My Big Chiclid Tank Has A Vacancy!

[Miss Wiggle]

right i've a lovely big 350l tank with a red tiger Oscar, a parrot fish and a firemouth chiclid (actually I have 2 but 1 is being bullied by the other so he's being re-homed this weekend) and I'm after 1 more fish in there.

Anyone got suggestions for what would go happily with these fish? As I'm sure you all know a lot of big chiclids really have they're own personalities and my Oscar is docile as anything so the agressiveness isn't a massive issue.... but at the same time I'm not gonna stick a shoal of tetra's in there!

So yeah, thoughts anyone?

 

[GuppiesRGr8]

Put a bala shark in there but I don't know there ph

 

[Miss Wiggle]

Put a bala shark in there but I don't know there ph

never been keen on them tbh, would prefer something with a bit more colour

 

[jayjay]

balla shark need to be kept in groups and need tanks of like 125g.

i would go with something like a GT don't know if they would work though?

 

[Ferris]

GT's are great fish but that would be a pretty hefty risk, they are a lot meaner than Oscar's and your O could get seriously beaten up. A Severum is a possibility but again, mixing large NW cichlids is risky. How about a small schoal of Silver Dollars?

 

[Katchan]

Silver dollars, Uaru or if you wanted cichlids blue acara, shouldn't be to hard to pick up a medium to large pair or the dreaded convict

my 2c

KC

 

[Ferris]

If you fancy convicts, make sure you only get 1, if you get a breeding pair, they will kill everything in the tank.

 

[KathyM]

I'm really sorry if this isn't what you want to hear, but 360l is about 79g and with 75g being the recommended minimum for an oscar, I think you'd be best to stick with what you've got. I'm sorry.

 

[DanDanUK]

Put a bala shark in there but I don't know there ph

I wouldn't add a Bala shark in there 350L is 92.47 US gallons and balas grow to around 12 to 15" plus she already has an Oscar fish in there the minimum tank space for 1x Adult Oscar is 75gallon she's got a Parrot cichlid and 2 firemouths there would be no room as far as gallons go for a bala shark.

If you fancy convicts, make sure you only get 1, if you get a breeding pair, they will kill everything in the tank.

Convicts are an agressive cichlid especially for there small size and would stand there ground with bigger cichlids but they wouldn't kill all your fish in your tank especially if you have larger fish in there.

balla shark need to be kept in groups and need tanks of like 125g.

i would go with something like a GT don't know if they would work though?

Green terrors slow growing cichlids but still reach sizes of up to 8" and can be quite territorial and agressive. Not a good idea IMO.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

I'm really sorry if this isn't what you want to hear, but 360l is about 79g and with 75g being the recommended minimum for an oscar, I think you'd be best to stick with what you've got. I'm sorry.

I know, I am in 2 minds weather to add anything at all, but as everyone knows tank sizes are just guidelines, especially with chiclids the amount of space needed can be a lot to do with the agression of the fish and it's need for a lot of space so you don't end up with a bloodbath in your living room! My Oscar is very docile and never bothers the other fish, he's been with the parrot since they were both babies so I don't see the size of the tank as an issue. But I do appreciate there's not a lot of room left in there, I'm also contemplating something like a largeish bottom feeder as I've found if you want to slightly overstock the best way is with bottom feeders as they don't really take up the swimming space as such. Don't get me wrong I'm not criticising, and I don't want a row, I'd quite probably advise the same, just wanted to let you know I have considered the size of the tank already and it's a conscious decision based on the fish's personality to slightly overstock

If I put anything else in it would be something colourful so not silver dollars or bala sharks, just not my cup of tea.

I'd consider swapping 1 of the firemouth's for a convict, I do quite like them, or the blue acara's although I pretty much know nothing about them (yes I would do my research before buying them tho!).

Does the sex of the fish matter if they're different species? I know the parrot and firemouth are male, Oscar I'm not sure (but I think it might be a girl as the parrot just follows her around all the time, think he's after something!)..... if I was to put something else in would it be best to try and stick to males?

