Need advice on what to do with my cichlids

[aaronb]

To start I had a 210 gallon aquarium that recently broke. I'm working on saving to buy a 180 gallon acrylic aquarium to replace it. I currently have moved all my fish into a 92 gallon corner, a 55 gallon aquarium, and one of those 45 plastic totes from walmart.

My first is which I'll be able to keep in the 180 after I get it. In the 92 corner I have 1 midas and 1 red devil both about 6 inches. 2 green terrors, a jag, and a green texas about 3 inches. A jack dempsey and a convict about 5 inches. I put the flowerhorn that's about 7 inches into the plastic tote, because the midas wouldn't leave him alone after we put them in the 92. I also have a 12 inch pleco in the 92. I also have a sveni pike and green sunfish in the 55.

I'd like to have the jag and flowerhorn in the 180. What else could I put in of those choices?

The green texas is female and has paired with the convict. I considered putting them in their own tank to see if they'd breed. What size of tank would I need for that?

The flowerhorn started hiding in the 92 to get away from the midas. After we moved him he still only hides. Any suggestions on how to make him more comfortable? Do you think he's going to be ok? I'm not exactly sure if he's eating. If so not very much.

I got all of these fish, because I thought a 210 was big enough for anything. Now I have since learned a lot and realized I was a long ways from being able to house all of these. I already got rid of 2 9 inch oscars, 2 8 inch pacus, and another midas.

I just want to have a nice healthy display and not be unfair to my fish. The 55 is only a temporary home. I want to divide the fish between the 180 and 92 corner and then find new good homes for the others I can't keep. All the fish except the green texas and possibly one of the green terrors appear so far to be male.

Thanks for reading and for your help.

 

[Gruff Master]

So you have a 6" Midas, 6" RD, 2 GTs, a Jag, a Texas, JD, Convict, 7" FH, 12" pleco, Sveni, and a Sunfish. It looks like most of these fish are in your 92 gallon. First, of all I would get rid of the 12" pleco. At that size they don't do much cleaning but only contribute to the waste in your tank. I think a lot of this stocking will depend on the temperament of your fish. They may have gotten along in the 210 with the 2 Oscars, 2 Pacus, and the other Midas because they were so over crowded that aggression was to a bare minimum. Now that you have reduced the stock a bit and have separated them, the hierarchy of the new setup will probably change and you could see more aggression. If the Jag and FH can tolerate each other, I don't see a problem keeping them in a 180. You could try to keep the Sveni, Con, and maybe a GT with them. I don't see you keeping a Midas and RD of the same sex in a 92 gallon without one of them being killed. Even a mated pair could end bad at some point. You said that the 92 gallon is a corner tank so that doesn't sound like there is much room for a large fish to live comfortably with tankmates. A few smaller fish like the GTs might do better. It looks like you will still have to lose a few of the more aggressive fish to make this work. A breeding pair is bound to cause you trouble in either tank. I guess all you can do is try a few combos to see what works without cramming too many fish in one tank.

 

[aaronb]

Thanks for the input. It'll be a couple months before I can get the new tank. I was hoping since most of the fish are still somewhat small that I'd be able to keep them in what I have until then. That way I could see which ones would live together ok. I guess I might want to go ahead and get rid of some others, so that way they dont get killed first.

Did you have a thought on tank size if we gave the green texas and the convict their own tank? I know some people don't approve of letting fish hybridize, but since they paired up I hate to take them apart.

My wife wants to keep everything. She said she'd chose the midas and one of the green terrors to get rid of first. I know that still probably won't be enough. I don't think the flowerhorn and red devil could ever get along either. Although at this point the red devil doesn't seem to aggressive. The flowerhorn and red devil had also been kept together since they were about 1.5 inches long.

I'll have to take your advice and talk to her this weekend and then look for homes for some of them.

Thanks for the help.

 

[Gruff Master]

No problem. You'll probably get other helpful suggestions from other members too. I think that the Texas and Convict would be fine in a 75. If you're planning on keeping them in the 92, you should be good to go. Just know that their behavior may change if they breed. I think the best thing to do is talk with your wife as you said and see which fish will be staying. Then go from there with your stocking plans.

 

[balton777]

I think you should sell the Sunfish too, it doesn't go with the scheme of things. You have some extremely aggressive fish, maybe you should keep the bigger more aggressive fish in the 180g...like the Midas, Jag, FH, RD and pray they get along. You could probably put the Sveni and convict in with them too, both of these fish seem to have a knack for survival. Of course all of it is trial and error....you might have to sell off one of the big bruisers if he's too much trouble.

You could probably keep the JD and a GT in the 92g tank. Or another idea is to put the biggest trouble maker, most likely the FH or RD in the 92g tank and try to keep the GT and JD in the 180 with the others. Then the smaller Sveni and convict could go in the 55g. Or use the 55g to breed your hybrid TX x Convicts...(yuck lol). IME, RD's don't make good community tank fish...he might have to go but it's up to you. I hear the same about FH's. GL

 

[aaronb]

I have a question about the midas and red devil. I know there is a sticky saying they're mostly hybrids. The red devil is orange and white and the midas is all orange. The red devil has a narrow more pointed mouth and the midas has a wider more rounded mouth. The midas has a big hump and the red devil barely has one. Characteristically the midas appears to be a midas and the red devil a red devil. Well I guess I'm not sure how normal a orange and white red devil is. As far as body shape though. I did buy them at petco though. Do you think there's any possibility they aren't hybrids? I'm not home to take a picture of them right now. Thanks.

 

[Gruff Master]

Since they both came from Petco, more likely they are hybrids. They could each be expressing stronger traits of a RD or a Midas. RD. (a member here) contributed an interesting post not too long ago about hybrids of Midas and RD occurring naturally in the wild as well. The best chances of receiving a pure specimen of either one would be to go through a reputable vendor.

 

[aaronb]

Ok. That's what I figured. I was just surprised how different they look and how much they look like the fish they're supposed to be. Even when I bought them back in November they looked way different at that size. I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep them, but if I do I don't mind if they're hybrids. They're really nice looking fish.