New 475L Tank... (It's Arrived!)...

[Ryan_W]

So.......

My dilemma:

I've got a 80x20x18"(475L) tank coming on Nov 3rd.

This was going to be my stocking:

1 Red Dotted Severum
1 Rotkeil Severum
4 Geophagus Surinimensis
4 Geophagus sp. Tapajo Red Head
2 Blue Rams
3 Apistogramma Borelli - 1 male 2 female
3 Apistogramma Cacatuoides - 1 male 2 female
8 Denison Barbs
8 Columbian Tetras
8 Emperor Tetras
8 Green Lazer Cories
8 Leopard Cories
3 L333
3 Whiptail plecs
3 Golden Wonder Killfish


BUT!

Now I'm looking into getting some larger fish, namely an Oscar and a EBJD.

My girlfriend has her heart set on an Oscar after seeing 'Keith', Matts new Oscar.

So, could I have something like this?

1 Tiger/Albino Oscar
1 EBJD
1 Red Dotted Severum
1 Rotkeil Severum
4 Geophagus sp. Tapajo Red Head

Is the tank big enough for all the above?

Looks like I'm going to have to hide my other 2 tanks around the house, since I promise after the big tank turns up, I'd get rid of the current two!

Cheers all,

Ryan

 

[kizno1]

That looks good to me. Your going to want some big dithers though just to try and keep agression between the big cichlids down. Maybe spotted silver dollars.
something like
1 Tiger/Albino Oscar
1 EBJD
1 Red Dotted Severum
1 Rotkeil Severum
4 Geophagus sp. Tapajo Red Head
8 Spotted silver dollars or similar sized fish
1 Royal or Cactus plec
1 Jaguar catfish or Pimelodus ornatus or P.blochii

 

[mattlee]

That looks good to me. Your going to want some big dithers though just to try and keep agression between the big cichlids down. Maybe spotted silver dollars.
something like
1 Tiger/Albino Oscar
1 EBJD
1 Red Dotted Severum
1 Rotkeil Severum
4 Geophagus sp. Tapajo Red Head
8 Spotted silver dollars or similar sized fish
1 Royal or Cactus plec
1 Jaguar catfish or Pimelodus ornatus or P.blochii

im new to this but my fish seem to be getting on just fine and ive not seen any aggression that would have me worried, althought here is still time..... after seeing adult siver dollars at wharf i would say that they will be too big especially in a group of 8. i would add the cichlids then see if the dithers are needed as i think the more room the bigger fish have the better. i do agree that a nice chunky pleco and a few cats would be ideal, i have a royal panaque L190 and a jaguar cat and he is getting a mate this weekend and maybe another in the near future, stunning catfish
my stocking is-
1 x oscar (Keith)
1 x gold severum
1 x rotkeil severum
1 x L190 royal panaque
1 x diadema acara
1 x jaguar catfish (soon to be 2)
1 x black ghost knifefish
the tank doesnt look fully stocked but there is a nice amount of room for each fish to just chill out in. these fish are all messy fish, especially the pleco, so you dont want to over do it. if you buy smaller fish to grow out then you may get more aggression as they seem to be worse at a young age. i would maybe add 1 more fish to my tank but i honestly wouldnt want any more than that. less is more
sorry for messing your head in by the way

 

[kizno1]

That looks good to me. Your going to want some big dithers though just to try and keep agression between the big cichlids down. Maybe spotted silver dollars.
something like
1 Tiger/Albino Oscar
1 EBJD
1 Red Dotted Severum
1 Rotkeil Severum
4 Geophagus sp. Tapajo Red Head
8 Spotted silver dollars or similar sized fish
1 Royal or Cactus plec
1 Jaguar catfish or Pimelodus ornatus or P.blochii

im new to this but my fish seem to be getting on just fine and ive not seen any aggression that would have me worried, althought here is still time..... after seeing adult siver dollars at wharf i would say that they will be too big especially in a group of 8. i would add the cichlids then see if the dithers are needed as i think the more room the bigger fish have the better. i do agree that a nice chunky pleco and a few cats would be ideal, i have a royal panaque L190 and a jaguar cat and he is getting a mate this weekend and maybe another in the near future, stunning catfish

Spotted silver dollars/Metynnis lippincottianus only get 5/6" long fully grown so shouldnt be to much maybe 6 if not. You might not NEED them but just meant theres room for them in the stocking and it might help keep aggression down.

