Looking for feedback on this green terror tank

[ghurty]

I am rebuilding a 150 Gallon tank.
I currently have one pleco that is about 1 foot long
and 2 BGR (small)
and 2 clown loaches.(small

My ph levels are on the low end so I would probably do New World Cichlids

I am thinking of added the following
1 X Green Terror (Small)
1 X Jack Dempsy (maybe 2)
8 X Clown Loaches
1 X Green Texas Cichlid
1 X Texas Cichlid
1 X Tiger Oscar (small)
1 X Managuense Cichlid

I can adjust the numbers of each of them. I originally wanted a lot of small fish as well but I realized the green terror will go after them. The tank is in my office, and I like watching it as I work, so I like to have a more "busy" tank.

Thank you

 

[Colin_T]

Hi and welcome to the forum

What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?

What is the GH (general hardness) and pH of your water supply. This information can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).

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and 2 BGR (small)

what's a BGR?

I reckon they will kick hell out of each other and in 12 months you will have a 1 big Cichlasoma managuense and nothing else. These fish should be kept in a single species tank due to their angry nature.

No idea what the difference is between green and normal Texas cichlids but if they are the same species or similar, I would only get one or the other but not both.

Only get 1 Jack Dempsy. If you get 2 and they are a male/ female pr, they will breed and kill everything in the tank. If you get 2 males they will kill each other.

Don't mix Jack Dempsy with loaches, it doesn't work well.

Get all the cichlids at the same time and get them the same size. Put them in together and monitor them. If they are all the same size and introduced together, there is more chance of them settling in and coexisting.

 

[ghurty]

The tank is 18 X 21 X 48.
From the tap my GH is 143.2 and my ph is 7.6 (two weeks ago it was much lower).
BGR= German Blue Ram

My old tank had a blood parrot as well as two severums but they all died in a disaster. So I took the remneants of my old tank and am starting new. The reason why I chose the Cichlids I did was just based off of what I saw other users posting as their stocking options.

All the fish I will be getting will be young besides the Pleco which I is an existing member and he is about 3/4 a foot long.

My goal is to get some fish that are busy around the tank (the loaches or tetras) as well as a few larger more prominent fish. I am looking for ones that dont just ignore you when you bring food or go to the tank wall. I am open to suggestions to which fish I should get. I like having a tank I can watch while I work (it is a few feet from my desk).

Thank you

 

[Colin_T]

You can't keep blue rams with any of the other cichlids you listed because the other fish grow much bigger and will kill the rams.

The tank isn't big enough for Jack Dempsy or managuense cichlids because these fish grow to over 12 inches long and are pretty agro.

Oscars and Texas cichlids are borderline in this sized tank. The green terror will fit in the tank but will kill the blue rams so they can't be kept together.

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Your water is fine for tetras, barbs, rasboras and most rainbowfish (avoid the lake dwelling rainbows that need hard water or get locally bred stock).

Rainbowfish would be fine in your tank and most species grow to 3-4 inches. they are active fishes that spend most of their time moving around showing off or trying to breed. They come in a range of colours and need to be kept in groups of 8 or more, but you can mix species to make the group so you can have 4 of one species and 4 of another. There is more info about rainbowfish at the following link.
http://rainbowfish.angfaqld.org.au/Melano.htm

 

[ghurty]

Thank you. How long does it take for the Dempsy and Managuense to grow? I may be getting a new tank in my office at a later date.
Re the green terror, if I purshase it as a small one and the BGRs start off at the same size will they grow big enough not to be killed?

Thank you

 

[Colin_T]

Re the green terror, if I purshase it as a small one and the BGRs start off at the same size will they grow big enough not to be killed?

There is no chance of the blue rams surviving in a tank with a green terror cichlid. Blue rams grow to about 2 inches and are very peaceful. Green terrors grow to 5 inches and are called green terrors for a reason. They are agro fish that will kill small peaceful cichlids.

Under good conditions the Jack Dempsy and managuense can reach 6 inches in 6 months. They will eat rams when 4-5 inches if not sooner.

The fish you listed are completely incompatible with blue rams and any pet shop that sells you these bigger cichlids knowing you have rams, is bad and doesn't care about fish or customers.

 

[ghurty]

How big of a tank do I need for the Rams, they are pretty new, and my daughter wants to have a small fish tank.
If I rehome the Rams what would be a good mix for me to have some schooling/busy fish as well as a few centerpiece fish?

