I would just skip the oscars and get firemouths and a centipede knifefish. A full grown black ghost knife is big for even a 180 in my experience.
BGK is south American, I think this stocking would be okay but is slightly on the heavy side. Possible conflict I see is that the heckellii look similar to the Tapajos but are usually a bit more aggressive, so they might do better with no heckelli in tank. BGK is debatable, I think a 240 would be ok for one personally.Been looking at these fish all day and hopefully this is ok...Tried to keep it all SA what do u think.
1 oscar
Red shoulder severum pair
5 red hump eartheaters
1 threadfin acara
3 pimlodius ornatus
1 black ghost knife fish
OMG it is! I feel like a fool as I always assumed they were from asia for some reasonPretty sure the bgk is a south american fish...
Ok, so I wanted one other single cichlid for the tank (besides the oscar) any recommendations if the acara wont work??Remove the threadfin acara, they can be real pissants, especially to your eartheaters.
What other fish could work with this stock....I love the BGK and have never kept them. I have had Oscars in the past. What else would you add with the BGK and threadfin. ThanksI say stick to either an oscar themed tank or the bgk type theme. I think the threadfin+bgk would be a cool concept. Plenty of options for tankmates and good fits for a 180.
Ime, threadfins prefer warmer water (>80f) and are usually only aggressive to other eartheater type cichlids. They are more open water swimmers than sand sifting types.
What other fish could work with this stock....I love the BGK and have never kept them. I have had Oscars in the past. What else would you add with the BGK and threadfin. Thanks
Awesome tank!! Ive been looking at congo tetras for a while and if I go this route can they work for dithers (maybe a school of 12 or so). Then adding the BGK, Threadfin acara, Sevrum pair, pink tail chalceus, than maybe some other dithers and bottom dwellers?You have a lot of options for dithers. I have been recommending argenteus tetras a lot lately, mostly because mine are some of the coolest fish ive ever kept.
Heres my mixed community with severums, syno cats, raphael cats, african tetras, clown loaches, blue acaras, pink tail chalceus, and the aforementioned argenteus tetras. The threadfin is also in there but is behind the log lol.
View attachment 1342277
I would definitely recommend the pink tail chalceus for your tank too. The biggest thing to watch out for is other fish that may pick on the bgk while it is small. I would provide a nice log for the bgk to hide under when it needs to, and avoid adding any boisterous bottom feeders until the knifefish puts on some size. For instance, i wouldnt put ornate pims with a small bgk. They are constantly darting around and are somewhat territorial with hiding spots ime, and i think they would harass a small bgk. View attachment 1342278