 

[hamfist]

So, could I have something like this?

1 Tiger/Albino Oscar
1 EBJD
1 Red Dotted Severum
1 Rotkeil Severum
4 Geophagus sp. Tapajo Red Head

Is the tank big enough for all the above?

I'd say drop the EBJD. It will reduce your aggression issues within the tank. I'd say you are pushing your stocking too. Once you start filling it with fish that are pushing a foot long, a 475 litre tank will start to look rather small.

 

[mattlee]

That looks good to me. Your going to want some big dithers though just to try and keep agression between the big cichlids down. Maybe spotted silver dollars.
something like
1 Tiger/Albino Oscar
1 EBJD
1 Red Dotted Severum
1 Rotkeil Severum
4 Geophagus sp. Tapajo Red Head
8 Spotted silver dollars or similar sized fish
1 Royal or Cactus plec
1 Jaguar catfish or Pimelodus ornatus or P.blochii

im new to this but my fish seem to be getting on just fine and ive not seen any aggression that would have me worried, althought here is still time..... after seeing adult siver dollars at wharf i would say that they will be too big especially in a group of 8. i would add the cichlids then see if the dithers are needed as i think the more room the bigger fish have the better. i do agree that a nice chunky pleco and a few cats would be ideal, i have a royal panaque L190 and a jaguar cat and he is getting a mate this weekend and maybe another in the near future, stunning catfish

Spotted silver dollars/Metynnis lippincottianus only get 5/6" long fully grown so shouldnt be to much maybe 6 if not. You might not NEED them but just meant theres room for them in the stocking and it might help keep aggression down.

i just think that adding 14 or more 6 inch plus fish in a tank of this size will look too full. maybe as juvis it might look great but as they grow the individual space for each fish will be massively reduced and might even add to the aggression.
EBJD are supposed to be quite aggressive so as Hamfist says i might be tempted to look for another cichlid thats a bit more peacefull. i was very tempted with an Uaru after seeing adult ones but im not sure if they are better in a small group or not.... maybe look at having a gold sev to go with the red spotted and rotkeil

1 x red spotted sev
1 x gold severum
1 x rotkeil severum
1 x oscar
1 x pleco or catfish

i would go for less fish rather than more. i had a list of about 12 fish for my tank but so glad i didnt get them all as some would be looking for new homes as there just isnt the room. next time you are in Leicester give me a shout and come and see my tank just to get an idea of the size of adult fish, you will be suprised....

 

[kizno1]

That looks good to me. Your going to want some big dithers though just to try and keep agression between the big cichlids down. Maybe spotted silver dollars.
something like
1 Tiger/Albino Oscar
1 EBJD
1 Red Dotted Severum
1 Rotkeil Severum
4 Geophagus sp. Tapajo Red Head
8 Spotted silver dollars or similar sized fish
1 Royal or Cactus plec
1 Jaguar catfish or Pimelodus ornatus or P.blochii

im new to this but my fish seem to be getting on just fine and ive not seen any aggression that would have me worried, althought here is still time..... after seeing adult siver dollars at wharf i would say that they will be too big especially in a group of 8. i would add the cichlids then see if the dithers are needed as i think the more room the bigger fish have the better. i do agree that a nice chunky pleco and a few cats would be ideal, i have a royal panaque L190 and a jaguar cat and he is getting a mate this weekend and maybe another in the near future, stunning catfish

Spotted silver dollars/Metynnis lippincottianus only get 5/6" long fully grown so shouldnt be to much maybe 6 if not. You might not NEED them but just meant theres room for them in the stocking and it might help keep aggression down.

i just think that adding 14 or more 6 inch plus fish in a tank of this size will look too full. maybe as juvis it might look great but as they grow the individual space for each fish will be massively reduced and might even add to the aggression.
EBJD are supposed to be quite aggressive so as Hamfist says i might be tempted to look for another cichlid thats a bit more peacefull. i was very tempted with an Uaru after seeing adult ones but im not sure if they are better in a small group or not.... maybe look at having a gold sev to go with the red spotted and rotkeil

Fair enough but i still think a small shoal of them could work no problem.
Correct me if im wrong but arent EBJD quite shy? i thought they would have caused the least problems out of all the fish.

