180g Stocking Ideas - Large, Aggressive Cichlids

[Dom84]

Managuense can be a tricky one as well, an adult male jag may claim the whole tank, but better shot than with a Butti i would say. And I agree with tlindsey , two is not a good number usually, I would get a couple more cichlids with them to spread around aggression. Mid sized and tough enough to hold up to the others would be my recommendation. Or, convicts work pretty well as "cichlid dithers" for larger fish.

I was thinking about that as well... getting more cichlids to spread out the aggression. Got a similar sized Festae at another LFS just now and have taken the Butti so we'll see how things go... When/At what size should I get the convict dithers? Also, what would the circumstances look like if I threw a Red Devil into the mix?

 

[Gourami Swami]

I was thinking about that as well... getting more cichlids to spread out the aggression. Got a similar sized Festae at another LFS just now and have taken the Butti so we'll see how things go... When/At what size should I get the convict dithers? Also, what would the circumstances look like if I threw a Red Devil into the mix?

I would add the convicts asap if you were going to go that route. Even at a small size these guys will be aggressive to each other and the convicts may take some of the abuse from other fish.

Festae is another big heavy hitter. To me, with the Jaguar, festae would not be a great choice; if both males they will probably clash, since they both get so large. I would recommend fish more in the 8-10"ish max range, to contend with the carpintis. I wouldn't advise to add more aggressive 12"+ fish like a red devil, personally. Your best bet for a community in a 180, I still think would be to tone back the size and aggression level of your fish choices a bit. Your bio-load will also be quite high with all these big fish. But all of this will take a while of course, since they are small now.

 

[Dom84]

I would add the convicts asap if you were going to go that route. Even at a small size these guys will be aggressive to each other and the convicts may take some of the abuse from other fish.

Festae is another big heavy hitter. To me, with the Jaguar, festae would not be a great choice; if both males they will probably clash, since they both get so large. I would recommend fish more in the 8-10"ish max range, to contend with the carpintis. I wouldn't advise to add more aggressive 12"+ fish like a red devil, personally. Your best bet for a community in a 180, I still think would be to tone back the size and aggression level of your fish choices a bit. Your bio-load will also be quite high with all these big fish. But all of this will take a while of course, since they are small now.

You have very sound advice. I will look into getting some convicts to spread out the aggression. Could you or others recommend fish in the 8-10" range? Would a jack dempsey or green terror work?

 

[Gourami Swami]

You have very sound advice. I will look into getting some convicts to spread out the aggression. Could you or others recommend fish in the 8-10" range? Would a jack dempsey or green terror work?

Jack dempsey is a good candidate, green terror is a South American fish, I would probably stick with CA fish since that's the direction you're going. Salvini would be a good one to try, I've also found a. lyonsi to be pretty amicable in a community. Get a bit bigger than 10" but not too much.

 

[Dom84]

Gourami Swami Went to Petsmart today and picked up 4 convicts, that's all they had... I'll have to go to the Petsmart that's a little further away and see if they have anymore. Good news is the Jaguar is starting to be more active after I put the convicts in.

 

[Gourami Swami]

Gourami Swami Went to Petsmart today and picked up 4 convicts, that's all they had... I'll have to go to the Petsmart that's a little further away and see if they have anymore. Good news is the Jaguar is starting to be more active after I put the convicts in.

I would say 4 is a good number, I wouldnt go hunting for more. Can definitely have too many of them. They are aggressive in their own right even tho they are small, and a breeding pair could easily back down a larger cichlid. Remember in this setup they are "target fish" and not the main intended residents.

 

[Joshuakahan]

I'm picking up a 180g (72x24x24) tank sometime next week and like the idea of starting out a tank with some large cichlids. Thinking either 4 or 5, and growing them out from the beginning as juveniles. I would one of the fish to be a buttikoferi and would like some ideas what else could keep up with such an aggressive fish ?. For filtration, I have an old FX6 collecting dust in my garage that I could use. Would that be enough filtration? If not, I can probably get a new 407 or even a FX4. TIA for input.

Btw, wasnt sure where to post this thread so if it needs to be moved to the appropriate subforums, please go ahead

If you want to do a community of cichlids, Africans would be the way to go. You could do large species like frontosas, vc10, Venustus MalawI harks, compressiceps, etc..