Blue acara tankmates in 90 gallon tank & breeding advice wanted!

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Mythic Figment

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 27, 2012
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Florida
Hey all,

I am about 2-3 weeks away from finishing the cycle on my 90 gallon tank and am very excited about it. I have come up with a list of fish I think will work in the tank and I am looking for advice on if my list will work and if not, get suggestions for a good population of fish.

I do have 7 fish that are all small that will be going into the new tank. I have 6 1.5-2" angelicus loaches and one 2" blue acara I picked up earlier today. I need the working team of fish to live peacefully with these fish. I plan to start all of my fish out small and grow them out. Here is what I'm thinking:

4 green and/or gold severums (once I have a breeding pair, I will rehome the other 2)
1 blue acara
1 festivum
1 keyhole cichlid
6 angelicus loaches
1 Siamese algae eater

I want to have a breeding pair of cichlids in the tank, whichever is the calmest, least aggressive breeder. I know that individual personality of every cichlid comes into play, but I would love feedback from anyone who has bred any of these fish.

I welcome any and all suggestions and advice. :)


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I would not do the severums just because a breeding pair will still wreak havoc on your tank. They will take over one whole side of it and drive your other fish crazy when they start spawning. You could always do a single severum. Festivum males are pretty large growing and do better in a group, so I'd avoid those. Have you thought about a small school of Geos or something? Blue acaras tend to be pretty mild and would probably get along well with a small or medium sized geo. You could do a group of four.

If you're looking for other medium cichlids (6" or so) instead of the severums or festivums, you may try a few Krobia xinguensis which are colorful and robust. Keyholes are less colorful and don't grow as large but also a good choice. There are also the Acaronia species which do well as solitary fish and don't need to be in groups. They like to hide, though, so a heavily decorated tank may cause them to disappear from view.

What's the footprint on the tank?
 
I will definitely be getting at least 1 severum. Could a tank divider work if I wanted to breed severums? I would REALLY love to breed them more than any other fish. The geos are pretty, but they seem to be rather large fish. Are they peaceful breeders? I have read they get to be up to 12"! I want my severums to be the biggest fish in the tank and my star(s). If the geos come in smaller species, I would definitely trade the idea of festivums and keyholes for geos. But if not, would a small school of 3-4 festivums work? I read they are picky with choosing mates and getting any to pair up is very uncommon. If they are not likely to breed, could I use this stocking?

3-4 severums until a pair form and then down to just the pair
1 blue acara
3-4 festivum or geos (whichever is smaller)
6 angelicus loaches
1 Siamese algae eater


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Foot print is what Is the size of the bottom of the tank how much room it takes up (length and width). I would not do any breeding pair in a community with sa/ca as most get really aggressive when breeding.

I need to spark up my fish life
 
Wow. I just realized how crowded I just stocked my tank with 3-4 festivums. LOL So scratch the festivums. How about just 1 firemouth instead? Just 4 cichlids with 2 of them being breeding severums should be okay in a 90 gallon tank, right?

2 mated severums
1 blue acara
1 firemouth
6 angelicus loaches
1 Siamese algae eater

Would that work? I think if I add some more driftwood pieces to what I already plan and make 4-5 rock caves, I should be able to pull that off. I think the firemouth will be the most aggressive fish in the tank (when the severums aren't breeding). I have read about lots of tanks with this exact trio of fish. Question is if I have room for anything else?

I am also going to start everyone off as small fish around 1.5-3". I read that fish who are raised from small fish take up less territory when they are full grown because their baby territories grow slowly with them and a full grown fish being added to a new tank will hog a ton of room just because it can. Anyone know if that is true?


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The footprint is 48.5" long X 18.5" wide and 25.5" high. The standard size 90 gallon that I just found out they don't make anymore. The tank was a cheap trade/purchase froma friend who was downgrading and he had it running non-sto for about 5 years. I stripped the old sealant out and put new sealant in myself. Been holding water without leaks for about 2 weeks now, so I think I'm good. LOL


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My opinion is that if you want to breed severums, you should set up a 75 gallon tank and give that to the pair. I have my severums in 150 and 210 gallon aquariums (6' x 18" and 6' x 2') and a single pair will easily take over half the tank and torment all the other fish. I have a pair with eggs right now who are keeping 11 tankmates cowering in the other half of the tank. It causes stress, and severums will spawn every 1 to 4 weeks depending on how quickly you remove the fry. This means that once they start spawning, your other fish aren't going to catch a break. For the most part I separate all my male and female severums until I am ready for a batch of fry, otherwise they just spawn all the time.

