Planning a new SA/CA Cichlid tank

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
G

getandistr

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 26, 2010
22
0
0
New Jersey
Hi everyone, this is my first post here. I have kept cichlids for about 2 years now and now that I have my own house I plan on building my own tank this summer. I know most of the steps I need to build the tank and have chosen SA/CA over Africans for the variety. I have set up a basic list of the fish I want but I want the opinion of people that have kept these fish before. So without further ado here is my setup.

I am planning to build an 800-1000 gallon fish tank. It will be 15ft long x 3 feet wide. The height/depth is what will vary the size of the tank between 800g and 1000g. I want this to be a diverse tank fully of color and size so here is what I was thinking:
Blue Acara – 1
Uaru - 1
Geophagus Surinamensis - 1
T-bar – 2
Severum - 5
flowerhorn blood parrot hybrid (forgot the new official name) – 2
Jack Dempsey - 1
Green Terror - 1
Convict - 4
Black Belt - 1
Blood Parrot - 2
Firemouth - 3
Flag Cichlid - 3
Pearl Eartheater - 1
Nicaraguan - 3
Salvini - 5
Electric Blue Jack Dempsey – 2
Chocolate Cichlid - 1
Threadfin Acara - 3
Cryptoheros Cutteri - 3



I plan to introduce the small guys first and let them develop a little before starting with the larger fish. Are there any fish here that may lead to problems in the tank? Also I am considering an Arowana but again I wanted feedback.


All criticism is welcome and appreciated.
 
I like the idea. Im not sure about the arowana. Wont it eat the smaller fish when it gets big? other than that it should be a sweet tank.
 
Well that is a concern but I have heard of some people being able to only feed their arowana pellets and the occasional blood worm as a way to sort of ween them off from eating anything live. Can anyone here comment on if that has worked for them? Also the awowana definitely won't be introduced until later on when the tank has developed.
 
That's a huge tank, and a huge list of fish. Nobody will be able to tell you exactly what will happen. Some may pair up and kick the crap out of others, or they may not. You might get really peaceful specimens of certain fish, or you might get monsters. I would add a big school of something to that list if it were me though.
 
I'm not really looking for an exact answer because I know each fish is different. Hell I've had a Blood Parrot that destroyed a tank full of Green Terror's and Jack Dempsey's but I am just asking to make sure I didn't pick any overly aggressive fish. If you think a school would be a good thing to add do you have any ideas on what type? I am open to suggestions.
 
i would rid of the hybrids. i do like hybrids but i think there better off kept in a seperate tank. are you not going to put the most beutiful fish imo a couple female festae in there?
 
peathenster;3826568; said:
Not a big fan of mixing CA and SA together. And some of the fish on your list, like Urau and Geo. "surinamensis" are best kept in groups, not as a single specimen.
Click to expand...

^^ that was going to be my suggestion too. Uaru and Geo's need to be kept in groups. I would eliminate the hybrids too as well as some of the more aggressive spawners such as Cutteri and salvinii.
 
My opinion is that this is a very, almost random, selection of fish. It might work because the tank will be so big, but at the same time it might not. I agree with the others about skipping the aro. I also agree with fishguts about skipping the hybrids.

I would also skip the electric blue dempseys. They are very slow growers and will almost surely get picked on until they die.

I also have a feeling that the blackbelt will absolutely kick the crap out of the uaru and chocolate. The severums might also get beat up pretty bad in that setup.

I don't know much about Geos, but I also don't think you should have only one in that setup, and personally don't think you should have any with those other fish that you mentioned.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom