75g stocking suggestions

[alabaster]

What are some combinations of New World cichlids I could house in a 75g (4' long). I'd prefer fish that stay fairly small (5"-9"). I also prefer colorful fish. I can afford to overstock a bit as my tank will be well-filtered and will have plenty of large rocks and caves for hiding places. I will have either 3 eheim Pro II filters or 2 Eheims and an Emperor HOB. I plan on using sand or fine gravel substrate. Any ideas?

 

[modernhamlet]

http/www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/cookie_cutter_75g.php

5 really good 75g South American cichlid setups.

And a great West African Biotope as well, if I may say so...

Edit: Oops... missed the 3 Central American communities as well.

 

[alabaster]

Anyone else had any success mixing cichlids in a 75-90 gallon tank? I may be able to go slightly bigger than 75 with my next tank, although nothing's for sure yet...

 

[freddyk]

This type of reply always gets ignored, but I'm not one to give up easily.

When it comes to a tank of mixed up cichlids we can manage to get New World fish to come to some sort of truce in an overstocked tank. They'll survive, though most of their natural behavior (territories, nesting, relationships of pairs/harems, spawning and breeding) are stripped away.

My opinion in these cases is to consider a tank of cichlids from lake Malawi. Not only are the fish so incredibly bold in color, but where new worlds will survive in a tank like this, these Malawi's thrive!

I guess I'm always more concerned about what's best for the fish, but afaic anyone who has only kept new worlds as single specimens in a mixed up tank has never really kept new worlds.

Please don't retaliate to this post guys, I know this is hardly the common opinion, but I thought I'd throw my honest opinion out there for good ol' Alabaster here.

 

[alabaster]

Thanks Freddyk! I won't ignore you. What sp. would you recommend as a single specimen or pair for a 75g? Is that size tank (about 48"x18"x21") big enough for a single Oscar? What about a Severum?

 

[freddyk]

Single Oscar is no problem, and even a pair will work (but you really need to be on top of maintenance once they get some size to them). A pair of Severums would be great because they've got pretty small mouths, aren't too aggressive, and can be kept with many non-cichlids (bottom dwellers or top dwellers like Raphaels and Rainbows) to give the tank that extra dimension - something worth considering since you have the filtration.

To tell you the truth there's a ton of New Worlds that can make a great aquarium, it depends what you can get in your area and what you prefer. A pair of Blue Acara would also be neat. If you go with something smaller, like Firemouths, you can do two pairs, and if you prefer the big ol' meanies like Texas or Jack Dempsey I'd recommend doing the solo wet pet. Maybe you'd take an interest in the unique Geophagus - depending on species you can do a pair or harem of these guys. And so on.

One thing that I like to do is give the cichlids as much space as I can - I'd rather provide a bigger home for my smaller fish. This tank from one of those links:
• Hypsophrys nicaraguensis - 1 pair
• Amphilophus margaritifer - 1 pair
is the type of thing I had had in mind setting it up my 75 gallon when I started out with my pair of Nicaraguensis. Then I noticed my pair took advantage of the entire tank. Both of them loved exploring and I couldn't bring myself to cut their space in half, so I filled the rest of the tank with peaceful fish that they'd ignore instead (see below). I suppose the moral of this rambling is these fish will end up taking advantage of as much space as you are willing to provide, no matter how much or how little.

 

[alabaster]

Thanks again freddyk. I changed my filtration plans to this:

1x Eheim Pro II w/ Thermofilter 2128
1x Eheim Pro II 2028
1x Rena FilStar xP3

I think I am going to plan on purchasing a pair of small Oscars once I purchase my filters. I have one quastion though: does the pair of Oscars have to be opposite sexes? If so, how do I pick them out at the store, since they are extraordinarily difficult to sex externally? Any ideas as to substrate and decorations? So far I'm planning on fine gravel and rocks that I collect myself (I will boil the small ones and pressure wash the large ones). This is okay, right? What about my filtration? Is it good enough for a pair of full-grown Oscars? Also, anyone know of a fine gravel that is white? I really like the look of white sand, so if I can't find white gravel, is white sand okay as a substrate?

Any input appreciated!

 

[freddyk]

Ideally you'd pick up a few juvi's and let a pair form as they grow (doesn't take very long with these guys) because, as you say, you'll never be able to sex them. At my local LFS I see the odd mid-sized pair of Oscars come in, so buying what's already a pair is always an option. People have had some success just buying 2 juveniles but I wouldn't recommend it.

For decoration you just want something for them to hide in while young - they'll stop hiding after a while altogether. Otherwise the choice is all yours - it's only aesthetic.

That sounds like more then enough filtration.

 

[playfulalliecat]

I just wanted to make a recommendation on another fish you don't see very often. Geophagus Bahia Reds are awesome fish in a 55 gallon tank. They are South American, from the Bahia River in Brazil. Bahias are eartheaters which means they pick up the sand or small gravel and sift it through their gills. I had 5 of these and they were just beautiful!

I kept mine in a 55 gallon tank which was the size recommended by two cichlid breeders. You can see a pic and order them from Jeff Rapps website

He is a very reputable importer and breeder of cichlids. Believe me, he comes highly recommended. Like most cichlids it is recommended that when buying juveniles of this species, you get at least a group of 5. This enables you to get males and females and allow them to pair bond. Pair bonding of cichlids is important! They raise their fry better when they pick their partners. There isn't a lot of information available on them. I have read some places that they get up to 10 inches but I was told the males get up to about 8 and the females to about 6.

I just thought I would mention these as they are a little different from the norm.

 

[Adistar]

MY stocking suggestions are discus and some L number plecos
heavily planted