Help me with my 75 gallon stock

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tyson5711

Black Skirt Tetra
MFK Member
Jan 27, 2016
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Hi there. I'm new to the forum but not new to fish keeping. I currently have a 36 gallon tank but will be upgrading over the coming months to a 75. Here is my proposed stock (all will be juveniles upon start up except the dorsigeras)

2-3 Blood Parrots
1 Keyhole
1 Sajica (if I can find one)/HRP (or similarly sized and peaceful cichlid)
2 Laetecara Dorsigera
2 Pearl Gourami
Diamond Tetras for dithers
A mix of Kuhli and Zebra loaches for scavengers

Thoughts/suggestions appreciated.
 
Also planning on doing 2 Sunsun 403b canister filters. Will this be a sufficient amount of filtration for that stock?
 
Blood parrots can get pretty big and can be mean as hell from what I've heard. 75 gallons sounds like a lot but that tank will be very overstocked. Filtration is good, but they'll eventually be packed in there like a can of sardines.
 
I think key holes do best in groups.
Blood parrots are a hit or miss when it comes to size. A friend of mine had one that was as big as a soft ball but I've also seen a few adults that weren't too big.
 
tyguy7760 said:
Hi there. I'm new to the forum but not new to fish keeping. I currently have a 36 gallon tank but will be upgrading over the coming months to a 75. Here is my proposed stock (all will be juveniles upon start up except the dorsigeras)

2-3 Blood Parrots
1 Keyhole
1 Sajica (if I can find one)/HRP (or similarly sized and peaceful cichlid)
2 Laetecara Dorsigera
2 Pearl Gourami
Diamond Tetras for dithers
A mix of Kuhli and Zebra loaches for scavengers

Thoughts/suggestions appreciated.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't keep keyholes with blood parrots, my own BP is a terror at times; she definitely takes mood swings which result in attacking plants, fish, and my hand; keyholes are much too shy for that.

sajica would be fine, I haven't kept Laetecara Dorsigera so no idea on that one; the gourami's might be hit or miss, probably a miss.

diamond tetras would be fine, the loach mix sounds like an interesting combo; it'd probably work imo
 
Thank you all for the help. I had seen in these forums as well as others the advice given for BP's are 55 gallons for 1 and add 10 gallons for each additional which is why I decided on 3. I'd also seen it be suggested they also do better in groups. Is this not correct?

I had picked keyholes and sajicas (and dorsigera because I already have them) because they were peaceful cichlids. I know the BP's have a hard time defending themselves but wanted some smaller cichlids that wouldn't bully them but at the same time could hold their own. If keyholes are not a good match, could you suggest another cichlid that would be ok with BPs and a Sajica? Or should I get another Sajica? Or just not replace the keyhole at all and leave the extra room?

My only concern with getting another Sajica is if they spawned and the aggression took out the BP's.

And I was already considering getting rid of the gouramis so no big deal there

Thank you again for any advice you can give me
 
I've found sajica to be closer in aggression to convicts than other cryptoheros species, but that is just my experience. I agree with the above suggestions to leave the keyhole out. They are very timid and will get outcompeted for food with most cichlids larger than them.

A 75 will fill up quickly with 3 blood parrots. If well kept, they can get pretty big.
 
Thank you for the guidance. The 2 cichlids I wanted to keep most were the Sajica's and Blood parrots. I had been told that blood parrots typically are less aggressive in groups than in singles which was why I was trying to maximize the amount of blood parrots in the tank. Do you believe I should cut that down to two to be able to keep a sajica? Or would 3 still be fine with 1 sajica? Or should I do 2 and 2?

If I did 2 sajicas, would it be ok to get two males? I've read that many times the females are more aggressive. And I don't want to introduce their spawning agression.
 
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