Thinking Of Changing To 'bigger, Hardier' Fish.

[elisew]

I`m sorry to post yet another 'change of stock' thread but........I currently have a 360L (95 USG I think?) with the smaller box standard tropical fish in it i.e German Rams, Apistos, Corys, Celebes, Danio, neons blah, blah etc etc. I`ve been wondering for a little while about possibly changing to have different fish. As much as I love the fish I have, I`m not sure if I`ve just had enough of them dying off despite 2 wc`s every 10 days, regular testing of water where stats are actually consistently good or if I`m just bored (don`t mean it horribly) and I`m wondering IF the larger cichlids/SA/Africans might be a better, more colourful and hardier option?
Obviously IF I do decide to change stock I`d have to sort out rehoming all the community fish I currently have so I know it`s something I`d have to be definite on doing.

I`d love some opinions and ideas to mull over please

 

[kizno1]

Theres loads that could go in there Severums, Acara, Geos, Oscar ect. I know you said you want bigger fish but are you wanting a big fish like an Oscar and a few catfish or would you prefer more of a cichlid community with something like a pair of Acara and a group of Geos?

 

[elisew]

Theres loads that could go in there Severums, Acara, Geos, Oscar ect. I know you said you want bigger fish but are you wanting a big fish like an Oscar and a few catfish or would you prefer more of a cichlid community with something like a pair of Acara and a group of Geos?

Thanks for the quick reply kizno

The Oscars etc are bigger than I was thinking to be honest because I really don`t want to limit myself to specific tank mates and space (if that makes sense)

I think it would be along the lines of yellow labs or similar (ish) ?? I haven`t done any research at all yet, I wanted to pull on the ideas and experiences of the members here first

 

[kizno1]

Theres loads that could go in there Severums, Acara, Geos, Oscar ect. I know you said you want bigger fish but are you wanting a big fish like an Oscar and a few catfish or would you prefer more of a cichlid community with something like a pair of Acara and a group of Geos?

Thanks for the quick reply kizno

The Oscars etc are bigger than I was thinking to be honest because I really don`t want to limit myself to specific tank mates and space (if that makes sense)

I think it would be along the lines of yellow labs or similar (ish) ?? I haven`t done any research at all yet, I wanted to pull on the ideas and experiences of the members here first

Yellow labs are African/Old world cichlids. Whats your PH? They like a high ph where as SA cichlids prefer and low PH.

 

[elisew]

Normal ph is around 7.6 - 7.8 which is too much for the Apistos and Rams without using the RO system I have, hence one reason I`m thinking of changing.

I like the yellow Labs but think they can breed like rabbits so not necessarily them. Something along those lines in relation to size and colour perhaps?

 

[kizno1]

Normal ph is around 7.6 - 7.8 which is too much for the Apistos and Rams without using the RO system I have, hence one reason I`m thinking of changing.

I like the yellow Labs but think they can breed like rabbits so not necessarily them. Something along those lines in relation to size and colour perhaps?

In a big tank like this you could just get a group and let them breed and sell the fry on as they get to big. Are you wanting African or SA cichlids? IM no good with africans so cant help you there. But for American cichlids what about a female Nicaragua Cichlid (Wills profile and signature pics are of his) There CA not SA but they will like the higher PH

 

[elisew]

I`d like to go for more colourful and interesting, not sure whether SA or African to be honest but looking at the profile of the Nicaragua Cichlid you suggest it appears to be one I would definitely consider.
I`m doing some 'Googling' and have just read about the Blue Acara, CA-SA apparently? The profile says 'can be aggressive' so I can see it`s likely to take me a while to come up with a definite list of peaceful (for the most part) interesting and colouful fish

 

[kizno1]

Im pretty sure Blue acara are SA not CA. They can be a little aggressive but aslong as the tank mates are similar sized there shouldnt be an problems at all unless you get a really nasty one. What about a Twin spot acara/Aequidens metae

 

[elisew]

The Twin spot looks like another possible one for the list but from what I`ve just read the ph needs to be quite low?

 

[england]

Getting itchy feet are we, how are you? Well i have to say, seeing you tank the other week i was very impressed, made me concider doing one once ive settled on new soil, so think hard what you want.
Getting cichlids is a real game, some will get along, others will not, have a look at things like jade eyed cichlids, rainbow cichlids, festivums<not so amazing look but a handsome fish, severums, There are more rare items avalible if you wish to pay for them and have them delivered, i will give you a cracking list, but if you want to start light, maybe look at something like

2 Jade eyed cichlids
2 keyhole cichlids
8-10 ticto barbs or colombian tetra's
4 hoplo catfish

 

[kizno1]

The Twin spot looks like another possible one for the list but from what I`ve just read the ph needs to be quite low?

Yeah your right sorry forgot about the PH. I think it would be best to stick to CA cichlids that wont mind the high PH like Texas cichlids, Honduran Red Point, TBar cichlids, Convict cichlids, Rainbow ciclids, Firmouth cichlids. Its up to you wether you want a 2-3 pairs or just single fish.

 

[elisew]

Getting itchy feet are we, how are you? Well i have to say, seeing you tank the other week i was very impressed, made me concider doing one once ive settled on new soil, so think hard what you want.
Getting cichlids is a real game, some will get along, others will not, have a look at things like jade eyed cichlids, rainbow cichlids, festivums<not so amazing look but a handsome fish, severums, There are more rare items avalible if you wish to pay for them and have them delivered, i will give you a cracking list, but if you want to start light, maybe look at something like

2 Jade eyed cichlids
2 keyhole cichlids
8-10 ticto barbs or colombian tetra's
4 hoplo catfish

Hey stranger! I`m good thanks, hope you are too. How`re the shrimps doing??

Itchy feet, me??? Nahhh.....well yeah actually a bit maybe
As much as I love the community fish I currently have, I think I`m just a bit bored of the same old same old so I`d like to get something different. As you`ve seen, the main tank is a decent sized one so I guess I have a good few possibilities open to me. I did wonder about the jewel cichlids but read that they can be pretty aggressive?I`ll have a read up on the others you suggest though.
I must admit that I`m swayed more towards the Africans for colour to be honest but they`d have to be the more placid species like the yellow labs and acei maybe

I know I`m dithering (typical woman) but IF I decide to change the stock I`d like to know I`ve done it right with lots of research, less chance of regrets then


kizno, thanks again for your suggestions, I`m definitely going to be ding some reading up

 

[star4]

Rotkeil severums are one of the smallest severums, very pretty. There are loads of acara you can choose from that are not as agressive as the blue acara, port acara or the aquidenes metae. I wouldnt recommend Texas for that size tank they are a very aggressive fish and need the right tank mates.

 

[elisew]

Thanks star, I`ll add them to my list of fish to read up about as I`d rather go for fish that are as nice to look at as well as being interesting

 

[star4]

This thread has some pics of my Rotkeils, just too lazy to re post them again
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/345037-heros-sp-rotkeil/

Keyholes are another nice fairly placid cichlid