How many gallons would be needed to keep these?

[Bderick67]

What amazed me with my setups is the turmoil caused when either adding a new fish or even removing one of the existing fish. Always tried to do any changes like that just prior to a large water change

 

[Cichlidfever]

300 hundred gallons won't garantee it would work. I have a 360 tank with all the cichlid mentioned in my signature block, and might have to remove a couple because of aggression. I am not saying that 300 gallons won't work, but even 300 gallons with the cichlids mentioned may still be a challenge...

 

[CTU2fan]

What amazed me with my setups is the turmoil caused when either adding a new fish or even removing one of the existing fish. Always tried to do any changes like that just prior to a large water change

So true. You'd expect a bit of chaos when adding another fish, but seeing what happens when you remove a fish from the hierarchy, particularly a fish high in the pecking order, is pretty amazing.

 

[Fishdude401]

That was a phase, an who ever said start out with a single fish, i will listen to what s/he said, sorta, i will get the oscar and chocolate now with a few plecs and synos than in like 1-3 years upgrade to 125g

 

[armac]

Not to be out of line, but if you trully appreciate the hobby (which your post count suggests that you do) then why would you discourage someone who is researching and asking questions about it?

Don't take my comment as criticism (far be it to for me to critique you in my 4th post), but at least he is asking questions prior to stocking...... something that many people fail to do.


OP.... I am in the research phase as well and commend you for your anticipated stock list. I think that would be a very interesting community assuming it is done correctly and the aggression is controlled. Some people add dithers (silver dollars and other mellow fish) in cichlid community tanks in the hopes that it will rub off on the more aggresive fish. MAybe something you look into, maybe not... just a thought.

Mine is a genuine question, look at the buy sell threads then look at how long the people had the fish. Many folks here will never have a fish over 3 months and many will be out of the hobby as soon as their short attention span lands on another hobby.

Honesty will set you free..............

 

[Fishdude401]

I have been in the hobby for just over a year, but that is not counting the time right now that i have been without a tank, seriously, there hasnt been one day since i had a fish tank that i havent done some type of research/question/anything to find more about what kind of fish to get, what to feed them, their scientific names, close relatives, good tips, best equipment and so on, i have currently not had a tank for over 3-4 months, this is what it can do to you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6mnfJwpMx4&feature=email

 

[HiImSean]

That was a phase, an who ever said start out with a single fish, i will listen to what s/he said, sorta, i will get the oscar and chocolate now with a few plecs and synos than in like 1-3 years upgrade to 125g

still gonna be cramped, especially for the oscar. do not get common plecos either. have you researched the growth and growth rate of these fish even? two big messy eaters like that are gonna need a 120g within a year with A++ filtration

 

[calicichlid]

tank first...fish second!!! you won't regret it.

 

[landonew]

Mine is a genuine question, look at the buy sell threads then look at how long the people had the fish. Many folks here will never have a fish over 3 months and many will be out of the hobby as soon as their short attention span lands on another hobby.

Honesty will set you free..............

Fair enough I suppose. Its the nature of the hobby.

 

[PNWFisherman]

Maybe instead of buying one huge tank like 300 or bigger, get a couple smaller tanks in the 125 to 150 gallon range. Then you have more options when it comes to compatibility. But either way you look at it, I think you'll have compatibility issues.