over stocking?

[candidpets]

anyone over stock central American cichilds like they do Africans or would it not work?

I only have a few fish like 10 in my 150 gallon and so much aggression

a friend has 75 gallon with like 30 cichlid s and its so peaceful almost no fighting

 

[Buphy]

My conclusion is its a lot harder to scale because of the difference in max size of SA/CA when compared to African cichlids.

 

[MP_cichlid]

Well, the idea is that it will disperse the aggression, not make less of it. If you add more fish then one fish will have trouble with only picking on one or two fish. Also list what fish you have right now, cause it could mean a world of a difference if you have viejas and midas as opposed to a dovii or umbee.

 

[MP_cichlid]

Well, the idea is that it will disperse the aggression, not make less of it. If you add more fish then one fish will have trouble with only picking on one or two fish. Also list what fish you have right now, cause it could mean a world of a difference if you have viejas and midas as opposed to a dovii or umbee.

 

[candidpets]

I have 5 tanks lol so was just thinking of the idea if it has worked with central American cichilds as well

I would not add a dovii or umbee to any tank my tanks are mostly in the 150 gallon range

but with midas or red devils wouldn't they just lose it and kill everyone?

I was thinking stuff like jd, firemouth, jules, mbunas, savlinis,

yes I know I said it mixing mbunas with ne world fish is a sin

 

[jaws7777]

I wouldnt put 10 ca in a 150. It may spread aggression but otber issues such as water quality and stress from lack of territories could arise

 

[Hoplo]

It does help spread the aggression out, and one of th main reasons I have seen aggressive american com's fail is because there are to few fish, and the one on the bottom of th pecking order gets picked on to death.

Obviously the more fish you add the more filtration you need.

 

[ragin_cajun]

This has been discussed and debated here for years. I myself have read lots of arguments for and against, and I've tried it both ways. There is no hard and fast rule on this, and everyone's experience with it is different. Success or failure depends on lots of different factors.

I think it all boils down to personal preference and personal style of fishkeeping. I, personally, don't like the look and feel of a tank that is stocked too heavily. But, that means I have to be more disciplined about not buying too many different types of fish.

That was harder to do 2 years ago because I'd not ever had all these different species before. Now, I've got it narrowed down to a few species I really want to keep, and I can do without the rest.

I think the if you're gonna try it, you need to do it with Vieja and a few Amph's--maybe some Severum. I don't see too many people trying the overstocking trick with Parachromis. Can't do it with Umbees and Dovii.

I think a bigger tank is always better, too.

Be ready to do lots of water changes, and lots of vacuuming.

And keep in mind, a fish that's not too aggressive at 6-8 inches will change his mind completely at 10-12 inches. If your friend has 30 4 inch fish and they don't fight too much, I'm not surprised. If they're Vieja, they will when they're 12 inches.

 

[ehh]

What ten fish do you have in your 150?

In my experience, it doesn't work with centeals or southies.

The stock will slowly thin itself out.

 

[duanes]

I agree with ragin cajun, that it depend on the species, and size of tank.
I have found overstocking those of the genus Astatheros works well, but others like Parachromis, and Maskaheros it doesn't. It also depends on the age of the species.
I found I could keep Tomocichla tuba and asfraci together until about 3", then had to be speparated or I'd end up with 1.
As far as tank size, anything of 300 gallons or more, even the difficult species were fairly tolerant of each other, but in tanks less than 200 gallons, adult crowding is problematic.