210 Mainly SA and CA Cichlid Display Help Choose
- Thread starter Rainbowshrink
- Start date
Personal opinion, breeding pair of vieja or amphilophus sp.
How big is that tank? Was the list you posted ALL for that tank? That would be the first thing to consider. Growing them out in a smaller tank is fine...but ultimately best to have the appropriate sized fish start out in the tank they will ultimately reside. Second, the water chemistry is important. Some of the fish you listed are South American cichlids (soft water)...other Central American...hard water like your Africans.
Aquamojo,
The tank is a 210 gallon. I am now leaning towards an SA tank with different male Geo's plus a pike sp and others. How does this sound?
I never give advice on what fish should be put into a tank. My leanings always default to a single species or pair of the same with some non-cichlid target/dithers. I will say that sticking with either an all Central or SA cichlid tank is a much better choice in regards to water chemistry. The Geos don't get as large and the Pike...depending on the species...should be suited for that sized tank. Good luck with it, pal.
Mo
With your current aquascape of the tank, how much water volume are you left with?
If you want a pike species, choose one from the saxatilis family since they are more easy going and are only a medium sized fish.
Looking at your tank picture the aquascape looks ideal for small to medium sized central Americans.The bigger fish would destroy your nicely laid out display.
If you were to go down the c/a route,fish like nicaraguense spring to mind.Or a large group of thorichthys. You mentioned geophagus, Thorichthys are like the c/a equivalent of geos and behave in much the same way.
Cryptoheros species would also be very suitable.
Any of the fish mentioned above would do well accompanying a large shoal of livebearers.
If you went down the geophagus route a Group of 7 altifrons would do well in a tank that size.
You could also look into satanoperca species.
Geos do like a lot of sand to sift through so I would remove a few rocks to create some open sandy areas.
As mentioned earlier I would let your water chemistry decide on what species you choose to keep,that way you will be starting off on the right footing.
I do like the look of the tank and personally think it would make a great home for the smaller c/a cichlids if your water is hard and alkaline.
Best of luck.
If you were to go down the c/a route,fish like nicaraguense spring to mind.Or a large group of thorichthys. You mentioned geophagus, Thorichthys are like the c/a equivalent of geos and behave in much the same way.
Cryptoheros species would also be very suitable.
Any of the fish mentioned above would do well accompanying a large shoal of livebearers.
If you went down the geophagus route a Group of 7 altifrons would do well in a tank that size.
You could also look into satanoperca species.
Geos do like a lot of sand to sift through so I would remove a few rocks to create some open sandy areas.
As mentioned earlier I would let your water chemistry decide on what species you choose to keep,that way you will be starting off on the right footing.
I do like the look of the tank and personally think it would make a great home for the smaller c/a cichlids if your water is hard and alkaline.
Best of luck.
New York City water is more on the soft side, ph is 6.8-7.0. I am definitely leaning towards geophagus and opening up the sandy areas. I could also put some crushed coral in the filter and bump up the ph and alk. I like the idea of Thorichthys sp. as well.
My water is odd, both soft and alkaline (7.5). I have a bag of crushed coral in my sump, directly in the water flow, and I've found it doesn't noticeably affect water parameters. Especially with big weekly water changes. I wouldn't count on it to alter your chemistry. Also check your hardness, slightly acidic doesn't necessarily mean soft in public water supplies.
