I'm getting an aquarium pretty soon that is going to be about 140 gallons! The dimensions are 180x50x60cm. Might have to remeasure the height though. I need some help with stocking ideas. So far I definitely know that I want a Tiger Oscar and I also have heard the firemouth cichlids do well with them. I was thinking of getting these fish as baby's but the man who is selling the fish tank offered to sell me his 20in Clown Knife. Would it be safe to keep these fish and other fish together with a fish of that size or will he be to big for them. Finally was also thinking of a Blue Acara. Featherfin Syno, and a common Pleco. Would love more suggestions on other fish that I could put in here or if this is max stocking.
140 gallon
- Thread starter Cole101
- Start date
if you can opt out of the clown knife, i would. they get too large for that size tank. even at 20 inches now hes too big for 50cm wide tank. this fish would also create havoc with the other fish youre mentioning.
i would fine tune what youre trying to do with the tank first. it sounds like you want a community with one or two larger centerpiece type fish. i would pair an oscar with a severum. ive also heard good things about chocolate cichlids, and they are gorgeous fish. add a few medium sized catfish and a small school of silver dollars maybe. maybe even a green terror. and yes a pair of firemouths or blue acaras or both would work in this setup, but be warned breeding firemouths can be nasty. i would go with the acaras personally.
what would be really dope in that tank imo would be a festae trio. i am awestruck every time i see one of those setups.
i would fine tune what youre trying to do with the tank first. it sounds like you want a community with one or two larger centerpiece type fish. i would pair an oscar with a severum. ive also heard good things about chocolate cichlids, and they are gorgeous fish. add a few medium sized catfish and a small school of silver dollars maybe. maybe even a green terror. and yes a pair of firemouths or blue acaras or both would work in this setup, but be warned breeding firemouths can be nasty. i would go with the acaras personally.
what would be really dope in that tank imo would be a festae trio. i am awestruck every time i see one of those setups.
yea I can opt out of the clown knife easily. Yea i know for sure about the Oscar and I will probably go with the chocolate cichlids over the the severum just because I like the color of them a bit better and have also heard them doing well with Oscars. I was not planning on breeding firemouths but thanks for a heads up! Can you not keep a single in a tank I've read that you can but will look into the deeper. Green terrors and festae do both look beautiful but I've heard to much about them being aggressive so I think I will stay away from them but would definitely be a cool option in a future tank! Never liked silver dollars to much but do you have any suggestions for some good catfish? Finally would it be possible to also put a common pleco or sailfin pleco really like the look of them but definitely don't want to overcrowd the tank! Thank you so much for the help.
yeah you could do just one firemouth. and yes the festae would not work in the community but i still think GTs will. ive had success keeping a gt with an oscar pair before.
im a big supporter of raphael cats. they're perfect size and tough as nails and are entertaining nighttime feeders. good at excess food cleanup too. 2 or 3 would be great for your tank. they also fit your south american theme and there are some attractive varieties available like chocolate raphael.
also think about some geophagus. if you're not gonna do SD you'll have plenty of room for a shoal of smaller geos like red head tapajos.
plecos are not my cup of tea. if your tank is acrylic then its a no go. a big sailfin or common will rasp the hell out of it. theyre also quite large and bulky and add a significant bioload to your tank.
it should be fairly obvious if its acrylic or glass. glass tanks will have bracing around the top and bottom, unless its a rimless tank. acrylic is basically high end plexiglass. the top will be a sheet of acrylic with cutout holes in it. glass is harder to scratch but breaks easier. acrylic is clearer, lighter and stronger but can scratch easier. scratches can be buffed out of acrylic though.
Ok so how does this stocking sound?
1 tiger Oscar
1 firemouth
1 blue acara
1 chocolate cichlid
3 Raphael cats
5 silver dollars or 5 red head tapajos if they have them
Also one last question the place I’m buying them from is a well known place with good stock and low prices but they’re known to sometimes have diseases. If I’m to buy all the fish at once can I quarantine them together or do I have to do them seperately? Any thoughts on this would be great.
1 tiger Oscar
1 firemouth
1 blue acara
1 chocolate cichlid
3 Raphael cats
5 silver dollars or 5 red head tapajos if they have them
Also one last question the place I’m buying them from is a well known place with good stock and low prices but they’re known to sometimes have diseases. If I’m to buy all the fish at once can I quarantine them together or do I have to do them seperately? Any thoughts on this would be great.
that sounds very reasonable. i know i would definitely add more but i tend to push limits in community tanks. if you do experience any aggression you'll have the freedom to add fish to disperse aggression hopefully. i know i already mentioned severums, but i will reiterate that they are great at dealing with bullies in the tank. also a group of dithers can help but anything less than 3-4" and the oscar will munch on them eventually.
oh right. well if you are getting them all from the same shop at the same time i can not see any need to keep them separate from each other. but i will add that this is discouraged in fishkeeping, especially when your tank is new.
common policy is to add one or two fish at a time until you know your tank is stable, and then practice a couple weeks of quarantine in a separate tank for new additions.
there was a thread with quite a bit of discussion on this topic not long ago. I'll try to dig it up for you.
I'll admit that i am not the strictest with quarantining fish. when i have a tank available i will. but i mostly deal with hardy south and central american fish like youre suggesting and i have relatively few deaths from disease.