75 gallon stocking ideas

[SCM_2123]

I had this setup running in a 55gal for a year and a half untill sadly a seam popped and it dropped all its water on the floor.
Get a pair from the Amatitlania family such as Honduran red points, nanolutae, etc. Get six or so to start. Let nature run its course until you get a pair. Give away the extras (you can even give them to big box pet stores like Petsmart will take them)
The key to this setup is having fish that will consume the fry. That way you get to have the joy of watching them bare and begin to raise the fry.
You will want at least one bushynose pleco, a small group of small catfish such as pictus or pothole. Next you want a group of Roseline sharks. Yes a bit spendy at 15 to 20 a fish but worth it. Highly active and feeding machines. One ot two will get the parents attention while the rest of the pack gobble up fry. Lastly get a nice sized group of tetras. Taller bodied one such as bleeding hearts, Buenos Aries, Columbian, etc.
This combo of fish should make it to where no fry ever make it to adulthood. You will have a nice active tank and be able to witness cichlids be cichlids from courtship thru breeding.

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The idea of having predation like that doesn't sit well with me. It seems s bit warped to want to watch that in my opinion.

The most common problem with mixing South and Central American cichlids together, is that the water parameters are so different.
The average pH of the Amazon river is 6.7, and water is soft, and in some river a pH of below 5 is not uncommon (Rio Negro, and Rio Oriniico are examples
The average pH in Central American waters is 8 and water is hard. in some area, up tp pH 9.
The difference is over 100 fold
And those differences manifest themselves in a fises resistance to disease, and immunity to bacteria.
A fish that has evolved over millenia in soft low pH water will resist diseases common to that water.
Put that same fish into hard high pH water, and while it may not, or won't immediately go belly up....
over time, it can become infected with debilitating diseases such as HITH or bloat and become scarred up, and live an unhealthy life.
And/or vica versa.

With certain short lived fish like many aquarium tetras, or live bearers it won't be problematic because many don't live past 3 years of age anyway.
But many cichlid will easily make it 8 to 10 years, and those debilitating factors don't start to manifest util they are 2 or 3 yoa.

Another factor not taken into consideration by many aquarists, is that in S America many cichlids come from large mixed cichlid communities, and have evolved to share them.
In Central America there are far few cichlid species, so many are loners, where 1 or 2 species may share an entire river,
and if territories overlap, come into conflict.

There are similar disparities between those cichlids from east and west of the Andes.
Cichlids from the Amazon often live in large varied communities, but west of the Andes....
where may be only 2 species of cichlid that share and entire riverine habitat (mush like in Central America) care must be taken to provide territorial them with appropriate space.

Are there some South Americans that won't hybridize?

 

[Jexnell]

The idea of having predation like that doesn't sit well with me. It seems s bit warped to want to watch that in my opinion.

Are there some South Americans that won't hybridize?

Most South American fish can't cross with other fish. That's why we don't see wild Oscar, angel, discus cross videos on YouTube. There are a few that can cross with centrals still such as the Red terror. But generally South Americans can't breed with anything but it's own species.

 

[Cal Amari]

They're not necessarily predators, most fish are opportunists. But if you don't want to have fry or fish to rehome, then you have to basically keep a community of single specimens, or have something in the tank that will eat the eggs and fry, which most fish are happy to do. Fish such as catfish, loaches, and barbs are all good at this, though not geographically correct, and may come from different water parameters.

 

[SCM_2123]

They're not necessarily predators, most fish are opportunists. But if you don't want to have fry or fish to rehome, then you have to basically keep a community of single specimens, or have something in the tank that will eat the eggs and fry, which most fish are happy to do. Fish such as catfish, loaches, and barbs are all good at this, though not geographically correct, and may come from different water parameters.

What are some that would do well as singles that wouldn't hybridize?

 

[Cal Amari]

I don't know, not very knowledgeable on cichlids yet, maybe others have ideas. I've only seen a few examples of this type of tank, and they're not my favorite, it looks like a grab bag from the fish store and you're ignoring what type of water and environment the individual fish come from and no one looks quite at home. There's plenty of examples online of tanks with 1 severum, 1 geophagus, 1 angelfish, 1 discus, etc. But if you want a cichlid tank that looks like a part of their natural habitat in your home, then you get something like a group of firemouths, or cribroheros or something, put in some natural colored sand, a few larger stones, driftwood etc, make it look like a riverbed and let them settle in and see their natural behaviors. If I'm not mistaken even the parents of most cichlids will eventually eat most of the fry if they aren't removed to a growout tank, but thats no different than letting a catfish or barb eat the eggs and fry.

 

[Hybridfish7]

The idea of having predation like that doesn't sit well with me. It seems s bit warped to want to watch that in my opinion.

Are there some South Americans that won't hybridize?

South Americans are not the ones with the hybridization problem... Most of the time. In the Americas there are several different tribes of cichlid:
Astronotini (oscars)
Cichlini (peacock bass)
Retroculii (retroculus)
Geophagini (eartheaters, rams, apistos, pike cichlids)
Cichlasomatini (acaras)
Therapsini (all central american cichlids + umbees, caquetaia, heroina, australoheros, and mesoheros)
Heroini (discus, uaru, severums, angels, chocolates, true parrots)
Under some descriptions heroini is debatably lumped under therapsini.
I'm missing a few (I think) but if I can't remember then no one is going to remember.
Everything in therapsini (under the presumption that Heroines are not a part of that group) can hybridize and produce fertile offspring. I'm sure certain species in more derived lineages of other tribes can hybridize within their genus but other than that you can keep an oscar with a peacock bass without worrying about them producing some unholy chimera.

