Opinions asked

[Sainioh]

So, first of all, hello everyone! Bit over a month a go was enjoying my established and a beautiful tank setup. Then Mr. Murphy and his damn hypothesis kicked in and i lost most of my fish. So, rebuild. Now, i have following fish coming in:
- JD
- Herichthys carpintis
- Midas
- Tilapia buttikoferi
- Aeguidens rivulatus
- Parachromis managuense
- Parachromis motaguense
- Cichlasoma festae
My tank is 300-gallons with a huge filtration capasity. Now i am looking for an opinion, in my eyes, the fish setup is quite power balanced, but! The buttikoferi. I know that fish is pure evil and that the jagg or the midas don't have the power to fight it. Seen it before.
Therefore, i have been thinking, as a counterforce to that beast, a female umbee or a female dovii. Any, every opinion counts.
I am leaning towards umbee, because what i have read, they are more like jaggs. They are not looking for trouble, but they will not bend, when trouble finds them.
Also been bouncing with grammodes, istlanum and beani.
I really would appreciate an opinion from people with experience on these fishes and if not an advice, maybe an educated guess would do as well
And i do realize, every fish is an individual, but, in a general level, please, amuse me.
Thank you in advance, i will continue with my beer.

 

[Rocksor]

No such thing as a counterforce or power balance. Each species has a certain aggression level, coupled with individual personalities that you can never predict which way it will go. The only thing you can predict is who will suffer more damage. You waste more time trying to find something to fight back that it ends up eradicating the other fish or it does nothing and just increases the bio-load. If you don't quarantine the new fish for a couple of months, and it gets sick, you can then have an epidemic that wipes out the other stressed out fish in your main tank.

Remove the problem fish and then watch the cichlid hierarchy change. Have extra tanks ready with cycled filters as you play musical tanks with various combinations of the fish you already have. Getting new fish for a tank full of fish is not always the solution.

 

[Covetous]

Are all these fish you have coming in 1inch juveniles?

 

[Sainioh]

Yea, sorry, forgot to mention that all of the fish is juvenile. From an inch to two inch fish. All of them quaranteed by the salesfolks or by other hobbyists.
And for rocksor: i use the phrase counterforce because i lack a better word. But, i agree what you are saying. Remove the one with issues, not all the rest. Thank you for your response and advice.

 

[Gourami Swami]

I completely agree with Rocksor, getting a fish tough enough to fight the Butti won't solve any problems and cause the rest of the tank to live in peace- it's just likely that you will double the problem and now have two murderous fish which kill all the others and finally each other.
I think your stocking looks viable with the exception of the buttikoferi. Might still have issues because as you know, the fish will all have their own unique personality.

 

[Sainioh]

I have also been thinking that the biggest cat on the block would not be an aggressive species at all. Well, not compared to the ones mentioned. I have been daydreaming for an Cichla Orinocoens or a Kelberi for a while, do you people see that going anywhere?

 

[Rocksor]

I have also been thinking that the biggest cat on the block would not be an aggressive species at all. Well, not compared to the ones mentioned. I have been daydreaming for an Cichla Orinocoens or a Kelberi for a while, do you people see that going anywhere?

Rethink your stocking. Bass do not do well with Parachromis. They are at a serious disadvantage because the mota and jag have big teeth. The bass look too similar in shape to the Parachromnis.

Let's start off with your water parameters. Do you have hard or soft water (GH)?

Then let's look at tank size, you might be able to do kelberi in a 24" wide tank. I am guessing your tank is a standard 300. Do you plan on rehoming fish that get too big for the inside dimensions of your tank? Or do you want to keep the fish for life?

 

[Sainioh]

Tank size is 240 x 80 x 65 (length, width, height) in centimeters. My goal is to keep the fish i get in. Not a fan of changing fish when i please. So, for life, not for my amusement.

 

[dan518]

Are you buying 3 or 5 of each species you listed or one of each? If you did an all male tank it stands a better chance of working, still think the odds are against it. If it's a mixed sex setup two will pair up and more then Likely wipe out the rest of the stock. There really isn't many tanks with a random mix of african, sa and ca cichlids that last more then a couple of years tops.

 

[Rocksor]

Tank size is 240 x 80 x 65 (length, width, height) in centimeters. My goal is to keep the fish i get in. Not a fan of changing fish when i please. So, for life, not for my amusement.

Well figure out if you have hard or soft water, and then figure out fish you are not willing to part with. The kelberi will do fine in the 30' wide tank.