Opinions On Cichlid Aquariums

[shaygreen11]

ok so i have a 500+ ltr aquarium, around 125 gallon i think


id like some opinions on what people think of the stock list, any changes you think i should make or any additions?


oscar x1
jack dempsy x1
convict x1 (maybe more?)
green terror x1
texas x1
featherfin catfish x1
silver dollars x7
jewel malawi cichlid x1
giraffe cichlid x1

so what do you all think? ...

 

[sawickib]

Ive heard that texas cichlids can be hard to care for, and having more than one convict can be deadly to your other fish if you get a mated pair, during mating they get very aggressive and have no problem taking on a much larger tank mate. But not sure on the rest, sorry

 

[shaygreen11]

il just keep it at 1 convict, im thinking if i get them all as youngsters hopefully there wont be any aggression problems

 

[EllieJellyEllie]

I would not put the texas and oscar together, or an oscar with any fish smaller. Maybe you could do 1 oscar/teaxas, and 7 silver dollars and maybe a pleco? Thats all I would put in that tank, these guys grow big, like 12 inches long big.

 

[sawickib]

Also can way about 3 lbs, could do 
x1 oscar/ texas
x7 silver dollars
x6 synodontis decorus/ synodontis multipunctatus/ synodontis petricola - of your choosing
x1 royal pleco/ golden nugget pleco, green phantom pleco - of your choosing, they need real driftwood
 
 
Could go complete african cichlid tank
x6 synodontis ^^^
x? a whole bunch of lake mbuna or african cichlids, not sure on stocking of these guys
 
This route
x2 oscars
x1 pleco ^^^
 
Another note jack dempseys can be sensitive like texas

 

[star4]

You can keep more than one convict if you have all the same sex, I kept 4 males in with my texas & JD no problems. Its the texas with silver dollars I would advise against. I have had jd & texas together no problem, tried texas with oscar, the oscar tried to kill the texas (was an emergency housing for the texas). A lot depends on the personality of the fish, and in some cases the sex, I have found males to be a lot less bolshy in some species than females.

 

[shaygreen11]

i will try and get males, im in two minds wether to put the silver dollars in because i dont want them to get hurt and they are quite peaceful fish, im going to get all fish small and let them grow up together but the silver dollars and the featherfin will be larger, my jewel malawi is larger aswel i think its fully grown 

 

[shaygreen11]

could an oscar eat my jewel malawi when its fully grown?

 

[AeonMapa]

your initial stocking suggestion is way to heavy. A 125 gallon tank can house at most 2 large (10"+) cichlids, and that's IF they can get along. If your silver dollars are at 5-6" by the time your cichlids are fully grown they should be safe.
 
Out of the Oscar, Dempsey, green terror, and texas, pick two, get really young males and start them in the tank at the same time. They will most likely be able to coexist by the time they are adults

 

[star4]

could an oscar eat my jewel malawi when its fully grown?

 
 
It depends on the oscar to be honest. I fostered an oscar for a while and she was fine with 2" baby severums, my other oscar however tried to eat a pictus. Mouth size most possibly an oscar could technically eat, or attempt to eat a smaller jewel.

 

[shaygreen11]

my 125+ tank has a big footprint, will this not mean i could have atleast 4 cichlids, and some silver dollars? ... my jewel is about 3-4 inches atm but im not getting the cichlids soon so hopefully by the time i do the jewel will be larger 

 

[sawickib]

I saw a 3" Oscar eat a 3" Bala shark the other day at my LFS...

 

[shaygreen11]

how is that possible, it wouldnt fit inside it would it?

 

[sawickib]

Well it did... Didn't go all the way in though, tail was sticking out

 

[Alm0stAwesome]

You shouldn't be keeping African and South American cichlids together. They have completely different requirements. It seems that most of the fish you are interested in are South American, maybe you should rehome the malawi and focus on the SA cichlids.