Help with 75gal stocking

[axs377]

Hello all and thank you for ideas in advance. I've been out of the hobby for a year or two and decided to start back with a smaller tank...well my wife decided I'd start back with a smaller tank. My last tanks were 265,220,&150 gallon, so I have limited experience on good fits for a 4' tank. I'm hoping to keep some cichlids as they have always been my favorite fish personality wise. I'd prefer not to do a single fish setup. I would really like a fish with a nice head hump and full body like a midas, but having kept them before feel the 75 is too small long term. I was tossing around this stock list, but am open to suggestions.

1 male t bar cichlid (do these guys get a nice hump head?)
1 keyhole cichlid
1 chocolate cichlid (not sure mature size...I've read anywhere from 8-12")
1 - pleco (not sure what variety yet...but would like one I could house long term..)
4 - clown loaches


Again thanks for any input.

 

[darth pike]

I wouldn't keep the keyhole and t-bar together, I'd be worried for the keyhole. They are more passive the dwarf cichlids 1/3 their size and tend to be shy.

 

[axs377]

Thanks for the feedback. What about the chocolate and a pair of sajica?

 

[Mythic Figment]

Hello all and thank you for ideas in advance. I've been out of the hobby for a year or two and decided to start back with a smaller tank...well my wife decided I'd start back with a smaller tank. My last tanks were 265,220,&150 gallon, so I have limited experience on good fits for a 4' tank. I'm hoping to keep some cichlids as they have always been my favorite fish personality wise. I'd prefer not to do a single fish setup. I would really like a fish with a nice head hump and full body like a midas, but having kept them before feel the 75 is too small long term. I was tossing around this stock list, but am open to suggestions.

1 male t bar cichlid (do these guys get a nice hump head?)
1 keyhole cichlid
1 chocolate cichlid (not sure mature size...I've read anywhere from 8-12")
1 - pleco (not sure what variety yet...but would like one I could house long term..)
4 - clown loaches


Again thanks for any input.

I wouldn't do a breeding pair of sajica with a chocolate. 75 is already pretty cramped for a single chocolate (max size can reach 16", but 12" is more common). Plus the aggression of the sajica would likely be too much for a chocolate as they tend to be very gentle giants. I also agree the keyhole with sajica is a bad combo. A chocolate with a single sajica will do okay probably (not sure if lone male sajica get nuchal humps without a mate).

Sajica stay fairly small, but a breeding pair will take up half the tank in territory. And God help you if they spawn in the center of the tank (try to make two good egg laying areas on either side of the tank). Paired males get a nice nuchal hump that you're looking for. With only 2' of usable space (using the assumption the breeding pair will take half for themselves), you options are limited for tankmates. Either go with a slightly larger, hardy CA like a Jack Dempsey or a carpintis (carpintis males gets nuchal humps I believe), or get another pair of Cryptoheros. My person favorite Cryptoheros are nanoluteus, but they might be too mild for sajica, so go with a cutteri, some standard convicts, or a couple more sajica (only the sajica Cryptos get nuchal humps).

Clown loaches are going to hit 6" in their first year and then slow WAY down in growth. Four 6", thick fish will be a little cramped in a 4' with most of your other cichlids being bottom dwellers. I would skip the loaches because their eye barbs will cause some serious damage to defensive breeding cichlids.


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[axs377]

Thanks for the feedback. Perhaps I will do just the 1 male sajica, chocolate, clowns and a smaller pleco. I'd scratch the clowns, but that is the one fish my wife wanted. I did some research on chocolates and saw up to 12"...but did not know they could get to 16" wow. The lady at the pet store told me 7" max...lol Off to the fish store...wish me luck hehe

 

[Mythic Figment]

Thanks for the feedback. Perhaps I will do just the 1 male sajica, chocolate, clowns and a smaller pleco. I'd scratch the clowns, but that is the one fish my wife wanted. I did some research on chocolates and saw up to 12"...but did not know they could get to 16" wow. The lady at the pet store told me 7" max...lol Off to the fish store...wish me luck hehe

12" is definitely average, but a big male will hit 16" in optimal conditions, but unless you are feeding the perfect diet at the perfect feeding times and using a drip water change system, it's highly unlikely you will spend up with a monster. 7" is a stunted chocolate for sure! LOL

Without the breeding sajica, clowns should be fine. Just remember they get to be 16" monsters and live for 50 years. You will definitely need to upgrade tanks in a year or two with six clown loaches and a big chocolate. Plus a 6' tank would give you room to do some breeding sajica with less chance of there being a war between them and the loaches.

Happy fishing trip and post pics once everyone is settled in.


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[divemaster99]

Like Mythic said. Clown loaches will get to about 8 inches (12-14 max) and need to be kept in groups of at least 5. A 75 may be cramped with that many loaches plus the cichlids. I would upgrade to a 125 or 150 (180 if you could) in a few years once the clowns start to get to large.

 

[axs377]

yeah, I have actually kept the clowns before...cant remember if I had 6 or 7, but the biggest got to about 10"...however the rest stayed around 6-8" and they were in a 265 for the last 2 years that I had them. If the ones I got today get too big, I'm sure the lfs will have no problem trading me for some smaller ones. My plan down the road is a 500+ gallon tank (likely 2-3 years off)...its just that my current home is not long term so don't want to try and haul some huge tank around when we move. I ended up with a chocolate, 4 clowns (all they had left), and a clown pleco. Ordered a sajica from jeff rapps. I also ended up putting my daughter's fish in the tank...3 cory cats one tetra and one dwarf gourami... I'm sure they will be fish food down the road, but she is only 20 months old so I doubt she will notice. Thanks again for the help.

 

[axs377]

I cant wait for a big tank again...hope these guys are going to hold back my buying urges...hopefully

some of my old tanks...sold 2 years ago

 

[Mythic Figment]

The thing about clown loaches is that they grow at 1/2"-1" per moth until about 6" (about a year) and then slow their growth to a crawl. And I mean crawl....growing about 1" per year!


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