 

[Ferris]

Convicts are an agressive cichlid especially for there small size and would stand there ground with bigger cichlids but they wouldn't kill all your fish in your tank especially if you have larger fish in there.

Very true for a single specimin or multiple fish of the same gender but a breeding pair of Con's can be deadly, even to large NW Cichlids like Oscar's.

The point KathyM makes is also a good one, you're pretty much on the limit in terms of stocking so adding another fish is probably not a good idea.

 

[KathyM]

I'm sorry Miss W, I really didn't mean to offend. If it makes any difference, it sounds like you've got lovely fish and I'm very envious.

As for a bottom feeder, that's doable, but steer clear of common plecs and gibbies as they are too large growing and make about as much waste as an oscar, so it would depend on how cracking your filtration is.

I'm a bit of a plec fan so I'm probably not the best for advising you on your dilemma as I have a very biased view

 

[Katchan]

Convicts are an agressive cichlid especially for there small size and would stand there ground with bigger cichlids but they wouldn't kill all your fish in your tank especially if you have larger fish in there.

Very true for a single specimin or multiple fish of the same gender but a breeding pair of Con's can be deadly, even to large NW Cichlids like Oscar's.

What a croc, please dont make generalizations a rule PLEASE

I have a BREEDING pair (male 4" female 3") of connies in a 55gallon (yes I know the JD etc will out grow the tank, I'm getting a new one in a 2-3 months) with 2 blue acara's 3-4", 6" pleco, 7" salmontail (aussie version only reaches about 12" on average) 2 RTBS (3" males), a african butterfly cichlid (A. thomasi), 3" JD, and a krib, Lightly planeted, some wood. who do the connie's bother? NO BODY!

in fact the only fish the male connie has ever bothered during or not during breeding was a pair of gold angels who happed to spawn once right above (less than 6 inches) the cave they had spawned in and a second time he noticed them spawning on the other side of the tank, he kept interupting them for a caviar feast

So please do not portray your experience as 100% consistant facts, in my experiece connies aggression while there is overated (yes I have a breeding pair and 3 others in different tanks plus various fry of various sizes)

my 2c

KC

 

[Katchan]

Sorry If I was rather aggressive with my last post but some just get on my goat.

KC

 

[DanDanUK]

Convicts are an agressive cichlid especially for there small size and would stand there ground with bigger cichlids but they wouldn't kill all your fish in your tank especially if you have larger fish in there.

Very true for a single specimin or multiple fish of the same gender but a breeding pair of Con's can be deadly, even to large NW Cichlids like Oscar's.

What a croc, please dont make generalizations a rule PLEASE

I have a BREEDING pair (male 4" female 3") of connies in a 55gallon (yes I know the JD etc will out grow the tank, I'm getting a new one in a 2-3 months) with 2 blue acara's 3-4", 6" pleco, 7" salmontail (aussie version only reaches about 12" on average) 2 RTBS (3" males), a african butterfly cichlid (A. thomasi), 3" JD, and a krib, Lightly planeted, some wood. who do the connie's bother? NO BODY!

in fact the only fish the male connie has ever bothered during or not during breeding was a pair of gold angels who happed to spawn once right above (less than 6 inches) the cave they had spawned in and a second time he noticed them spawning on the other side of the tank, he kept interupting them for a caviar feast

So please do not portray your experience as 100% consistant facts, in my experiece connies aggression while there is overated (yes I have a breeding pair and 3 others in different tanks plus various fry of various sizes)

my 2c

KC

Not too sure who your talking to there ? but I have also had a fair few Convict cichlids even breeding pairs. But anyway we have these sort of conversations on the other site i moderate on people always have there own experiences and think that thats the acctual temprament of the whole species but in actual fact they may just have a one off fish which dosen't mind any fish or visa versa and may not tollerate any fish, But these people always seem to eat there own word as soon as they look into it.

I have had Con's which have been great also had con's which were little buggers too like most people who have common sence they will tend to do research on a particular fish species befor buying no matter how big or small they are.