American Cichlid Tank setups

[Ogertron3000]

I have the same sized tank and was once going to do 6 firemouth and maybe thin them out if they got aggresive, they live in colonies in the wild.
Swordtails dont really school like tetras but they are very active and generally use the top half of the tank. Get 1 male for every 3 females and some floating plants and you will end up with lots of them.

 

[Ogertron3000]

Check out Tripping Willow 91 thread about motezuma swordtails and firemouths, it certainly inspire you to do this combo!

 

[SilverArowanaBoi]

I have had a firemouth before, i like them the one i had was pretty aggressive but would only chase fish away from his "spot" What are we talking when we say colony # wise and how many swordtails also will the swordtails school ? like a rummynose ?

I've seen swordtails school before. Just have at least 6 and you'll be good.

 

[tlindsey]

gh/kh for oscars ?

GH chart note word Oscar not noted but #30 top line Discus etc.
KH #40 top line

 

[duanes]

Quote
"I was under the assumption that hole in head was from lack of filtration"
Quote

There are a number of different stress causes for HITH. A lack of filtration is just one.
Overcrowding in less than adequate territorial space is another.

Keeping soft water species from Amazonia in hard, higher pH water is another.
And if you add to elevated nitrates on top of the hardness and high pH, you create a soup the promotes HITH bacteria in fish evolved to live in a low pH, low hardness environment, with a lack of resistance to that bacteria.

I collect my own cichlids in Central America, and test pH and nitrate concentration in all the rivers and lakes I collect.
These are some of the latest results.


As you can see, nitrate in each test (the yellow tubes) are nearly undetectable.
Although pH varies a little seasonally, ranging from about 7.8 to 8.2 for the Cntral Amicicans I collect.

 

[Sinister-Kisses]

IMO, a 4ft tank is just too small for an oscar even IF your water parameters line up. Aim smaller.

 

[duanes]

yeah i know my LFS always has the albino ones but i have seen the regular non albino ones for sale as well.

Threadfin Acara

When I kept Acarichthys heckelli, I found they did well in a tank of only 150 gallons until maturity...but....
I was warned, i would need a much larger tank, once they matured, and found out that warning was justified.
Just as they matured , the most dominant alpha, started systematically intimidating any less subordinate individuals to death.
In the end, I ended up with one, they never bothered other cichlid species in the tank, but were relentless against their own.

Once intimidation began, small infectious would begin to appear in the head area of less dominant individuals, and they would soon succumb to the intimidation pressure. In the pic on the right, you can see the pitting beginning on the head of the far left individual of the trio in that pic.

 

[scottts210]

Meant maintaining. I personally would do a sump or 2 Ac 110's for the Oscar.

Forgive me for interjecting. Can you elaborate on, or link to, the proper maintenance for canisters on Oscar tanks? I have had HITH issues with my Oscars and am struggling with understanding why. I've been moving my water parameters slowly to lower gH and kH but would love to know more about filter maintenance to prevent HITH. Thanks.

 

[duanes]

Forgive me for interjecting. Can you elaborate on, or link to, the proper maintenance for canisters on Oscar tanks? I have had HITH issues with my Oscars and am struggling with understanding why. I've been moving my water parameters slowly to lower gH and kH but would love to know more about filter maintenance to prevent HITH. Thanks.

I find if you allow nitrates to climb above 5 ppm, and you have hard, high pH water, Oscars eventually will get HITH.
If you have soft low pH water you might get away with a nitrate level of 10 ppm, but even then, I consider 10ppm nitrate to be a chronic disease producer.
If you have a canister filter, my regime would be cleaning the gunk out, at least once per week, because that gunk is a nitrate precursor.
And to get nitrates to a safe level, only lots of water changes are effective. One 50% water change per week, will probably "not" be enough.

If a regime of two 50% water changes per reduces nitrate then that's what you need.

If it takes three 40% water changes to keep nitrate low, then that's what you need.

For my tank, I find a regime, of 30% to 40% water changes every other day, does the job.
Here is my average nitrate and pH test.

 

[Alexxxxsv14]

I would do some sajica cichlids
More peaceful planted I would do discus with school of cardinals/rummynoses and some cories.
You can also do some angelfish.