Stocking Ideas/options For 400Litre Tank (5Ft)

leecasey

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Hi everyone, I thought I had decided what to stock, but after reading on here I thought I would try and get some ideas from some people with more experience.

I like new world cichlids and definitely want at least, but not limited to, one medium-large specimen such as an Oscar, Jack Dempsey, Green Terror, Texas (obviously I understand I would probably be at my max with 1 Oscar).

I would also like to have some schooling fish in there but not really sure what as I dont have much experience with these. Silver Dollars? Tiger Barbs?

I don't really like plec's but are they recommended to help control algae? or is this a bit of a myth and they don't effect it that much?

Any and all suggestions are more than welcome! Just giving you guys a very rough idea what sort of fish I am interested in.

Thanks
 
GT and JD (EB if you can source one)

Plus... you are very lucky to be in this situation. lol. :good:
 
You could also have a group of Geophagus Brasiliensis which are brilliant. Could also consider things such as Acara's.

Silver Dollars seem to be a popular Dither fish.

I have a pair of BN's are rarely see them cleaning the glass, but others say they add them to a tank and they clean it up more or less over night.
 
I thought my BN had died until I took some bogwood out of the tank and nearly jumped out of my skin to realise he was attached to it. I've never seen him come out and touch the algae.

Dithers wise some of the larger rainbow fish look good IMO.
 
I have no experience with big cichlids but count yourself lucky for having a 5ft tank. I too would get a big cichlid. The ones you names are commonly found in LFS. As for schooling fishes, don't get tiger barbs. Mine got eaten by a small JD overnight, as tiger barbs do sleep at night, literally. Others would be able to advise you more.

What's your pH?

Adrian
 
Hi 400 liters is a nice size tank and a good size for the fish that you have mentioned there. The fish you like are pretty aggressive so far as cichlids go especially the Green Terror and the Texas Cichlids both of which can easily dominate a tank much more so IME than an Oscar.

Generally speaking the rule for an Oscar is 75 US gallons for 1 and then 150 US gallons for a second and then around 100Gallons for considerable tank mates so with an Oscar you are looking with that as the center fish and then adding in a larger schooling fish like the above mentioned rainbow fish or silver dollars.

What I would do is probably consider getting some kind of Severum, there are tons of colours and species and sizes for that matter. The common Greens are great and get nice and big as do the Golds and the Red Spots then you get the smaller species like the mouth brooding severums and also the Rotkiels that get a smaller adult size. Along with these there are a dozen or so rarer species that you can sometimes track down. With the Severum in the tank they are peaceful enough and somewhat predictable enough to match up with some other tank mates. In this tank with a Severum (or two) you could also have a JD in there an EBJD with a Red Spot Severum would just look incredible. And with them you could look at some of the Acara type fish like the Blue Acara or Royal Acaras etc tons of options.

Then with that some nice big tetras like Columbians or maybe some headstanders like Spotted or Marbled would work - though if you dont mind mixing fish from different continents there are a ton of options, denison barbs would work well.

Catfish wise, Hoplos are a great one for cichlid tank as are pictus :) The tank is perhaps borderline big enough for a nice big plec but based on the amount of waste they produce I would go for smaller species if you like them :)

Wills
 
With a 100g you could do an Oscar and a few other cichlids, along with some dithers and something for the bottom.

Personally I'd do a JD or EBJD, and a Severum of some sort, like Wills suggested, with the Oscar. I have a JD, 1 Red Spot and 4 Rotkeils in my 168g along with my Oscar. They get on well. Or a group of Geos could work well.

I think a shoal of Bosemani Rainbows(large enough not to fit in Oscars mouth) may work as well. Silver Dollars are always recommended, personally I find them boring, but each to their own. They are supposed to work.

Also polypterus species get on well with Oscars. Try and get them bigger than the O though as they may end up as lunch. However saying that, in general they will leave them alone if they get a taste :lol: I have a Delhezi and an Ornate with mine.

I would not try a Green Terror with an Oscar, IME they do not work. And I grew them up from small together. The GT was older and got on OK with the O when smaller, but once he started getting bigger there were a lot of scraps. It would have eventually ended nastily, so I rehomed her.

Plecs are also fine with Oscars, I have a largish Bristly in with mine. Make sure you have some heavy duty filtration and do large weekly water changes if you go this route though. IME there isn't a messier fish than an Oscar, and Plecs are pure poop machines.
 
I would not try a Green Terror with an Oscar, IME they do not work. And I grew them up from small together. The GT was older and got on OK with the O when smaller, but once he started getting bigger there were a lot of scraps. It would have eventually ended nastily, so I rehomed her.

Agree with this, i tried a Green terror with an oscar.
The oscar used to go for the GT (male) pretty often and eventually the GT 'snapped' back at it and i had to rehome the oscar!!

I find female GTs are a little less aggressive, although ofc not all of them will be...
 
If it were me i'd go with a Jack Dempsey (EBJD like mine if you can source them), with a group of Geo's (sp pindare IF you can get them), failing that Cupid cichlids are really cute IMO.

