125G Gladiator Tank - Vieja, Polleni, Cuban, GT?

[Murrayjane]

Hey guys, looking for some real-world experience on a 6ft 125G gladiator setup. Running an FX6 and doing 50-75% weekly WCs.

Not keeping all of these and I have a separate tank for any major issues.

Looking to have maybe 3-4 gladiators and have severums act as cichlid dither aggression support.

Current juveniles (all in the 2-4” range):

• 1x Vieja synspilum

• 1x True Parrot

• 1x Pearl Cichlid (probably will remove unless advised otherwise)

• 2x Starry Night (Polleni) (would only keep one)

• 3x Cuban (N. tetracanthus) (would only keep one at most and I have concerns with this one)

• 3x Green Terrors Gold Saums (sorting through to keep the best 1)

• 4x Severums (3 Red Shoulder & 1 Red Spotted) - will reduce the number

• 6x Spotted SDs (dithers)


The Questions:

1. The Cuban: Is he a death sentence for the Severums? I'm debating rehoming them now versus seeing if the Vieja keeps him in check.

2. The Mix: In a 125G, is a 5-6 cichlid "Power Tank" better for spreading aggression than a trio?

3. Polleni vs. Vieja: Who usually claims the alpha spot in this mix?

Would love to hear from anyone who has run this specific mix or has tips on hardscaping to keep the Polleni and Vieja on opposite sides.

I guess optimally I’d like a GT, Vieja Synspilum and at least one other of the listed candidates, but I welcome all feedback! Thank you in advance.

 

[duanes]

I have kept a number of the hard water high pH (pH 8ish)water parameter species (Cuban, Vieja) but not togther with the soft water low (pH 4 to 6) types, such as Heros, or other Amazonian S Americans, and some neutral water parameter type cichlids(Geophagus braziliensus, Paratilapia species). but
To me, just an adult pair of Nanadopsis tetracanthus mxed out a 125 by themselves.

Paratilapia can also be aggresive
I kept a quartet in a 130 gal, with no other cichlids

1 male and 3 females
Viejas can a little more forgiving, but also require real space or conflicts arise.
the Geo braziliensus clade work well until maturity and spawn, then as a pair will fend of anything to the death , an interloper especially even something much larger, but especially if it had similar irredecent markings is at risque

Cichlids find safety in numbers when young, but once maturity sets in, it can be carnage in a tank as small as a 125 (or 6 ft tank)
the size area these cichlids come from in nature makes a 6 ft/125 gal tank, seem like a tiny culvert, in comparison.

I coolect cichlids in nature, the above pics are where I find them, sometimes only two species to a river.

 

[jjohnwm]

Slightly different thread title...different username...small variations in stocking list...but, all in all, this thread appears on an almost daily basis. Tiresome.

duanes usually needs to correct the sometimes laughable mismatches of species with regard to water conditions. Apparently the keepers of Bad Ass Fishes rarely ever consider subtleties like pH, hardness, etc...but they always know a list of aggressive fish species that simply must be jammed together into a too-small tank in an attempt to create a knife-edge uneasy truce...for reasons that remain a mystery to many folk, myself included.

The fish tend to be purchased at a smallish size, sometimes with the proviso that some will be re-homed as they grow and their bad-assedness becomes an issue. Often these tanks will work after a fashion, for awhile, until somebody grows up and the hormones take hold. Then we sometimes hear that such-and-such fish got a little beat up last night, so tonight when I get home from work I might think about maybe removing him...except when the hopeful fishkeeper gets home from work, he finds that the problem has been solved for him, and often a couple more have appeared. Or sometimes, we never hear from the poster again.