 

[mattlee]

look through my journal about my tank and there is a short video of nellys old tank that is a similar size to yours (5x2x2 i think) just for a look at adult fish size. it really made me re think my stocking and reducing the stocking by quite a bit

at the end of the day we all want every nice fish but we also want a calm peacefull tank and you are more likely to achieve this with less big fish and fish that suit each other. it is very hit and miss with cichlids and you can only go on other peoples experiences.
mine have only been together for 3 days so they are still settling in so as i stated there is still time for mine to go nuts but so far so good

 

[Wills]

Just to say the original list I did for Ryan with the big groups of geos was based on how the tank would evolve over time and possibly thin out and grow on in time - in the early stages of planning this tank he was a bit indecisive as to which route to take the tank.

But that said I would probably stock a little heavier than suggested here but then again its kind of how you start the tank - with younger fish more is possible but with adults it changes out. With cichlids its often down to a bit of experimentation as to who works with who so adding fish as youngsters and swapping any issues around when they are young prevent any issues with adult fish.

In my big tank I am now at a point where I dont want any more cichlids in that tank for the foreseeable future just because I dont want anything to take a turn for the worse and I think all cichlid owners get to that point where the cichlids become pets and the risks just dont create the value of the additions. From here on I plan on adding some more Satanopercas to my tank but then to fill out the rest of the tank I will be looking to tetras, characins and catfish to do that.

Though what I was saying about large numbers then developing the tank to keep what you like changes a lot with oscars because of the speed they grow. That said though IMO Kiznos suggestion isnt bad - 4 decent cichlids albeit including an oscar and 8 SD's with 2 cats for me isnt a bad stocking tank but Ive never dealt with a tank including a foot long cichlid mine have been 8 inches max so far.

Wills

 

[Ryan_W]

I went with the EBJD on the basis that it's one of the most colourful fish out there.

If it's seen as too aggressive, what would you advise (something of similar colour)...

I'll have a look into the SSDs.

Thanks all for your ideas so far, keep them coming!

Ryan

 

[kizno1]

I went with the EBJD on the basis that it's one of the most colourful fish out there.

If it's seen as too aggressive, what would you advise (something of similar colour)...

I'll have a look into the SSDs.

Thanks all for your ideas so far, keep them coming!

Ryan

I dont think the EBJD will make any problems at all. Ive never kept them but have heard alot of people say they are quite timid and shy unless they have dithers in the tank and one of the fish that normally stays out of the way if theres any aggression.

 

[Davo86]

I think some people need to remember this tank is approx half the volume of mattlees, so unless the tank is going to be extremely well filtered, some plans may need to be downsized,

IMO For the stocking lists mentioned 2-3 FX5s or similar may be required

 

[mattlee]

I think some people need to remember this tank is approx half the volume of mattlees, so unless the tank is going to be extremely well filtered, some plans may need to be downsized,

IMO For the stocking lists mentioned 2-3 FX5s or similar may be required

i would still consider having less fish to be honest. my rotkeil has another couple of inches left to grow and the diadema could grow a few more yet, even the oscar may grow a bit who knows and my tank i would say is about right for these fish. almost forgot that the BGK is still very small at 5 inches and will quadruple in size too and my jag cat can reach 11 inches and its currently 5-6.
its really hard to see fish at adult sizes when they are bought small but its not just the length its the thickness and height of these fish too. also dont forget by the time you have substrate and decor in the water volume will be even less than what you imagined
the silver dollars i saw at the weekend were about as round as my face and 6 or 8 of these would fill too much space in my opinion and mot leave enough for the cichlids. this may even add to any aggression as there are fish everywhere and nowhere to retreat and get away from it all.

have you checked out Nellys video he put on my journal? it gives a real insight to big fish in his 5x2x2 and really opened my eyes as to how many fish i could stock. 6.5x2x2 sounds huge and dont get me wrong it looked huge when empty but now Keith and his mates are in there it looks so small. ill see if i can get a video on here to show you what i mean

 

[mattlee]

i took a vid on my camera but ive been waiting for it to upload for an hour and a half and it only got to 33% so sorry mate ill still be waiting this time tomorrow....
have a look in my journal and look at Nellys though im sure it will give you an idea of how many fish are suitable in a tank of your size

 

[mattlee]

Nellys video clip is on page 3 of my jornal and he has a spotted silverdollar in there too for a size comparison