Ideas for 125 gal

[biguebs]

If your oscar truly is mellow (lack of aggression to plecos is not a good indicator of that- they are not similar enough to warrant much territoriality) I would recommend your choice of south american cichlid 5" max or so, in a small group. Acaras (just about any type) would be a good fit. Though, I agree that once fully grown, your Oscar and plecos should max the tank out bioload-wise.

Yeah I agree. Oscar was mellow in another grouping - JD, chocolate, rotkeil - I think down the road I’m going to do a larger tank with smaller cats (8” and under) and plecos, they’ll all end up in there. I have a 180 that will go empty in next few months when i move my Osceola snapper out of it. The two plecos in there now are quite small - 2” and 4” - and seems like they’re going to be real slow growers.
I like the idea of acaras a lot actually. Think that may be front runner. How big a group would you recommend?

 

[biguebs]

Any fish going in with that oscar needs to be close to full grown already (or minimum 5" total length or tall bodied like 3" high). If you want FM, change out the substrate to no larger than #20 mesh size silica sand (or pool filter sand).

Thanks, yeah you’re hitting on why I hadn’t already pulled the trigger on FM. I am not a fan of the sand substrate and the toll on filters and it seems they would need it. I like to just vac the gravel. Personal preference

 

[Rocksor]

Thanks, yeah you’re hitting on why I hadn’t already pulled the trigger on FM. I am not a fan of the sand substrate and the toll on filters and it seems they would need it. I like to just vac the gravel. Personal preference

#20 size mesh won't get into the filters unless it's blown directly into the intake.

 

[biguebs]

#20 size mesh won't get into the filters unless it's blown directly into the intake.

Good to know. I’m all HOB with a couple circulating pumps. I tried sand in my jags enclosure (I don’t know the weight, it was the top fin stuff from lfs)... and it was in the impellers grinding away in a matter of weeks, apparently just from the jag doing his thing ??‍

 

[Gourami Swami]

I like the idea of acaras a lot actually. Think that may be front runner. How big a group would you recommend?

Ideally, one male and a few females

 

[biguebs]

Ok, so after much deliberation and considering and researching a lot of options I went down to the LFS to put this together. The night before I put a bunch of hides in after putting up the divider in another tank and removing Oscar from this one. Here’s what I ended up with, all about 3-4”:

4 SD (2 red hook, 2 tiger)
3 FM
1 Rainbow cichlid

I decided i wanted to start with a large enough crowd to be able to shift stock out as needed based on how it went and I didn’t want to try any species with any aggression reputation. Hopefully my biggest problem is managing the bio load. Early indications are very good! Put them all in and added Oscar back in last. Oscar pouted for awhile but then just started cruising the tank eventually. Didnt give chase or a second look to any of the new residents. Tank is so busy and much more interesting instantly...

 

[biguebs]

Few pictures

 

[Cfremont23]

Nice looking fish best of luck!

 

[Deadeye]

Good luck! The stocking looks beautiful. The Oscar should be fine with them, they are too big to be eaten but too small to warrant much attention.

 

[biguebs]

Good luck! The stocking looks beautiful. The Oscar should be fine with them, they are too big to be eaten but too small to warrant much attention.

Exactly my thoughts.

End of day 2 and the Oscar has returned to normal behavior and has shown literally zero aggression or chase on anything. He’s never been given live so I’m hoping that will help to hold the course.