I'm looking for a single, large male cichlid to keep as a "wet pet" in a 75 gallon tank. But the problem is, I have no idea what kind I should get! But I do know that I want an aggressive cichlid with lots of personality. Right now, my top 3 choices are as follows: a Green Terror, a Red Tiger Motaguense, or a Haitian/Black Nasty. Can you recommend anything else? I don't want a cichlid that develops a really big nuchal hump, though-I just think it looks unattractive.
Decisions, decisions.
- Thread starter boosh96
- Start date
My recommendation would be to put a pair in your 75g. While I do love the single specimen tanks, a really nice pair brings so much more enjoyment. Vieja Argentea either way.
I'd go with a Trimac. Extremely mean and aggressive, very owner responsive, and they develop great colors. Amazing wet pet.
Of all my cichlids, my Midas is the most owner responsive. I have an rtm thats scared of everything and a green terror as well. Midas has the most "doglike" personality of the lot
You can't go wrong with a Midas either, but to me a Trimac is the same personality with more color. Either would be great.
As much as I'm enjoying my argentea, they're very slow growing and aggressive to each other. I wouldn't recommend them to anyone looking for a fast growing bruiser with a lot of personality--they're more of a challenging species to work with, and the payoff takes a while. Also, 75 gallon is way too small for a pair of them.
I think a lot of other recommendations on here are really good.
Slow growing they are, which would take care of a 75g being too small for a pair for at least a couple of yrs. And aggressive is one of the qualities he's looking for.
How many of you have experience with Red Tiger Motaguense cichlids? And I have another question-how do you build a 10-gallon sump? I was thinking about building one to use as a filter, to house the heater, and I was thinking about putting a few potted plants in the sump to keep nitrate levels down.