Opinions on 180 stock ideas

[Bfishy]

I am about to set up my 180. I plan on cycling it first before putting any good fish in but it should cycle quickly because I have cycled filters that will go into the tank. I've come up with six or seven fish that I like and I'd like to get as many of those into the tank as I can without overstocking it. So without further ado these are the fish I want in order of preference.

Cichla kelberi
Crenicichla lenticulata
Nandopsis tetracanthus
Red Texas Cichlid
Brachyplatystoma tigrinum
Paratilapia (bleek or pol)
Might toss in some sort of plecostomus if I find something I like that gets big enough. Other things I like include the red tiger motaguense and Parachromis friedrichsthalii. Some of the geophagus are pretty cool as well, so if there's anything I have up there that won't work together there's plenty of things I can switch out with.

 

[Gourami Swami]

Kelberi in a 180 is debatable, some people say they only get 12-14", thought I belive there have been some members here with 18" kelbs.
As for the rest of the stock; I think your 6-7 large fish would be fine bioload-wise, but getting an aggressive cichlid community to work takes a lot of luck and patience. Basically, it is very unlikely that any combination will work forever and live in harmony; it will take a lot of shuffling fish around to get a mix that tolerates each other, and even then it can go wrong in an instant. So, hard to give too much advice on the exact combo. People will probably chime in and tell you you can only have one individual of any of these species, and then somebody else will chime in and say to double your stock. Got to take it all with a grain of salt and add the advice to your own experience to make the decisions.

What I would do; pick either south American or central American. The south americans are much more tolerant of each other and are actually pretty easy to do the community with. Centrals are much more difficult.
If you go SA; you could do your pikes, kelberi, pleco, and some different types of geophagus. This type of tank tends to make a nice display, and like I said, more tolerant of each other.
For a CA tank I would try to get all males or all females; a pair of any of those species will take over a 180. I'd get 5-6 of them as juveniles and let them grow up together, with the expectation that at some point you will have to move fish around as they start trying to kill each other. Having another tank onhand for refugees is recommended.
good luck!

 

[Bfishy]

Thanks that does help. I have kept fish most of my life and have run a pet store so I have a good knowledge but I'm kind of getting back into the hobby at after some time out of it. Most of the fish I listed I've never kept so I was unsure of temperament and whatnot. I do know the general thinking that with enough fish one fish can't necessarily get singled out but at the same time you get the overcrowding aspect as well. I like the idea of sticking with the South Americans and I could put a paratilapia in there as well because from what I understand they're not overly aggressive either. I'm definitely planning on getting all the fish while they are small and putting the least aggressive and slowest growers in first, and the most aggressive and fastest growers in last, and probably put them in when the least aggressive are considerably larger. A larger fish tank down the road is also a possibility anyways. Actually putting some thought into building my own plywood tank. I'm sure that will spark some pretty harsh opinions on both sides of the aisle LOL.

 

[Gourami Swami]

Thanks that does help. I have kept fish most of my life and have run a pet store so I have a good knowledge but I'm kind of getting back into the hobby at after some time out of it. Most of the fish I listed I've never kept so I was unsure of temperament and whatnot. I do know the general thinking that with enough fish one fish can't necessarily get singled out but at the same time you get the overcrowding aspect as well. I like the idea of sticking with the South Americans and I could put a paratilapia in there as well because from what I understand they're not overly aggressive either. I'm definitely planning on getting all the fish while they are small and putting the least aggressive and slowest growers in first, and the most aggressive and fastest growers in last, and probably put them in when the least aggressive are considerably larger. A larger fish tank down the road is also a possibility anyways. Actually putting some thought into building my own plywood tank. I'm sure that will spark some pretty harsh opinions on both sides of the aisle LOL.

You could try the paratilapia, I have heard they can get pretty aggressive but in a 180 with enough going on in the tank, it may be fine. Not like the crenicichla etc are pushovers. Geophagus kind of are, but keep an eye on it and give it a shot if you really want the fish.
Welcome back to the hobby

 

[richyrich]

I think Gourami Swami has given you sound advice here.

 

[Bfishy]

I have modified my stock some due to availability, temperament, and costs. While I cant find a single thing about it on the FWC site, or anywhere for that matter, I have been assure that Kelberi are now on the restricted list in Florida. A month ago I would have been fine. I assume because they don't want any released and breeding with the Butterfly Peacocks. Either way, it seems to be off my list for now at least. I have a Cuban cichlid and 3 geophagus altifrons currently in the tank with some pregnant female mollies and their babies I had around. Probably going to stay away from the RTM for now. As for the rest, I have a few probabilities depending on availability, size and price. Basically I'm winging it till I'm satisfied lol. The set up is not worth posting pictures of right now, but I am working on the décor, and for now I just tossed some stuff from other tanks I had laying around like rocks with java moss and java fern, some wood with moss and anubias, and misc rocks. I have some wood I would like to use but I wanted to run it by some others before I do. I have a decent piece of oak and a cool mulberry branch. My concern is they have only been cut from the trees 4 to 6 weeks ago on the oak, and about 2 weeks or so on the mulberry. My questions are, is the mulberry okay to use, and with both the oak and mulberry, do I need to let them be fully cured like I would with firewood before I put them in the tank? Thanks in advance for any input.

 

[Gourami Swami]

Yes you want to only use very dead wood in your tanks; the oak and mulberry you mention are too recently cut to use. They need to be completely dried out, which can take quite a long time.

 

[Bfishy]

Due to tannins? Sap? Both? More? Just curious as to why. Trees don't get to choose whether or not they are alive or dead when they fall in the water in the wild. I understand I'm in a closed system but I also have chemical filtration. Not arguing just curious.

 

[Bfishy]

Oh yeah. I got a kick out of my fish tonight when I came home from work and saw everybody hanging out like they're The Brady Bunch. That's a Cuban cichlid that seems to be guarding my geophagus altifrons along with some mollies just swimming around without a care in the world.

 

[Gourami Swami]

Due to sap and possibly other organics leaching in to water, is why I'd avoid it. Or at least, dry it out for a while then boil it if possible and soak it in a separate bucket for a while before putting in your tank. To make sure it is dried out and dead.