JD and Firemouth...

 

[sawickib]

"1 JD, 1 Firemouth, 1 green terror, 3 Pictus, 1 red tailed shark, and 6 penguin tetras" Again pictus cats need a school of 6 or more, a red tailed shark would try to attack the fire mouth or JD when its older and most likely be killed or the other way around. Penguin tetras are just food unfortunately.

 

[Wills]

Green Terrors... gorgeous fish but I've never seen a tank on this forum work long term with a Green Terror and other cichlids in the tank, and it has been tried many times... Honestly I would pass on the Terror if its not what you have your heart set on.
 
I agree with Sawick about the RBTS and penguin tetras I would skip them... You want disk shaped tetras or chunky ones at least rather than the "torpedo" type tetras, though Penguins are larger torpedos than some others.
 
With the cichlids - just throwing it out there but have you considered one of the firemouth relatives like the Ellioti or the Aureus? And have you decided between the JD and the EBJD?
 
If you wanted a third what about something like a female Nicaraguan Cichlid, a Cutteri would be nice or a Rainbow Cichlid? Those are the Central Americans but there are some South Americans that could work as well. A Rotkiel Severum would fit in nicely, though I wouldnt go for the Green or Gold as they get much bigger, Blue Acaras or most of the Aequidens would work, Yellow Acaras, Saddle Acaras etc.
 
Wills

 

[jaimemuffin]

Green Terrors... gorgeous fish but I've never seen a tank on this forum work long term with a Green Terror and other cichlids in the tank, and it has been tried many times... Honestly I would pass on the Terror if its not what you have your heart set on.
 
I agree with Sawick about the RBTS and penguin tetras I would skip them... You want disk shaped tetras or chunky ones at least rather than the "torpedo" type tetras, though Penguins are larger torpedos than some others.
 
With the cichlids - just throwing it out there but have you considered one of the firemouth relatives like the Ellioti or the Aureus? And have you decided between the JD and the EBJD?
 
If you wanted a third what about something like a female Nicaraguan Cichlid, a Cutteri would be nice or a Rainbow Cichlid? Those are the Central Americans but there are some South Americans that could work as well. A Rotkiel Severum would fit in nicely, though I wouldnt go for the Green or Gold as they get much bigger, Blue Acaras or most of the Aequidens would work, Yellow Acaras, Saddle Acaras etc.
 
Wills

Thanks for the input. I was thinking of a rainbow cichlid instead of the GT, but AqAdvisor said you needed to keep 8?! I figured the torpedo shaped tetras would be faster than the disc ones, was hoping theyd be fast enough to stay out of harms way... I think i like the reg. JD better, looks wise. I also read the the EBJDs can be more sickly? And i know each fish is an individual with a personality, but do you think i would have better luck with one over the other? Or would you suggest something completely different? The only ones that i have my heart set on really are the pictus...

 

[Wills]

Personally I do prefer South American cichlids with Acaras, Geophagus and Severums. But its each to their own really, one of the ways I often pic cichlids is research a bunch of them and go to the shop and see which wags at you. I know it sounds silly but often one will catch your eye and you just wont be able to leave them in the shop. It can often take something like that to know how to take the tank in a direction.
 
What about a group of Geophagus Tapajo Redheads or Geophagus Pindare?
 
Wills

 

[jaimemuffin]

Personally I do prefer South American cichlids with Acaras, Geophagus and Severums. But its each to their own really, one of the ways I often pic cichlids is research a bunch of them and go to the shop and see which wags at you. I know it sounds silly but often one will catch your eye and you just wont be able to leave them in the shop. It can often take something like that to know how to take the tank in a direction.
 
What about a group of Geophagus Tapajo Redheads or Geophagus Pindare?
 
Wills

 
I Thats why i want pictus! I saw them at a local store (petco, sadly) and fell inlove, but, thankfully, i didnt have any space for them. I really need to find better fish place around here. We had one, but it closed. now we have petco and petsmart. Ill have to open up my radius and find a better selection. At the moment im just waiting on my plants (java fern, anubias nana, tricho, and wendtii 'green') to come in and grow out a bit.