Yes I have been in contact with Dan also, he primarily has juveniles, I want to purchase small males.
SA/CA community cichlid tank recommendations for a 600
- Thread starter clekchau
- Start date
do you have back up tank,or LFS that will re-home fish? if you chose say 15 fish,then start to find who needs to go,they will need to be temporarily put someplace,i would start up a holding tank with an aged filter.i have an 8 inch trimac alone,i have heard trimacs don't really mix well in communities.mine has killed or beaten the tankmates i thought he would grow up with,now he is alone in a 75
yes, well actually i would give any fish that didn't work out to someone with a good home if i needed to, but there are a few pet shops who would take them.
i heard trimacs and other amphilophus are somewhat ok in a big enough tank over 300 gallons, but like everyone knows its all about individual personality.
jeff rapps actually thinks i should try a 5" male dovii he's seen them work in big communities many times... but i'm scared lol
i do have a 150 gallon stock tank plumbed into the main setup that i could use for a temp tank if needed. its really a staging area for easy water changes.
i heard trimacs and other amphilophus are somewhat ok in a big enough tank over 300 gallons, but like everyone knows its all about individual personality.
jeff rapps actually thinks i should try a 5" male dovii he's seen them work in big communities many times... but i'm scared lol
i do have a 150 gallon stock tank plumbed into the main setup that i could use for a temp tank if needed. its really a staging area for easy water changes.
after all the research, feedback and talking to a few people with similar sized tanks/fish (one person for a few hours), i ordered the following to be delivered nov 11th, all males:
lyonsi 5"
carpintis Vontehillo 5"
pearsi 6-7
Bifascitus 5"
Zonatus 4"
Jag 3.5-4"
Cuban 4-5"
Amarillo 4"
chancho 10”
sagittae 8-9”
trimaculatus 4”
xiloaensis 6”
red Isletas 6.5”
friedrichsthalli 6”
synspilus 8”
Argentea pair 10-12” pair
Blackbelt 5”
Labiatus 9”
nervous but excited
lyonsi 5"
carpintis Vontehillo 5"
pearsi 6-7
Bifascitus 5"
Zonatus 4"
Jag 3.5-4"
Cuban 4-5"
Amarillo 4"
chancho 10”
sagittae 8-9”
trimaculatus 4”
xiloaensis 6”
red Isletas 6.5”
friedrichsthalli 6”
synspilus 8”
Argentea pair 10-12” pair
Blackbelt 5”
Labiatus 9”
nervous but excited
Cubans are great cichlids to own, I have one currently in my 125 gallon with some other cichlids.
rocks and substrate (small river rock) are here:
i think it looks nice, will see once its in the tank and its clear
will spend weekend rinsing and decorating
i think it looks nice, will see once its in the tank and its clear
will spend weekend rinsing and decorating
after all the research, feedback and talking to a few people with similar sized tanks/fish (one person for a few hours), i ordered the following to be delivered nov 11th, all males:
lyonsi 5"
carpintis Vontehillo 5"
pearsi 6-7
Bifascitus 5"
Zonatus 4"
Jag 3.5-4"
Cuban 4-5"
Amarillo 4"
chancho 10”
sagittae 8-9”
trimaculatus 4”
xiloaensis 6”
red Isletas 6.5”
friedrichsthalli 6”
synspilus 8”
Argentea pair 10-12” pair
Blackbelt 5”
Labiatus 9”
nervous but excited
Best of luck with your tank, but think your WAY overstocked. Even if you kept up with water changes, I think you'll be too busy refereeing to do them. 19 large territorial fish in that tank is going to be a lot of work. I keep 5 cichlids in a 300 and I'm not sure i'll be able to keep them together for life. Largest is our Midas and the smallest is a Con and they were grown up together as juvies. A lot of those fish you have coming are either nearing maturity or are already there.
If you have several other tanks to rehome some fish and you don't mind moving/removing fish as necessary, it could work for a while, but it's going to be FAR from easy and or remotely peaceful. Just the Argentea pair are going to be an issue as they are adults, and you are putting a female in with a slew of males.
My suggestion? Cut your list in half keeping only the must haves, and spend the money on lots of wood as site breaks to create a lot of separate zones. Even then, you'll still be a full time referee till you see who can stay and who must go. just my 2c of course
agreed jc, i will dwindle the initial stock down to 12 or so maybe less that is no question to a reasonable number. i would be delusional to think all these fish would remain. thanks for your input. regarding the argentea pair, i was concerned about them too, jeff rapps indicated they are currently in a much smaller tank with a group of 4" or so red islestes and are mild mannered, thats why i went with them as i did not plan on such a big pair of fish or even a female
yes got a big piece of driftwood from manzman that is on its way and in the process of rinsing rocks and substrate i posted above and putting it in now, taking a little break those rocks are heavy!
check out this beauty driftwood in route via greyhound bus
50"x26"x22"
Sounds like you've got a good plan in place and the wood looks great. I hate giving the advice that folks are overstocked because you never know till you try, but when i setup my 300 i posted a similar question in regards to stocking. i suggested keeping 7-8 cichlids in the tank and several senior members were kind enough to point out that i too was potentially overstocked. At first i became a bit defensive, but the better part of me kept their advice in the back of my mind and i proceeded as planned, but with caution.
Funny thing is, they were right. i had to rehome 3 of the fish in order to keep the peace in the tank and that was within the first month. The thing Ive learned the most about keeping big bruisers is just to be flexible with your stock. Things can change very quickly as these fish mature, sometimes for the worse.
Either way, you've got a great tank and good plan. Cant wait to see it with stock. subscribed for sure! Best of luck.
Funny thing is, they were right. i had to rehome 3 of the fish in order to keep the peace in the tank and that was within the first month. The thing Ive learned the most about keeping big bruisers is just to be flexible with your stock. Things can change very quickly as these fish mature, sometimes for the worse.
Either way, you've got a great tank and good plan. Cant wait to see it with stock. subscribed for sure! Best of luck.
