75 to 150 gallon upgrade - Stocking question

[Altezz]

Hi guys,

I'll be receiving my new 150 gallon (6' x 18" x 28") in two days and moving the inhabitants of my 75 gallon across.

It's currently housing a Jack Dempsey, Firemouth, 4 Convicts, a Synodontis Eupterus and two Bristlenose plecos who've all been together for the last year. The Jack Dempsey is the largest and currently tank boss at ~6".

Filtration will be 2 x Eheim 2217 canisters that are currently running on the 75 gallon, plus two sponge filters.

I'd love to add a larger, colourful and personable centre piece fish once the new tank is up and running. I'm currently thinking one of the following:

- Gold Saum/Green Terror
- Texas Cichlid
- Vieja Melanurus/Synspilum

Is there space to add one of these fish in the new tank? If so, what do you think would work best with the current stocking?

Cheers!

 

[MultipleTankSyndrome]

Welcome aboard! I am not a cichlid keeper but you may find AqAdvisor to be useful: https://aqadvisor.com/
Plug the dimensions of your tank, filters, inhabitants, and whatever new fish you want to add, and you'll have an idea of how stocked it would be.

 

[Backfromthedead]

Don't think there's much room to add any more territorial cichlids. I think the JD will make a fine centerpiece for that tank.

I ran a 6x18x28 a few years back here's a good idea of what a mature JD looks like in that size tank.

If anything, imo you could stand to add some hardy dithers like medium sized barbs or similar.

 

[Altezz]

Don't think there's much room to add any more territorial cichlids. I think the JD will make a fine centerpiece for that tank.

I ran a 6x18x28 a few years back here's a good idea of what a mature JD looks like in that size tank.

If anything, imo you could stand to add some hardy dithers like medium sized barbs or similar.

Looks awesome! Thanks for sharing that.

Your severums look great. Do you think I could squeeze one of these guys into the new tank, or are there any other less territorial cichlids I could add?

Cheers

 

[SalviniCichlidFan]

Looks awesome! Thanks for sharing that.

Your severums look great. Do you think I could squeeze one of these guys into the new tank, or are there any other less territorial cichlids I could add?

Cheers

you can always try rainbow cichlids which look beautiful and only get to the 4-5 inch mark and are relatively peaceful. Or you can also get a few more fire mouths, since thoricythys species tend to do better in shoals.

 

[florencejr11]

Texas is out the window imo. But try Rainbow cichlids they’re beautiful and don’t grow big. Or maybe even a school barbs

 

[Backfromthedead]

Looks awesome! Thanks for sharing that.

Your severums look great. Do you think I could squeeze one of these guys into the new tank, or are there any other less territorial cichlids I could add?

Cheers

If it's me, I wouldn't mix these fish in a community again. Severums seem to shine brightest in biotope specific setups in pairs where they can really show their breeding colors. I really like your mix of the cons and JD. With good care the cons will take on a size and shape similar to those severums, and have a nastier disposition. So imo you will need that whole tank as the 6 territorial cichlids you have continue to mature and demand more space/maintenance.

 

[duanes]

If it's me, I wouldn't mix these fish in a community again. Severums seem to shine brightest in biotope specific setups in pairs where they can really show their breeding colors. I really like your mix of the cons and JD. With good care the cons will take on a size and shape similar to those severums, and have a nastier disposition. So imo you will need that whole tank as the 6 territorial cichlids you have continue to mature and demand more space/maintenance.

I agree. Proper Biiotope is often the key to a successful healthy tank.
And a healthy adult JD will easily hit 10".
One other thing, FMs (like the Geophagus) prefer to live in a shoal of their own kind, not alone and although they won't form a tightly packed school, a loose shoal, of about 4 or 5 is normal.
If it were me, when ready to switch, I'd add about 3 or 4 more similar sized FMs to the tank, at the same time as all the other fish ( not piecemeal days apart).
In this way, a new territorial hierarchy will be allowed to develop naturally, and healthy interactions will "probably" be the result.

 

[Gourami Swami]

This sort of setup, with a larger centerpiece cichlid and some smaller species, works well, but getting two "centerpiece" type fish to coexist would be tricky, and rely alot on luck. If you were to add the texas or green terror, i think they would likely clash with the JD. If you had all three together, you'd probably have better luck than with just two, but the bioload would be too much. Similarly, the melanura get huge, and would overstock this tank when it was full grown.
If this were me, I would remove the convicts, especially if you get two breeding pairs they are surprisingly tough and will each stake out a territory, leaving much less room for the other fish. After that I think you would have room to add some more FMs, perhaps another small cichlid species. The rainbow cichlids may work but I do find they are not as tough as most centrals, if your Jack is mellow it would probably be fine. I think they look too similar in size and shape to the convicts and would be targeted by the cons if you tried both together, so I would do one or the other.