There are several of species of Geophagus, ranging from large to small and peaceful to aggressive. Geophagus sp. 'Orange Head Tapajos' only grow to around 6" and are very colorful, active, and peaceful. They will occupy the middle and bottom levels of your tank and also sift your sand. They are more peaceful than Mesonauta, IMO. Also, Mesonauta are not hard to spawn if they are happy. They are no more difficult than severums. They tend to occupy the upper levels of the tank.

If you're going to make a spawning pair of fish your centerpiece, I'd scrap cichlid tankmates for them. That's just my opinion. Otherwise you end up with fighting and unrest nearly all the time when the fish have eggs/fry.

Here is a video of my notatus pair defending fry in the 150 gallon community. Notice at the end how violently the female attacks her tankmates, and how they tend to stay at the opposite end of the tank. And this is a small pair, about 7" or so. My Atabapo severums are 10"+ and very thick, and easily attack/injure tankmates when they're protecting fry.

[video=youtube_share;nUTg7A1dXmw]http://youtu.be/nUTg7A1dXmw[/video]
 
ryansmith83 said:
My opinion is that if you want to breed severums, you should set up a 75 gallon tank and give that to the pair. I have my severums in 150 and 210 gallon aquariums (6' x 18" and 6' x 2') and a single pair will easily take over half the tank and torment all the other fish. I have a pair with eggs right now who are keeping 11 tankmates cowering in the other half of the tank. It causes stress, and severums will spawn every 1 to 4 weeks depending on how quickly you remove the fry. This means that once they start spawning, your other fish aren't going to catch a break. For the most part I separate all my male and female severums until I am ready for a batch of fry, otherwise they just spawn all the time.

There are several of species of Geophagus, ranging from large to small and peaceful to aggressive. Geophagus sp. 'Orange Head Tapajos' only grow to around 6" and are very colorful, active, and peaceful. They will occupy the middle and bottom levels of your tank and also sift your sand. They are more peaceful than Mesonauta, IMO. Also, Mesonauta are not hard to spawn if they are happy. They are no more difficult than severums. They tend to occupy the upper levels of the tank.

If you're going to make a spawning pair of fish your centerpiece, I'd scrap cichlid tankmates for them. That's just my opinion. Otherwise you end up with fighting and unrest nearly all the time when the fish have eggs/fry.

Here is a video of my notatus pair defending fry in the 150 gallon community. Notice at the end how violently the female attacks her tankmates, and how they tend to stay at the opposite end of the tank. And this is a small pair, about 7" or so. My Atabapo severums are 10"+ and very thick, and easily attack/injure tankmates when they're protecting fry.

[video=youtube_share;nUTg7A1dXmw]http://youtu.be/nUTg7A1dXmw[/video]
Click to expand...

Well seeing is believing. Had no idea they were so aggressive (even when breeding). Well I will make a separate 75 gallon tank for a pair of breeding severums. Should I put anything in with the breeding pair for cleaning? A pleco or catfish? Maybe a school of Cory cats?

Btw...those Heros notatus are absolutely gorgeous. I had never seen that species before now. I think they are even prettier than the super reds. I searched notatus and all I get is a green spotted severum. Are those a special hybrid or just a rare coloration?

And I love the geo tapajos. Very pretty.

So your advice has raised a few questions. You recommended getting a few of those geos, but they still breed. How do I avoid that so that there is as little aggression as possible in the tank? With 3-4 of them, the chances are good that a pair will form. Or are they less aggressive than the severums, making them okay to breed?

Will this stock list work?

1 blue acara
1 firemouth
3-4 geophagus tapajos
6 angelicus loaches
1 Siamese algae eater
10-15 schooling fish

Do I have more room in the tank with the above list? And all the fish are either bottom dwellers or mid and bottom dwellers. Will the tank be too crowded on the bottom? I have the schooling fish for the top layer (thinking Dennison barbs).


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