120 gallon cichlid tank

[seanh]

Im starting to think its how you stock the tank, as in which order.

In this tank in particular I had the chocolate in there from about 5/6 inch, he was the main fish. I put him in with some general community fish so he knew he was boss. I then slowly added the other cichlids from a small size, about 2 inch. As they grew they sorted out their pecking order and the chocolate remained at the top of that order. He is the peace maker and every now and then puts everyone in their place.

Dont get me wrong there is a bit of chasing but it is purely when they get in each others way. The only major aggression was when i first put the GT in. The JD chased him pretty relentlessly for two days but eventuely the tables turned and they settled their differences... oh and the community fish got wiped out lol

The one i got to keep my eye on is the salvini. She has always mind her own but has now gone above the larger GT in the pecking order and is starting to flare at the larger JD, so definitely one for me to monitor.

It is definitely trial and error but I would start by getting a larger more mellow fish in thre first, let him make the tank his own and then add smaller fish, small enough not to be seen as a threat (or a meal!!)

 

[Cichlids-r-beasts]

I'd say a jack Dempsey, a severum and a pair of convicts with a school of dither fish like giant danios.

 

[Bertie]

I'd say a jack Dempsey, a severum and a pair of convicts with a school of dither fish like giant danios.

Im starting to think its how you stock the tank, as in which order.

In this tank in particular I had the chocolate in there from about 5/6 inch, he was the main fish. I put him in with some general community fish so he knew he was boss. I then slowly added the other cichlids from a small size, about 2 inch. As they grew they sorted out their pecking order and the chocolate remained at the top of that order. He is the peace maker and every now and then puts everyone in their place.

Dont get me wrong there is a bit of chasing but it is purely when they get in each others way. The only major aggression was when i first put the GT in. The JD chased him pretty relentlessly for two days but eventuely the tables turned and they settled their differences... oh and the community fish got wiped out lol

The one i got to keep my eye on is the salvini. She has always mind her own but has now gone above the larger GT in the pecking order and is starting to flare at the larger JD, so definitely one for me to monitor.

It is definitely trial and error but I would start by getting a larger more mellow fish in thre first, let him make the tank his own and then add smaller fish, small enough not to be seen as a threat (or a meal!!)

Do you think that an Oscar, chocolate cichlid, convict and severum or salvini would work
in my tank

 

[Gourami Swami]

It is trial and error for sure, and what works for one person may not work for you. Also, sean's fish are not mature yet, and he has said that he will probably have to thin it out in the future, which I agree with.
I think you would be better off keeping it to SA cichlids, as the CA species are meaner in general. Convict and salvini in particular are some of the worst. I would say you could do Oscar, severum, chocolate pretty easily with some assorted catfish/dithers. You could add an electric blue acara (or any acara really) if you wanted to do a small cichlid in there too.

 

[Rocksor]

I had an oscar relentlessly chase a chocolate cichlid in a 8 foot tank, and the chocolate was there first for 6 months. The oscar ignored it until it was about 3/4 its size (the chocolate being bigger), and began to terrorize it. It actively hunted for the chocolate and ignored the other cichlids of similar size.

It's going to be hit and miss. Personalities change over time. What works in the first few months or years can fail in a matter of minutes.

Are you prepared to do 100% water changes or more during the course of 7 days once those fish start to get closer to their max size in 2 years? Can you keep up with keeping nitrates below 20ppm? You have 3 potential 10" plus fish that you want in the tank in such a small space.

 

[RD.]

4x2x2 - I would keep a single Oscar, and still do 80% water changes weekly.

 

[Bertie]

4x2x2 - I would keep a single Oscar, and still do 80% water changes weekly.

I had an oscar relentlessly chase a chocolate cichlid in a 8 foot tank, and the chocolate was there first for 6 months. The oscar ignored it until it was about 3/4 its size (the chocolate being bigger), and began to terrorize it. It actively hunted for the chocolate and ignored the other cichlids of similar size.

It's going to be hit and miss. Personalities change over time. What works in the first few months or years can fail in a matter of minutes.

Are you prepared to do 100% water changes or more during the course of 7 days once those fish start to get closer to their max size in 2 years? Can you keep up with keeping nitrates below 20ppm? You have 3 potential 10" plus fish that you want in the tank in such a small space.

It is trial and error for sure, and what works for one person may not work for you. Also, sean's fish are not mature yet, and he has said that he will probably have to thin it out in the future, which I agree with.
I think you would be better off keeping it to SA cichlids, as the CA species are meaner in general. Convict and salvini in particular are some of the worst. I would say you could do Oscar, severum, chocolate pretty easily with some assorted catfish/dithers. You could add an electric blue acara (or any acara really) if you wanted to do a small cichlid in there too.

What about if I got rid of the oscar and did a chocolate with some geophagus or guianacara and some dithers

 

[Bertie]

What dither would you do as well

 

[Cichlids-r-beasts]

What dither would you do as well

Giant Danios.
I would say silver dollars but the tank will be over stocked.

 

[Gourami Swami]

That would probably be a little easier on the tank bioload-wise. Although personally I think you would be okay with the Oscar as well if you really wanted it. You are going to get plenty of differing opinions in an online forum, it's your job to sift through them and decide what to follow. Is RD wrong about a single Oscar in a 120 gallon needing an 80% water change every week? No, i'm sure if you followed his advice you would have a healthy and happy Oscar. Would you also be able to keep the Oscar with some tankmates, and do a 50% water change, and keep nitrates within an acceptable level? I believe you would.
What I'm trying to say is that aside from some things like consensuses about minimum tank size for a species, there is a lot of variability to what "will work". It's hard to just give you a cookie cutter stock and amount of maintenance and guarantee the fish won't kill each other or the tank won't get dirty.
You have some species listed that won't outgrow your tank. I'd say get what you want stocking wise, and give it a shot. Adjust maintenance and stocking as you see fit.