Stocking question for my 210g (72”x24”x29”) aquarium.

[michaelyonis]

Specifics:
210g 72”x24”x29”
Fluval FX-6
Marineland Emporer 400
75 gph sponge filter w/100 gph air pump
2x Aquatop 300w heaters
1x Fluval Plant 3.0 LED Light 36”-48”
1x Fluval Aquasky 2.0 LED Light 36”-48”
2x Aquatop Wave Makers

The rank is currently a blank slate.

Debating on stocking this tank with Large American Cichlids

I am debating on one Oscar, one Jag, one Red Devil, one Jack Dempsey, and one Texas Cichlid. Please let me know your thoughts and opinions on anything related to this tank.

 

[Punjabiking1500]

I recommend smth like one big American cichlid , pair of med-small sized cichlid and 2 types of schooling/dither fishes along with a bottom dweller like bichir/ rafael
Like one Oscar
Two parrots with SDs
Or a jag
With pair of green terrors and school of SDs
Anything u like
I don't prefer stocking with all big cichlids the tank dosnt looks too happening to me that way
Still u should look forward accord to ur liking

 

[duanes]

Central American community tank problems

Besides the territorial concerns, what are your tap water water parameters?
Do your tap water parameters lean heavily in the hard water direction, or soft water direction?

If you have hard water, Central Americans may be a better choice (pH 8, more than 250ppm hardness).

If you have soft water, South Americans might be a better choice, (pH 6, 50ppm or less hardness)

If your tap water is neutral (pH 7, 125 ppm hardness) your choices are less limited as far a combinations go.

 

[abominus]

View attachment 1528521Specifics:
210g 72”x24”x29”
Fluval FX-6
Marineland Emporer 400
75 gph sponge filter w/100 gph air pump
2x Aquatop 300w heaters
1x Fluval Plant 3.0 LED Light 36”-48”
1x Fluval Aquasky 2.0 LED Light 36”-48”
2x Aquatop Wave Makers

The rank is currently a blank slate.

Debating on stocking this tank with Large American Cichlids

I am debating on one Oscar, one Jag, one Red Devil, one Jack Dempsey, and one Texas Cichlid. Please let me know your thoughts and opinions on anything related to this tank.

Welcome to mfk

 

[SilverArowanaBoi]

Debating on stocking this tank with Large American Cichlids

I am debating on one Oscar, one Jag, one Red Devil, one Jack Dempsey, and one Texas Cichlid. Please let me know your thoughts and opinions on anything related to this tank.

Welcome to the fun group! lol.

I would not recommend all of those together in the same tank. I would do one of the following combinations:

1 Oscar, 2-4 Striped Raphaels

2-3 Blood Parrots, dithers like emperor tetras or diamonds, and a striped Raphael.

1 Red Devil with Raphaels (or another breed of armored catfish)

One of my favorite ideas: 1 Green Terror, 1 Jack Dempsey, 1 Convict, and maybe 1 Striped Raphael. I saw this combo on cichlid bros in a beautiful 125 (I think that was the size; I know it was over 100 gallons). The fish didn't bother each other, and it looked fantastic.

I would also recommend you find your absolute favorites, like the ones you can't live without in your mind. Let that be the centerpiece and put appropriate fish with it. If you are worried about having a singular fish or having 2-3 fish in there, I promise you, those fish will take up that tank space. Check out FINWIN@"s Oscar in his 200-gallon. It is the biggest Oscar I've seen.

Also, I'm just saying that with those blue lights, a massive school of African yellow labs cichlids would look epic in there with some extensive rock work. It would look saltwater-esque and be a very vivid setup. (Don't mix with American cichlids )

One last piece of advice: Understocking is way better than overstocking, even when the tank is mature.

Good luck with your tank!

 

[michaelyonis]

Central American community tank problems

Besides the territorial concerns, what are your tap water water parameters?
Do your tap water parameters lean heavily in the hard water direction, or soft water direction?

If you have hard water, Central Americans may be a better choice (pH 8, more than 250ppm hardness).

If you have soft water, South Americans might be a better choice, (pH 6, 50ppm or less hardness)

If your tap water is neutral (pH 7, 125 ppm hardness) your choices are less limited as far a combinations go.

My tap water PH is roughly 7.5 and is the same PH that my LFS keeps all of their freshwater fish species. So the transition from there would be a large one initially, but my PH does drop over time to the more acidic range (~6.0-7.0). If it settles in the more acidic range, what would your thoughts on an Oscar, a chocolate cichlid, a group of geos, and a school of dithers?

 

[michaelyonis]

Welcome to the fun group! lol.

I would not recommend all of those together in the same tank. I would do one of the following combinations:

1 Oscar, 2-4 Striped Raphaels

2-3 Blood Parrots, dithers like emperor tetras or diamonds, and a striped Raphael.

1 Red Devil with Raphaels (or another breed of armored catfish)

One of my favorite ideas: 1 Green Terror, 1 Jack Dempsey, 1 Convict, and maybe 1 Striped Raphael. I saw this combo on cichlid bros in a beautiful 125 (I think that was the size; I know it was over 100 gallons). The fish didn't bother each other, and it looked fantastic.

I would also recommend you find your absolute favorites, like the ones you can't live without in your mind. Let that be the centerpiece and put appropriate fish with it. If you are worried about having a singular fish or having 2-3 fish in there, I promise you, those fish will take up that tank space. Check out FINWIN@"s Oscar in his 200-gallon. It is the biggest Oscar I've seen.

Also, I'm just saying that with those blue lights, a massive school of African yellow labs cichlids would look epic in there with some extensive rock work. It would look saltwater-esque and be a very vivid setup. (Don't mix with American cichlids )

One last piece of advice: Understocking is way better than overstocking, even when the tank is mature.

Good luck with your tank!

Thank you for the welcome and all of the advice, under stocking is definitely preferred with the larger species. I will check out the video you mentioned with the larger Oscar.

 

[michaelyonis]

Welcome to mfk

Thank you for the welcome. I’m happy to be here.

 

[SilverArowanaBoi]

Thank you for the welcome and all of the advice, under stocking is definitely preferred with the larger species. I will check out the video you mentioned with the larger Oscar.

The Oscar is not a video, it is the pet of one of the members FINWIN@. He can tell you more about his Oscar, Brick, if you're interested in the Oscars, he has a lot of great info on them. There are plenty of pictures of his prized Brick around the site, though. I believe there is one in one of my old threads called "Gutsy Mix."

 

[michaelyonis]

I recommend smth like one big American cichlid , pair of med-small sized cichlid and 2 types of schooling/dither fishes along with a bottom dweller like bichir/ rafael
Like one Oscar
Two parrots with SDs
Or a jag
With pair of green terrors and school of SDs
Anything u like
I don't prefer stocking with all big cichlids the tank dosnt looks too happening to me that way
Still u should look forward accord to ur liking

What would your thoughts be on an Oscar, a Chocolate Cichlid, a small group of Geos, and some dithers like either SDs, Buenos Aires Tetras, or Giant Danios? I think you mentioned the possibility of two different types of dithers as well?