Overstocking Midas Tanks

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salsa

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Feb 14, 2007
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In Your Imagination
I've seen people who are overstocking midas tanks to ard the agression down. I want more info (tank size, #of fish, filtration, water changes, m to f ratio. hiding spaces, etc., etc.)
 
I have 5 juvinile devils in a 75 gal ranging in size from 2"-4" their tankmates are 1 7" nic ,1 bbcatfish 3",1 raphel cat 3",1 fm 4",a pair of t-bars sajicia 3" 2 3" clown pleco's.The filteration is a emp350 hob,a big sponge filter,a med size power head, i do a weekly 50% water change and provide many hidding spaces.I have had in a 125 gal 8 x 6" devils with a texas ,jag,nic,gt and i made it work about 2 months it was a temporary setup with lots of rock work for them to hide. I also did a water change on this setup every 4 days as the nitrite would go over 40ppm after 4 days i am not suggesting a setup like this longterm. Having a group of devils mixed with other cichlids is the key the midas/devil is very hard on it's own kind but will tolerate a different cichlid better than it's own kind in close quaters.There was some big fights but no deaths i still got a few of those fish oh and lots of big hiding spots like terracota planters bricks and slate stacked up.The devil can be tamed by having overwhelming compatition in the tank u need several devils and a few other types of tough cichlids.Here's a few pics of my 75 gal the pics are about a month old.

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OK you guys asked for it.....

I have found that you can overcrowd a tank and get a bunch of fish to live together.

What I have found is that even big RDs will live in peace as long as they have some space for themself.

I have a 265gal tank with 30+ big cichlids and with a tank this size you will see that some of the fish almost ignore other fish that they would normally fight with. I always put something in the middle of the tank to break the line of sight and then I have some tall plants in the tankto let the fish have a territory of their own. I find that most of the fish will swim the whole tank but they will defend their area if they happen to be there when another fish is there but they normally they won't swim over to fight with the trespasser.

Adding new fish can be tuff so make sure that you give the new guys a place to hide because they will get ruffed up some at first but most of the time within a week everything is fine. Remember you will need to keep an eye on the new guy.

At first I used to change 50% of the weter every week but I couldn't keep the water from having a yellow cast but in the last 1.5 years I have been running a 3gph drip system with a wet/dry fiter with a 1500 gph pump.

Since I started running the drip system I haven't done anything other then clean the glass, change the filter pad once a month and change the water filter once every 3 or 4 months.
 
30 big ones in a 265? wow :WHOA: :jaw:
 
nice pics...
 
lilmixedboy;798886; said:
Sometimes overcrowding can reduce the agrresion in a SA/CA fish tank. Just look, .... looks like all fish are healthy and barely any fin damage.


http://youtube.com/watch?v=OGDO72QOxQ4

lol crazy 55gal there. i would never try or advise ANYONE doing this, period.

well i know juvies can be kept together quite easy. i am however wondering on the adults. or at least 7".

sorry i know this guys thread, but i just got to ask some questions too.

i understand repairs deal.

my goal is like say a tank for just RD, Midas, Trimac, and like species. say 1-4 med-large fish of each. being realistically what size would be reasonable? would a 300 work? need to go longer tank then 8'? tank need's to be taller? does anyone have pics of a same idea?

or would a tank full of midas be the say deal?
 
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