carpintis tankmates?

[coastalkeeper87]

So this is my first cichlid tank, and currently its a 55g(currently looking at 140g upgrade), 704b canister, fluval aquasky led. So right now I have 3 juvenile H. Carpintis, and 5 silver dollars.. I know if I don't move to a bigger tank then I'm overstocked.. But my question is, if I get the 140g would I be able to add any tankmates? I was thinking like 1-flowerhorn or something along those lines.. Or maybe even something like a sailfin pleco? What's y'alls thoughts?

 

[duanes]

True H. carpintus (I believe yours is a hybrid, so not H.carpintus no matter what the LFS sold them as) get quite large, especially males,
so the 3 cichlids you have, (as adults) in a 140 is about all the cichlids the space of that tank will tolerate.
The SDs and a pleco wouldn't be a problem, because they are not seen as territorial usurpers, as others cichlids would be.
Here is a half grown, true carpintus.

https://hosting.photobucket.com/albums/i97/dstuer/Herichthys%20carpintus%20complex/.highres/035_zps6a4ff229.jpg?width=450&height=278&crop=fill

Because yours are hybrids, true adult size, may be unknowable at this point.
But territorial needs are not just about size, it is about what the cichlid perceives as its need.
Below, a full grown male between 10" and 12".

https://hosting.photobucket.com/albums/i97/dstuer/Herichthys%20carpintus%20complex/.highres/001_zps24e5fe52.jpg?width=450&height=278&crop=fill

I consider a 6 ft tank, as just large enough for a pair of full grown carpintus.

 

[Gourami Swami]

What dimensions are the 140 gallon, it is not a standard size. If it is a 6 foot tank you may be able to add some smaller tough CA cichlids like convicts with your carpintis. If your carpintis hybrids are males, three would about fill the tank even if it's 6'. If you have a female and they breed, that would also just about fill the tank. If you want more variety of cichlids, I would recommend keeping your favorite of the 3 carps and re-homing the other two, and you should be able to get some other CA cichlids that would live in a 140 with the carp. Some species that come to mind would be Nicaraguense, convict-types like cutteri, jack dempsey. In a 6' 140 you could probably do a community of CA cichlids like this, but such a setup is a gamble and a balancing act, smart to have another tank on standby to shuffle fish around, because there are no guarantees it will work out.
And I agree with duanes, the carpintis being hybrids makes this all quite unpredictable, if it ends up growing to the size and attitude of a flowerhorn, you may be looking at a single fish even in the 140.

 

[tlindsey]

So this is my first cichlid tank, and currently its a 55g(currently looking at 140g upgrade), 704b canister, fluval aquasky led. So right now I have 3 juvenile H. Carpintis, and 5 silver dollars.. I know if I don't move to a bigger tank then I'm overstocked.. But my question is, if I get the 140g would I be able to add any tankmates? I was thinking like 1-flowerhorn or something along those lines.. Or maybe even something like a sailfin pleco? What's y'alls thoughts?View attachment 1492909View attachment 1492910View attachment 1492911

Welcome aboard

 

[coastalkeeper87]

Thanks for all the replies.. Not sure on measurements of the 140 yet, I do know it has a 50g sump with it.. I'll be checking it later this week, and yeah, they were sold as "electric blue H. Carpintis" but thats all I know.. bought them from a dealer in Florida..

 

[Stephen St.Clair]

You might look the Salvini Cichlid as a possible tankmate.
It's been my experience that male Carpintis, or for that matter, Texas Cichlids in general, don't normally do well with conspecifics.