Hello, new here and am getting back into the hobby. I used to have a 130 gallon tank with mbunas in it and when I moved states I gave it to someone else. I've been running a planted 20 gallon for almost a year and just got a hell of a deal on a 150 gallon. After a five year break I want to get into American cichlids. I know I want a pair of convicts, a red Oscar, and try a regular jack dempsey with them but I'm inside on what else I might could get in there or if that's about all the space a 150 would give me. Africans you pack as much fish as you can but these guys I don't really know. If I could I would love to get some geophagus in there also or even some other American cichlids. Any one have any thoughts?
Looking for stocking ideas
- Thread starter Pancake Brock
- Start date
Generally you don't want to stock American cichlids like africans. South American cichlids are more tolerant of living together then centrals are. Oscars and geophagus are south American, convicts and jack dempseys are central. SA cichlids also like softer water with lower pH, while centrals prefer the opposite, closer to African cichlids water.
What is your hardness and pH? Mosts south americans like geophagus won't do well in hard water, and centrals won't do well if it is very soft.
For soft water- I would do your Oscar and a bunch of geophagus since you like those, and forget the convicts (very aggressive when breeding) and jacks.
If you have harder water, and you like the convicts and jacks, you could do a pair of convicts with a jack, and a few other similarly aggressive CA cichlids such as salvini, tetracanthus, hericthys deppi, etc. This would be a boisterous mix and would probably require moving fish around until you got the mix right.
What is your hardness and pH? Mosts south americans like geophagus won't do well in hard water, and centrals won't do well if it is very soft.
For soft water- I would do your Oscar and a bunch of geophagus since you like those, and forget the convicts (very aggressive when breeding) and jacks.
If you have harder water, and you like the convicts and jacks, you could do a pair of convicts with a jack, and a few other similarly aggressive CA cichlids such as salvini, tetracanthus, hericthys deppi, etc. This would be a boisterous mix and would probably require moving fish around until you got the mix right.
I'm not 100% sure on the actual pH number but I know we have hard water in this area. I've also have always thought Jack's are some of the best looking cichlids around (personal opinion) but I did have an Oscar for a time before I got into Africans and I loved his personality. I've also have always wanted a pair of convicts.
If I did the jack and convicts and put some other centrals in what's a good ratio of species and male/female? I had mbunas and stuck with the 1 male to 3-4 females of each species rule and had maybe 6 different species in it.
CA's are egg layers, and vigorously defend a territory once they lay their eggs, and after the fry are hatched, until they are eaten or move on. You won't be able to do the stocking in this tank like you did with mbuna- 6 pairs of CA cichlids would quickly become one or two pairs, whichever the weaker fish were, would be killed. CA cichlids don't live like africans do in nature, they live more solitary lives in general, and don't like others in their territory when breeding.
You could probably have a pair of the convicts, since they are pretty small (though vicious) and then do a few larger, mean cichlids that could stand up to the convicts on sheer size. I would advises the pair of convicts, and then all-male or all-female for the rest of the fish, to avoid hybrid pairs forming. If you had two pairs of CA cichlids in this tank, that would be your whole tank right there.
I would go for something like
2x Convicts (pair)
1 Jack Dempsey
1 Nicaraguan
1 salvini
1 texas cichlid
There are other cichlids that will work, but avoid the CA's that get over 10", an alpha male of something like a midas, would likely be a killer. It should also be said that CA communities are much harder to pull off successfully in the long term than an African or SA community. Chances are you will have bullying, deaths, etc. and will have to add/remove fish until you reach an equilibrium.
You could probably have a pair of the convicts, since they are pretty small (though vicious) and then do a few larger, mean cichlids that could stand up to the convicts on sheer size. I would advises the pair of convicts, and then all-male or all-female for the rest of the fish, to avoid hybrid pairs forming. If you had two pairs of CA cichlids in this tank, that would be your whole tank right there.
I would go for something like
2x Convicts (pair)
1 Jack Dempsey
1 Nicaraguan
1 salvini
1 texas cichlid
There are other cichlids that will work, but avoid the CA's that get over 10", an alpha male of something like a midas, would likely be a killer. It should also be said that CA communities are much harder to pull off successfully in the long term than an African or SA community. Chances are you will have bullying, deaths, etc. and will have to add/remove fish until you reach an equilibrium.
Awesome thanks. That's what I've been having trouble figuring out was numbers. I actually like all the fish you just suggested. Thanks!
Years ago I ran a 140gal lowboy with 3 Oscars, a large Dempsey, a breeding pair of convicts,and 2 orange parrot fish without many issues. I also have hard water, they didn't mind. However the large footprint of the lowboy allowed them all to have their own territories. S.a. and c.a. cichlids are always hit and miss on whether they will get along. I would try, but use a big sump for filtration, then u have a place to separate if they get too aggressive. Good choices, those are all fun fish. Best of luck.
Also good to hear I just made the hour drive to get this tank. I measured it and it's actually a 165. Think it's 6'1"x18"x29". It's big but I don't know if the 18" depth hurts the footprint or not. Got it with the stand and a filstar xp for $200.
I meant it's 18 wide and 29 tall. 18" almost doesn't sound very wide but it looks massive lol.