As for dithers, if it were me i'd get a group larger rasbora (4"+). Tiger barbs are good IME with my Jacks, they don't bother with them at all. I should mention my Jack is very very laid back, and doesnt attack anything, i keep mine with Harlequin Rasboras with no issues (which is odd!) and i don't advise trying it. An 8" EBJD living in harmony with a shoal of harlequins is by no means a common occurence. Another alternative would be rainbows. Boesemani's look awesome in groups of mature adult fish, then again so do alot of rainbow species. So have a look around at what you like.

Pleco's to control algae is a myth. I've kept a few and most have been utterly useless at 'controlling' algae. I've had a magnum plec, golden nugget, common and a few bristlenose's with all being pretty poor. The only one i've found to be any good is a common plec, which is unfortunate as its the biggest of them all, but he was prolific. I've had a sailfin that was good too, but he kept eatting eggs from breeding fish. Siamese Algae Eaters have been the best IME, the true one ofcourse, not the flying fox!
 
If it were me i'd go with a Jack Dempsey (EBJD like mine if you can source them), with a group of Geo's (sp pindare IF you can get them), failing that Cupid cichlids are really cute IMO.

As for dithers, if it were me i'd get a group larger rasbora (4"+). Tiger barbs are good IME with my Jacks, they don't bother with them at all. I should mention my Jack is very very laid back, and doesnt attack anything, i keep mine with Harlequin Rasboras with no issues (which is odd!) and i don't advise trying it. An 8" EBJD living in harmony with a shoal of harlequins is by no means a common occurence. Another alternative would be rainbows. Boesemani's look awesome in groups of mature adult fish, then again so do alot of rainbow species. So have a look around at what you like.

Pleco's to control algae is a myth. I've kept a few and most have been utterly useless at 'controlling' algae. I've had a magnum plec, golden nugget, common and a few bristlenose's with all being pretty poor. The only one i've found to be any good is a common plec, which is unfortunate as its the biggest of them all, but he was prolific. I've had a sailfin that was good too, but he kept eatting eggs from breeding fish. Siamese Algae Eaters have been the best IME, the true one ofcourse, not the flying fox!

Thanks everyone. I am definitely going to try and source a EBJD, they are pretty awesome! I would like to keep it with a GT also and see how they get a long. Quite a few people have recommended Geos. Until now I had not heard of these. Am I right in thinking they are schooling? How many would you recommend as they seem quite large.

Thanks
 
Yes Geos are social fish, not shoaling, but they do benefit from being in a group. They can be kept singly though aswell. Have a dig around on google, there are many varietys of Geo, with some getting bigger like brasiliensis potentially hitting 10" for males, then there are smaller one such as "sp pindare", which stay to around 6" i believe. They are fascinating fish to keep.

A GT would be a good adition, although care should be exercised as they're reputation is certainly more justified than that of the Jacks IMHO and experience. An EBJD is well worth the money they cost if you can find them :)
 
Not tried a GT and JD together, but from my own experience of owning both, the Jack is far milder mannered. In fact she is pretty docile. My GT was female as well and a b£tch. I'd recommend the JD definitely.
 
If you ask me, attempting to keep a EBJD with a GT is just not worth the risk,

If you want the EBJD, then go for less aggressive tankmates like Sevs, Geos, etc.

If you want the GT then either go for a community with the one cichlid and lots of non-cichlid dithers, (arulius barbs, clown loach, catfish, bichirs to name a few)
or go with other bullyish cichlids like Texas, salvini or Vieja,
 
Quite a few people have recommended Geos. Until now I had not heard of these. Am I right in thinking they are schooling? How many would you recommend as they seem quite large.

Most species of commonly available geos are simply too big to reasonably keep a small shoal in a 400 litre.

If you do go that route, do your research and get one of the smaller species. Alternatively, I would recommend G.steindachneri. They don't grow particularly big, and are happy as a singleton. In fact kept as more than one, they are pretty rough with each other. You would need one male and several females if wanting a shoal and, then again, you are running out of room with your other proposed fish. I have kept singleton male and female steinies in cichlid communities and they got on really well, although the males are hugely more colourful (if you get a good one anyway !).
 
Quite a few people have recommended Geos. Until now I had not heard of these. Am I right in thinking they are schooling? How many would you recommend as they seem quite large.

Most species of commonly available geos are simply too big to reasonably keep a small shoal in a 400 litre.

If you do go that route, do your research and get one of the smaller species. Alternatively, I would recommend G.steindachneri. They don't grow particularly big, and are happy as a singleton. In fact kept as more than one, they are pretty rough with each other. You would need one male and several females if wanting a shoal and, then again, you are running out of room with your other proposed fish. I have kept singleton male and female steinies in cichlid communities and they got on really well, although the males are hugely more colourful (if you get a good one anyway !).

Hi thanks for the advice. I have decided not to go with Geo's due to their large size. I want a smaller schooling fish. Probably a few Silver Dollars.
 

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