180 stocking moving help!

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
duanes said:
The Geophagus group you might find on that side of the Andes and Sierra Nevada Santa Marta mountain chains, although a bit further north, would be the red hump group (steindachneri, pelligrini, or crassilabrus).
These Geos are also more adopted to an alkaline environment, that suit Andinoacara.
Other cichlids might be Mesoheros ornatum/gephyrum, and atromaculatus.
One of the problems I have with an open forum such as this, is that an opinion can be given, and hold weight, but from very inexperienced posters.
Someone might say, I have had great success with pearsei in a 55 gal.
But they may have kept, and withheld the fact that they have only had those pearsei, 1 year or less. This "IMO" is not experience, this info means nothing. Unless you have kept a cichlid at least the length it takes to reach full potential (usually minimum 3 years), and to full size, that is not experience but just the beginning.
I have seen posts by people that can't tell a JD from Paratilapia. Or a Tilapia from a Parachromis.
I realize we all start from scratch, and it takes time, but voicing opinion after very little time is not to me productive.
I would never comment about a cichlid I hadn't kept for at least juvie to adult stage (sometimes years) at some time in my life. And for those cichlids I haven't kept in over 20 years, I resist a rash opinion.
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Thanks I am always looking for the best help I can get from experienced keepers such as yourself. I would rather get it right the first time then have a problem. Thats why I am taking every suggestion with a grain of salt.

Would you have any suggestions for the SA tanks with the green terror, Festae ?

also a CA tank with a JD? I would really love to hear what you would come up with
 
duanes said:
One of the problems I have with an open forum such as this, is that an opinion can be given, and hold weight, but from very inexperienced posters.
Someone might say, I have had great success with pearsei in a 55 gal.
But they may have kept, and withheld the fact that they have only had those pearsei, 1 year or less. This "IMO" is not experience, this info means nothing. Unless you have kept a cichlid at least the length it takes to reach full potential (usually minimum 3 years), and to full size, that is not experience but just the beginning.
I have seen posts by people that can't tell a JD from Paratilapia. Or a Tilapia from a Parachromis.
I realize we all start from scratch, and it takes time, but voicing opinion after very little time is not to me productive.
I would never comment about a cichlid I hadn't kept for at least juvie to adult stage (sometimes years) at some time in my life. And for those cichlids I haven't kept in over 20 years, I resist a rash opinion.
Click to expand...

This is exactly what op and i discussed over pm and why i tagged you and a few others that have never steered me wrong.
 
Op. If your looking for fish that live in the exact same waters as rivulatus, you will struggle.
As duanes quite rightly pointed out there are a few cichlids from Ecuador.
Rivulatus come from the rio Tumbes and rio esmereldas along the western coast of Ecuador.
As I said earlier the only other cichlids rivulatus nay cross paths with in the wild are introduced tilapia an apistogramma species(can't remember which one off the top of my head and festae.
I believe if you house festea and rivulatus together in a 180 you will almost definitely encounter aggression problems.
I tried to create a biotope centered around rivulatus and I guess I failed.
Biotope correct species for the rivulatus tank are either rarely traded or they are big aggressive oddball type fish,such as the Wolf fish for example.
Sometimes you have to use artistic licence.
There are hoplo catfish in these waters but not the species you see in the shops. There are also ancistrus catfish,again not the ones commonly seen in fish shops.There are leporinus, hatchet fish and sleeper gobies.
I tried really hard to source some of these species and failed.I wanted tank mates but I also wanted something that looked right and had a little authenticity to it.
I used artistic licence and went for hoplo cats and ancistrus cats.Not the exact species found with rivulatus but the next best thing I could find.
I also decided that due to the lack of other cichlids in the green terrors habitat to go down the harem route.I had one male and 5 female rivulatus. I was really pleased with the result,visually and practically. Just something to think about If you had not considered this option.
Here is that tank.
 
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Stanzzzz7 said:
Op. If your looking for fish that live in the exact same waters as rivulatus, you will struggle.
As duanes quite rightly pointed out there are a few cichlids from Ecuador.
Rivulatus come from the rio Tumbes and rio esmereldas along the western coast of Ecuador.
As I said earlier the only other cichlids rivulatus nay cross paths with in the wild are introduced tilapia an apistogramma species(can't remember which one off the top of my head and festae.
I believe if you house festea and rivulatus together in a 180 you will almost definitely encounter aggression problems.
I tried to create a biotope centered around rivulatus and I guess I failed.
Biotope correct species for the rivulatus tank are either rarely traded or they are big aggressive oddball type fish,such as the Wolf fish for example.
Sometimes you have to use artistic licence.
There are hoplo catfish in these waters but not the species you see in the shops. There are also ancistrus catfish,again not the ones commonly seen in fish shops.There are leporinus, hatchet fish and sleeper gobies.
I tried really hard to source some of these species and failed.I wanted tank mates but I also wanted something that looked right and had a little authenticity to it.
I used artistic licence and went for hoplo cats and ancistrus cats.Not the exact species found with rivulatus but the next best thing I could find.
I also decided that due to the lack of other cichlids in the green terrors habitat to go down the harem route.I had one male and 5 female rivulatus. I was really pleased with the result,visually and practically. Just something to think about If you had not considered this option.
Here is that tank.
Click to expand...

You did a good job. Im starting to find that more and more. I guess the vieja are starting to become a little more attractive to me with the amount of other possibilities to keep with it.

found a video on youtube that is clearly over stocked but I do like alot of the fish in it that I could work with.

I would not keep the arrow, plecos, white cloud vieja, butterkofri.

Out of the huge stocking that this guy has what would be a realistic stock out of the fish he has listed?
 
Th
jvc66 said:
that is an awesome tank! What other species do you have in there and quantities. What size tank? Also how long has it been up and running
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Thanks.
I had 4 hoplo cats 4 ancistrus, 6 Pimelodus blochii and about 20 Brochis splendens.
The tank was running like this about 3 years.i gave all the fish to my dad in the end and he still has them now.
I wanted to use the tank for my thorichthys helleri which are my favourite cichlids to date.
 
Stanzzzz7 said:
Th
Thanks.
I had 4 hoplo cats 4 ancistrus, 6 Pimelodus blochii and about 20 Brochis splendens.
The tank was running like this about 3 years.i gave all the fish to my dad in the end and he still has them now.
I wanted to use the tank for my thorichthys helleri which are my favourite cichlids to date.
Click to expand...

Stanzzzz7 said:
Sorry forgot,the tank is 7x2 x2.
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This really could be a contender on stocking. My only tweak would be to replace the Emeralds with something else? I have them in a current tank and I wouldn't say they are my favorite
 
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