Adding new fish , maybe ?

[Guyb93]

Hi all I currently stock 4 electric blue acara 2 convicts and a leopard Sailfin pleco in a 70g 4ft tank all juveniles baring the pleco which I adopted which is 10-12 inch long as I think maybe have been slightly stunted by the previous owner , anyway I have a 120g 5ft tank coming next week and recently bought a fx6 to go with this tank , as we are moving house this year or start of next year I’m reluctant to set and cycle the new tank just yet and would rather keep empty until I have moved house , but could I add a few more fish to my current tank in anticipation of being moved into a bigger home in the near future I would like to add 2-3 rams and 2-3 cockatoo dwarfs , I appreciate I would be at max capacity but I have a over sized filter and everything is still juvenile first question is are rams and cockatoos compatible with my current stock and second question is would my bio load just increase too much

 

[utahfish]

Are you asking if you should put RAMs and cockatoos with Acara and Convicts?
If so couple things. If German Rams they require water far too warm for most other cichlids.
Secondly Rams and cockatoos are smaller peacful cicclids, Acara are semi aggressive and convicts are aggressive.
So if you want stressed out shredded dead cockatoos and Rams then yeah go ahead.
Rams and cockatoos belong in tanks with peaceful community fish.
If you want to add more cichlids look at other similarly sized cichlids with semi aggressive/ aggressive temperment, putting peaceful rams and cockatoos with them is asking for trouble

 

[Guyb93]

Are you asking if you should put RAMs and cockatoos with Acara and Convicts?
If so couple things. If German Rams they require water far too warm for most other cichlids.
Secondly Rams and cockatoos are smaller peacful cicclids, Acara are semi aggressive and convicts are aggressive.
So if you want stressed out shredded dead cockatoos and Rams then yeah go ahead.
Rams and cockatoos belong in tanks with peaceful community fish.
If you want to add more cichlids look at other similarly sized cichlids with semi aggressive/ aggressive temperment, putting peaceful rams and cockatoos with them is asking for trouble

This is why iv asked the question my electric blue acara are dopey and unless they are breeding I understand they stay this way my concern was with the convicts as currently everything in my tank has grown and developed with each other for a fair while and there is an established hierarchy with surprisingly a eba being tank boss I have no fin nipping issues just wondering if anyone has had success with eba and rams I know water temp vary a little but my tank is set at a firm 80f some may say that is too high for acara but mine have thrived at tht temperature for a while

 

[utahfish]

This is why iv asked the question my electric blue acara are dopey and unless they are breeding I understand they stay this way my concern was with the convicts as currently everything in my tank has grown and developed with each other for a fair while and there is an established hierarchy with surprisingly a eba being tank boss I have no fin nipping issues just wondering if anyone has had success with eba and rams I know water temp vary a little but my tank is set at a firm 80f some may say that is too high for acara but mine have thrived at tht temperature for a while

German rams need temp closer to 82.
Bolivian ram like temps below 80 but acara and convicts are way too aggressive for the shy peaceful bolivian RAM.
Keyhole cichlids, rainbows, severum, all cichlids that would be better fits than Rams and cockatoos which are again peaceful cichlids that will get bullied by convicts and Acara.

 

[Wills]

Really great news on the 120g! Is the plan to run that as well as the current tank or as well as? If its a replacement I would set it up now as it wont be any easier or harder to move one or the other.

I dont think the dwarfs you have mentioned are good candidates to go with your Acaras or Convicts long or short term. Even in the short term the tank would be very full of fish that need territory and its adding new cichlids to an established tank, as dwarfs as well the odds would be stacked against them.

If you need to wait until you are moved to get the 120g set up I wouldnt see it as a grow out tank as you are pushing the limits already. Plus it spoils the excitement of getting the bigger tank set up and planning it all.

Your current tank would make a good Apistogramma tank though if you wanted to go down that route as a second tank?

Wills

 

[Guyb93]

Really great news on the 120g! Is the plan to run that as well as the current tank or as well as? If its a replacement I would set it up now as it wont be any easier or harder to move one or the other.

I dont think the dwarfs you have mentioned are good candidates to go with your Acaras or Convicts long or short term. Even in the short term the tank would be very full of fish that need territory and its adding new cichlids to an established tank, as dwarfs as well the odds would be stacked against them.

If you need to wait until you are moved to get the 120g set up I wouldnt see it as a grow out tank as you are pushing the limits already. Plus it spoils the excitement of getting the bigger tank set up and planning it all.

