180 Gal Costa Rican Biotope: Stocking Questions

To make your chances better on keeping sajicas with a jag, is that you could go for a female......smaller fish and less aggressive.

Theres plenty of other cichlids native to costa rica, but i agree there needs to be a big show fish which stands out from the others.

Heres what else you could keep:
Aequidens coeruleopunctatus (Kner & Steindachner, 1863), native
Amatitlania nigrofasciatus (Günther, 1867), native
Amphilophus alfari (Meek, 1907), native
Amphilophus altifrons (Kner & Steindachner, 1863), native
Amphilophus bussingi (Loiselle, 1997), native
Amphilophus citrinellus (Günther, 1864), native
Amphilophus diquis (Bussing, 1974), endemic
Amphilophus longimanus (Günther, 1867), native
Amphilophus lyonsi (Gosse, 1966), native
Amphilophus rhytisma (López, 1983), native
Amphilophus rostratus (Gill & Bransford, 1877), native
Archocentrus centrarchus (Gill & Bransford, 1877), native
Cryptoheros myrnae (Loiselle, 1997), native
Cryptoheros sajica (Bussing, 1974), endemic
Cryptoheros septemfasciatus (Regan, 1908), native
Herotilapia multispinosa (Günther, 1866), native
Hypsophrys nicaraguensis (Günter, 1864), native
Neetroplus nematopus Günther, 1867, native
Parachromis dovii (Günther, 1864), native
Parachromis loisellei Bussing, 1989, native
Parachromis managuensis (Günther, 1866), native
Tomocichla sieboldii Kner, 1863, native
Tomocichla tuba (Meek, 1912), native
Vieja maculicauda (Regan, 1905), native

(Taken from www.cichlidae.com)

Personally i'd go for:
Nicaraguensis-show fish, look great at 10"- good community fish
Mematopus-nice small fish which is super aggressive to make up for its size.
Sajica- really good fish to keep in a community and the males look brutes when big and mature.
Convicts, multispinosa and septemfasciatus to fill space
Also some Rhytisma, rare cichlid.

Need loads of pics when finished

davidefc;1995276; said:

Personally i'd go for:
Nicaraguensis-show fish, look great at 10"- good community fish
Mematopus-nice small fish which is super aggressive to make up for its size.
Sajica- really good fish to keep in a community and the males look brutes when big and mature.
Convicts, multispinosa and septemfasciatus to fill space
Also some Rhytisma, rare cichlid.

Need loads of pics when finished

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I have to agree with most of this. A 180G with a shoal of 5-7 Nicaraguensis, handful of Sajica, Multispinosa and Septemfasciatus and perhaps a single Blackbelt as the centerpiece would be wonderful, but you would want to keep an eye on it.

Nicaraguensis are a very much underrated fish.

Nics will be fine in groups or singles etc.

If you really want a jag, isnt there any space under the tank? thats where i put my growout/fry tanks, you should be able to get a good sized tank in there if you stand is a good height.

If not have you ever thought of a pair of jaguars?

elting44;1995390; said:

Thanks Japes, your input is always appreciated. Throw a stocking at me with a Jag centerpiece,

Jag
Blackbelt
3x Nicaragua
2x Male Convicts

Maybe?

Do Nics need to be kept in groups of 3 plus, are they "salty" enough to hold off the other fish?

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Hmm, I would scratch the Blackbelt and replace it with an argentae.

Scratch the cons and replace with some geos.

Some jags will be rather docile and readily kept in a community setting with other peaceful and large cichlids. The bigger the tank the better your chances. I would grow them out together if I were you.

Fish on Fire;1995602; said:

Hmm, I would scratch the Blackbelt and replace it with an argentae.

Scratch the cons and replace with some geos.

Some jags will be rather docile and readily kept in a community setting with other peaceful and large cichlids. The bigger the tank the better your chances. I would grow them out together if I were you.

Click to expand...

Read the thread! He's after a Costa Rican Biotope.

The problem with Jaguars is that most of the commonly available (at least for you Americans..) fish from Costa Rica are smallish. Other than all aforementioned Amphilophus sp. and the V. maculicauda and other Parachromis, a full sized P. managuensis is a much bigger and much more aggressive fish. Really this is just telling you what you already know.

If you want a Jaguar centerpiece, which I completely understand, you're going to have to put a lot of thought into the design of the tanks aquascaping. I presume a 180G is a 6x2x2', which gives you plenty of space to work out cover like fake roots and driftwood entanglements for protecting the smaller cichlids. If you do choose the Jaguar route, be prepared to aim for a female, and buy multiple fish (if aggression is a problem). If you're lucky you'll get a quite placid one. I would also suggest steering clear buying even same sexed convicts for the tank as there is a good chance they'll bully your smaller fish and maybe even stand up to the big guy, resulting in them copping a thrashing. There is no doubt that the Jaguar will run the tank, but hopefully peacefully using it's body size as a deterrent rather than physical harm.

I've seen some great tanks with Gold Saums (Ok, so they're quite peaceful.. but still) with completely placid species like Eartheaters and Dwarves, a combination you usually wouldn't go for, and it was stunning. Big brutes cruising through a hive of activity caused by active shoaling fish is visually brilliant and entertaining. I'm sure it can work out for you, but I'd keep a close eye on it. The reason I originally suggested the Blackbelt is because their mouth is smaller, too.