Uaru and angelfish in 75 gallon? Other ideas?

Pudmuppy

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Apr 24, 2019
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Hello everyone!

I have only kept nano and angelfish tanks (and newts!) up until now, however I have persuaded the husband that I should have a 75 gallon (although also trying to persuade him that bigger is better...)

I am just trying to work out what to keep in it though! Too many options.

I am still in love with angelfish, so that's a certainty! Would also like a group of geophagus red head tapajo or yellowhump/pelligrini

I have become particularly interested in Uaru as well, and I wonder what people's thoughts are on a small group of them in a 75? I understand they get up to 8" if not bigger. Would 4-6 be feasible in a 75 or is that just asking for trouble? (minus the geos).

Can anyone recommend a suitable smaller SA cichlid that may do well with a couple of angels? I am particularly looking for interesting behaviour and ones that will look lovely in a group of their own kind; I prefer groupings than one or two of lots of different species!
 
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tlindsey

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Hello everyone!

I have only kept nano and angelfish tanks (and newts!) up until now, however I have persuaded the husband that I should have a 75 gallon (although also trying to persuade him that bigger is better...)

I am just trying to work out what to keep in it though! Too many options.

I am still in love with angelfish, so that's a certainty! Would also like a group of geophagus red head tapajo or yellowhump/pelligrini

I have become particularly interested in Uaru as well, and I wonder what people's thoughts are on a small group of them in a 75? I understand they get up to 8" if not bigger. Would 4-6 be feasible in a 75 or is that just asking for trouble? (minus the geos).

Can anyone recommend a suitable smaller SA cichlid that may do well with a couple of angels? I am particularly looking for interesting behaviour and ones that will look lovely in a group of their own kind; I prefer groupings than one or two of lots of different species!


Personally would do Dwarf Cichlids such as Bolivian Rams, German Rams, or Apistogramma.
 

ryansmith83

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No to Uaru in a 75. These are 10”+ fish that do best in a social group. A 6’ tank is a necessity with adults, IMO. They grow very fast. I grew out a group in a 75 and in 5 months they went from 1” to 6” and needed to be upgraded, so even as a growout it’s not practical for long.

Go with smaller species like Cleithracara maronii, Krobia xinguensis, Bujurquina vittata, etc. Something that stays in the 5 - 6” range and not very aggressive.

A group of 4 - 6 Geophagus sp. Tapajos orangeheads is a good choice with a small group of angels. There may be some territorial disputes and aggression when a pair forms and you may need to address that when it happens, depending on how aggressive the pair is.
 

neutrino

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No to Uaru in a 75. These are 10”+ fish that do best in a social group. A 6’ tank is a necessity with adults, IMO. They grow very fast. I grew out a group in a 75 and in 5 months they went from 1” to 6” and needed to be upgraded, so even as a growout it’s not practical for long.

Go with smaller species like Cleithracara maronii, Krobia xinguensis, Bujurquina vittata, etc. Something that stays in the 5 - 6” range and not very aggressive.

A group of 4 - 6 Geophagus sp. Tapajos orangeheads is a good choice with a small group of angels. There may be some territorial disputes and aggression when a pair forms and you may need to address that when it happens, depending on how aggressive the pair is.
Agree to all the above. I've also kept guianacara with (wild Peru) angels, which worked for me. I also had breeding Tapajos OH geos in a community including Peru angels and the geos were good parents, protective of their nest site, but hardly what I'd call aggressive.
 

Pudmuppy

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Apr 24, 2019
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Thank you everyone for your excellent replies - I will give the Uaru a miss. However, thank you in particular to neutrino for mentioning Guianacara - I have never heard of these guys before, and they are absolutely perfect! Exactly fulfills what I am looking for; beautiful, smaller, interesting behaviour, social cichlids - I am really excited, I think these will be perfect!

I am now, however, in another quandary; I have watched a quantity of videos of people keeping Guianacara with Discus very happily. I had originally wanted Discus but decided not, as I was ideally looking for a more interesting, active cichlid and I couldn't see any Discus tankmates that really appealed.... now I am thinking Discus may be back as an option. Now my top fish are Guinacara, Discus, Geophagus, Angels and Festivums (I had forgotten about them!).

oh, and a pair of Kribs.

I need more tanks, obviously.
 
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neutrino

Goliath Tigerfish
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Just be aware with guianacara that some of the more colorful species/populations aren't easy to come by. At the time I got mine, the ones I found for sale were (sold to me as) sphenozona, interesting fish and I enjoyed them, but not especially colorful. I say 'sold to me as' because excepting certain distinctive populations they're not easy to tell apart, especially as juvies. The markings on their bodies that theoretically differentiates some species changes with mood.

In my case, the guianacara pushed the Tapajos geos around some once the guianacara got some size to them, so I kept them in different tanks as adults. The guianacara were fine with adult wild angels.
 

Pudmuppy

Black Skirt Tetra
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Apr 24, 2019
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Just be aware with guianacara that some of the more colorful species/populations aren't easy to come by. At the time I got mine, the ones I found for sale were (sold to me as) sphenozona, interesting fish and I enjoyed them, but not especially colorful. I say 'sold to me as' because excepting certain distinctive populations they're not easy to tell apart, especially as juvies. The markings on their bodies that theoretically differentiates some species changes with mood.

In my case, the guianacara pushed the Tapajos geos around some once the guianacara got some size to them, so I kept them in different tanks as adults. The guianacara were fine with adult wild angels.
I can see they aren't the easiest to acquire, and even harder to ID! I'm just trying to see if it's possible to order them from my (very good) lfs... It may be a case of whether I can find them or geophagus first, then pick up the other type on a later date
 
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