Your current tank would make a good Apistogramma tank though if you wanted to go down that route as a second tank?

Wills

Yeah I plan on keeping both tanks running that’s why I’m not so what to get the new one up and running just yet the new one is just a final home for my acara and convicts not sure what to do with my old tabk once all moved I was going to do a Malawi set up but not sure about keeping water hard and such other extras maybe a species only tank maybe a Flowerhorn or a few pea puffers

 

[Wills]

How about setting up the 120g now and storing the 70g?

 

[Guyb93]

That is an option I do like the tank tho it’s a nice tank for a front room living space kinda thing it will stay in storage for a while as I won’t know what to do with it , and the new tank iv bought has a 120l sump underneath I have no experience with a sump is it worth keeping ? Would you say

 

[Wills]

Sumps can be great, thought I have no experience with them. If the tank is plumbed for a sump probably best to keep it but you can swap to external filters if you wanted to?

Just trying to weigh up what to suggest for the 120g. I'm thinking of my old 135g which was 6 foot long x 18 inches deep x 24 inches tall and at its most successful I had 1 Mouth Brooding Severum, 1 Thread Fin Acara and 4 Geophagus Winemilleri with a community built around them. I did have (at different times) a Chocolate Cichlid and a female Nicaraguan but neither worked out and I lost them both. I think its fair to compare these tanks as the Geos are similar to your Acaras - though Geos do better in a group naturally than Acaras. The problem will be your Convicts, they are smaller than the Severum and Acara but are also typically more aggressive so take up the same role in the tank.

I've mentioned before that I would be comfortable in your current tank with just your Acaras so the reality might be that in the bigger 120 you are not in a position to add much else cichlid wise. I would be tempted to look at 1 larger South American like a Rotkiel Severum rather than lots of dwarfs. Then start to look at fleshing out your community with some dither fish, catfish etc.

Wills

 

[Guyb93]

Sumps can be great, thought I have no experience with them. If the tank is plumbed for a sump probably best to keep it but you can swap to external filters if you wanted to?

Just trying to weigh up what to suggest for the 120g. I'm thinking of my old 135g which was 6 foot long x 18 inches deep x 24 inches tall and at its most successful I had 1 Mouth Brooding Severum, 1 Thread Fin Acara and 4 Geophagus Winemilleri with a community built around them. I did have (at different times) a Chocolate Cichlid and a female Nicaraguan but neither worked out and I lost them both. I think its fair to compare these tanks as the Geos are similar to your Acaras - though Geos do better in a group naturally than Acaras. The problem will be your Convicts, they are smaller than the Severum and Acara but are also typically more aggressive so take up the same role in the tank.

I've mentioned before that I would be comfortable in your current tank with just your Acaras so the reality might be that in the bigger 120 you are not in a position to add much else cichlid wise. I would be tempted to look at 1 larger South American like a Rotkiel Severum rather than lots of dwarfs. Then start to look at fleshing out your community with some dither fish, catfish etc.

Wills

I would be tempted to get a large cichlid but I plan on keep the established hierarchy for a while a let them reach full size one of my convicts seems to be on roids and growing very fast yet my largest Male eba claims tank boss surprisingly to me they never fight they just bob back and forth at each other like barking dogs and thts it but these fish have all been in the same tabk since under 1 inch , that’s why I was thinking more towards the draft cichlids so not to upset the hierarchy IL probably end up adding another eba knowing me don’t want to add another convict as much as I love the fish I don’t fancy accidentally adding a female

 

[Wills]

The problem with dwarf cichlids is they dont know they are dwarfs most of the times... I think you will more likely upset the hierachy by adding smaller ones than a large one. If you time it right the new tank would be disorienting enough for the Acaras and Convicts they might accept a new larger tank mate without much issue. Where as introducing them to 4-5 new cichlids that will push back is more likely to go wrong.

 

[Guyb93]

The problem with dwarf cichlids is they dont know they are dwarfs most of the times... I think you will more likely upset the hierachy by adding smaller ones than a large one. If you time it right the new tank would be disorienting enough for the Acaras and Convicts they might accept a new larger tank mate without much issue. Where as introducing them to 4-5 new cichlids that will push back is more likely to go wrong.

Always good advice , I honestly thought being dwarf they would just lay low hide a little bit lol I won’t be adding anything just yet then just got a bit excited about the future extra space and thought I could sneak a few small ones in before the move lol