Advice Please!

[Matt Gleadow]

Hey.

Looking for suggestions for stocking a 48" x 18" x 20" tank. Currently have some Africans that are breeding like crazy and I want to get away from breeding as I dont have the space to grow them out but would like to stay with cichlids.

So that brings me to NW's as from the little bit of research I have done they dont seem to have to be necessarily kept as a group and I am after something a bit larger. So maybe only 2, 3 or even 4 fish in total all of different species so as to hopefully avoid them breeding.

The only thing I know for certain that would be in the tank is a Common Pleco as I already have him and I plan on keeping him!

I quite like the look of Jack Dempseys and Texas Cichlids, so anything along those sort of lines really that wont be too rare or hard to get hold of! I know that even one Oscar on its own would be pushing it in there so thats a no go.

Thanks, Matt.

 

[ox5477]

75G is a good intermediate size for new worlds. you can't have everything you want but you can stilla good range of possibilities....

could have a breeding pair of jd's or rt's or gt's (though they would have to be the only thing in there as they will be a little overstocked at full size)
- well actually i guess you dont want that if you dont want breeding... so nevermind

a jd, fm, and a con would be a good fit for something that size
or a gt and two female cons maybe
or could keep a sev and two female cons

its really kind of open, do a little research at what kind of fish you don't think you can have your tank without and we can say whether you can add more and if yes, then what else would work to add. (i saw you like jd's and texas' but just decide whether you want them to be the centerpeice of your tank as they will prob be the dominant fish if yes)

 

[Katchan]

My 2c

In a well set up tank you could have
your pleco
A JD or Texas, both
Add a convict (single since you dont want to breed )
Severum
A geo (eg Geophagus surinamensis)
Blue Acara

these are examples only but will point you in the right direction

you could also add a school of larger schoolers, eg rainbow fish or congo tetras

HTH

Andrew

 

[Matt Gleadow]

I am not sure what rt's, gt's or fm are short for?!!!

So if I had a Texas, my Pleco and some smaller shoaling fish (but big enough not to be eaten) that would be ok? Does it not matter that shoaling fish are usually quite timid and the Texas would be aggressive? Would a Texas AND a Jack Dempsey be ok together or are their markings too similar and lead to fights?

 

[ox5477]

rt = red terror
gt = green terror
fm = fire mouth

yes, a texas, your pleco, and a group of dither fish would be great!

You could prob have both a JD and the texas together with a shoal of rainbows or danios and things would great The dithers are quite fast and if you keep your jd and texas well fed, they will have more interest in eachother rather than the dithers as they will be more apt to quarrel over territory rather than food.

Thats a good point too, put them in when young and watch them grow. If you see any major aggression that doesn't sort itself out within a few minutes, then they will only start fighting more and you will end with one injured or dead fish or two two badly hurt fish. So always be on the lookout for agression between cichlids

 

[Matt Gleadow]

Ok I am decided on the fish that will be the centre piece of the tank then. Thanks.

Sorry to keep asking questions but apart from Congo Tetra's, Rainbow Fish & Danio's are there any other 'dither' fish I should consider? Silver Dollars are the only other ones I know of but they are probably a bit too big by the time they are fully grown.

 

[Katchan]

Hmmm schooler of a good size that arnt danio, rainbows or congos?

Discus J/K
your tanks not big enough for a school of bala shark
possibly tiger barb (or another of similar size or better)

Andrew

 

[ox5477]

yes, a school of smaller species barbs will work well as they will most likely be able to hold their own with the cichlids (so small = no tin foils!!!) haha

 

[Matt Gleadow]

Ok thank you both very much your advice