That said, for a 75, your options for a single fish that will fill out the tank are:
Convicts (Amatitlania nigrofasciata/siquia/kanna)
Amatitlania septemfasciata
Amatitlania myrnae
Amatitlania sajica
Amatitlania nanolutea
Rocio spinosissima
Herotilapia multispinosa
Any Cichlasoma (Cichlasoma proper... the black acaras)
Any Andinoacara (excluding green terrors)
Any Australoheros
Any Cryptoheros

These would fit size wise but they are also social:
The entire genus Thorichthys
Gymnogeophagus
Cribroheros longimanus
Biotodoma
Cleithracara
(The latter two would probably fit better as a group)

My immediate recommendation would be sajica or Australoheros. They fill out the tank and are very personable.

Glad I got here before Duane comes and posts a bunch of pictures saying CA cichlids can't fit in a 75...

 

[Ancistrus Fan]

I have a 75 gallon tank that I eventually would like to turn into a Central or South American cichlid tank. The only cichlid species I have kept is angelfish so am pretty new to this aspect of fishkeeping. I would like to have a small community so none of the big tank buster cichlids (eight inches or under is my preferred range). As far as aggression I'd prefer not to keep something that needs to be kept completely by itself or only in pairs (like red devils or jaguars). I also don't have space for lots of tanks nor do I have friends in the hobby where I can give away fry or rehome fish. Please give me your tried and true combinations.

Keyhole cichlids. They are of right now my favourite cichlid. They are great fish from South America which are peaceful and could make a great community planted tank. Not sure if that’s the kind of thing you are looking for, but a group of 6 with some of your typical community fish such as Bristlenose plecos, cories, tetras, rasboras. This is another option which I think is very rewarding and would recommend.

 

[I-Love-My-Fish]

I have a 75 gallon tank that I eventually would like to turn into a Central or South American cichlid tank. The only cichlid species I have kept is angelfish so am pretty new to this aspect of fishkeeping. I would like to have a small community so none of the big tank buster cichlids (eight inches or under is my preferred range). As far as aggression I'd prefer not to keep something that needs to be kept completely by itself or only in pairs (like red devils or jaguars). I also don't have space for lots of tanks nor do I have friends in the hobby where I can give away fry or rehome fish. Please give me your tried and true combinations.

Definitely African cichlids I would personally suggest a group of star sapphires their a beautiful cichlid and not to hard to care for

 

[SCM_2123]

South Americans are not the ones with the hybridization problem... Most of the time. In the Americas there are several different tribes of cichlid:
Astronotini (oscars)
Cichlini (peacock bass)
Retroculii (retroculus)
Geophagini (eartheaters, rams, apistos, pike cichlids)
Cichlasomatini (acaras)
Therapsini (all central american cichlids + umbees, caquetaia, heroina, australoheros, and mesoheros)
Heroini (discus, uaru, severums, angels, chocolates, true parrots)
Under some descriptions heroini is debatably lumped under therapsini.
I'm missing a few (I think) but if I can't remember then no one is going to remember.
Everything in therapsini (under the presumption that Heroines are not a part of that group) can hybridize and produce fertile offspring. I'm sure certain species in more derived lineages of other tribes can hybridize within their genus but other than that you can keep an oscar with a peacock bass without worrying about them producing some unholy chimera.

That said, for a 75, your options for a single fish that will fill out the tank are:
Convicts (Amatitlania nigrofasciata/siquia/kanna)
Amatitlania septemfasciata
Amatitlania myrnae
Amatitlania sajica
Amatitlania nanolutea
Rocio spinosissima
Herotilapia multispinosa
Any Cichlasoma (Cichlasoma proper... the black acaras)
Any Andinoacara (excluding green terrors)
Any Australoheros
Any Cryptoheros

These would fit size wise but they are also social:
The entire genus Thorichthys
Gymnogeophagus
Cribroheros longimanus
Biotodoma
Cleithracara
(The latter two would probably fit better as a group)

My immediate recommendation would be sajica or Australoheros. They fill out the tank and are very personable.

Glad I got here before Duane comes and posts a bunch of pictures saying CA cichlids can't fit in a 75...

So if I understand correctly these would be kept solo as the only cichlid in the tank? As in a centerpiece with something like livebearers, tetras, or some other dither?

Definitely African cichlids I would personally suggest a group of star sapphires their a beautiful cichlid and not to hard to care for

Are these peacocks, haps, or mbunas? I like peacocks but they're just so damn expensive. $30+ for a show stopper centerpiece is one thing but a tank full is expensive.

 

[Jexnell]

So if I understand correctly these would be kept solo as the only cichlid in the tank? As in a centerpiece with something like livebearers, tetras, or some other dither?

Are these peacocks, haps, or mbunas? I like peacocks but they're just so damn expensive. $30+ for a show stopper centerpiece is one thing but a tank full is expensive.

You would buy them as a group of uncolored juveniles. Let nature take its course. In time a dominant male will color up.