Thank you

 

[Byron]

How big of a tank do I need for the Rams, they are pretty new, and my daughter wants to have a small fish tank.
If I rehome the Rams what would be a good mix for me to have some schooling/busy fish as well as a few centerpiece fish?

Thank you

Colin covered the problems with the other cichlids well, so I will deal only with the blue rams. But first, as I don't think he mentioned it, this tank is not sufficient size for the Clown Loaches; at 8-12 inches they need an 8-foot tank to be happy and healthy. Even a smaller group (five would be absolute minimum) needs a 6-foot though the 8-foot is still better. And the group should be acquired together, as they will begin establishing their hierarchy and other fish down the road will not likely be tolerated. But with just two, one will be dead before long depending upon the individual fish and gender.

This species, Mikrogeophagus ramirezi, needs very warm water; this applies to all the man-made varieties from this species, including obviously the German Blue Ram. Minimum 80F (27 C) but a tad higher would not hurt. This makes it a bit tricky to find tankmates as many of the "tropical" fish cannot tolerate this warm water long-term. The rams must have it or they will not be healthy and they will never live to a normal lifespan because of the internal issues cooler water cause.

Tank size...for one or a bonded pair, a tank with a length of 30 inches would be best, though one could manage in a 24-inch length tank. A pair means a bonded male/female pair. Two males will not co-exist for long, though two females might. A male/female pair must select each other and bond or they will not last long.

Tankmates such as cardinal tetras (Paracheirodon axelrodi) and rummynose tetras (Hemigrammus bleheri), the latter only in the 30-inch tank as they like to swim a bit more. Unfortunately all these fish are lower-level, and at this warm a temperature it is not easy to find upper level fish. Some of the hatchetfish can work, the best temperature-wise is Thoracocharax stellatus but this is a more active and slightly larger fish and really should have more space. The Marble, Carnegiella strigata, might work, it would be at its upper limit. The rocket or diptail pencilfish, Nannostomus eques, is a surface fish and like the marble might tolerate this warmth.

 

[Colin_T]

Whilst Byron is correct about the clown loaches needing a big tank when full grown, they take a few years to reach maturity. You could keep a group of small ones in your 4ft tank for a while but they would eventually need a bigger tank.

There are other species of loach (including Botias) that only grow to 4-6 inches and would be fine in your tank. Botia sidthimunki is a small species that live in groups and cruise around together. Botia lohachata grows a bit bigger (about 5-6 inches) and is quite hardy.

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Byron has covered rams but there are plenty of other small cichlids that can be kept in tanks. There are several species of Pelvicachromis dwarf cichlids that come from soft water and do well in tanks that are 2ft or longer. The most common of these is the kribensis (Pelvicachromis pulcher) and they breed like flies.

One of my favourites is Pelvicachromis subocellatus (Moanda). When mature and breeding, the females get a pink patch on the side of the body and it is surrounded by a white edge. They are quite stunning to look at.

Pelvicachromis taeniatus are another species that is interesting and come in a range of colours, some of which have quite a bit of yellow on their body.

There are smaller cichlids in the Nanochromis genus, stuff like Nanochromis nudiceps or N. transvestitus.

If you have hard water (containing lots of minerals) you can get dwarf cichlids from the Rift Lakes in Africa. Shell dwellers, are small cichlids like Neolamprologus multifasciatus and they do well in small tanks with hard water.

 

[ghurty]

Thank you for all your help.
To be honest, I do not really have any particular fish that I need to have. Of course, things would be best if I were able to keep the current fish. But I am not against rehoming them. From my water test I am not really hard nor am I soft. So I dont think I can have the African cichlids without pre-treating the water.

Assuming I can rehome the the Rams, (or not rehome them if necessary). What would be a good mix of fish to put in with a few small busy/schooling fish as well as some centerpiece fish that have a noticeable personality? With my blood parrot and severums, there grew to be about the size of a baseball, so if possible I would love to have them be able to grow to that size if not bigger. Eventually, I do have plans to get a larger tank when I move offices.

Thank you

 

[Byron]

Assuming I can rehome the the Rams, (or not rehome them if necessary). What would be a good mix of fish to put in with a few small busy/schooling fish as well as some centerpiece fish that have a noticeable personality?

What sized tank are you intending here? The GH was earlier given as 143 ppm, with a pH of 7.6 though it seems to fluctuate. The GH is moderately softy/hard water.

Eventually, I do have plans to get a larger tank when I move offices.

Never acquire a fish today whose mature size requires an aquarium larger than what you have running today. Circumstances often change, and the intention of a larger tank may not materialize. Then the fish are the losers.