Planning future stock for Hoplarchus psittacus(true parrot) tank among other things

[Omrit]

Hello I am currently planning my dream tank. This tank will not be going up for at least another 3 years ,but I want to have everything well planned out before then.


I am thinking I want at least a 180 gallon. Larger would be ideal ,but I seldom see them for sale where I live. Let's assume the 180.

Here are my questions:

1. Last I checked I had pretty neutral water. Some say this is a big problem for Hoplarchus psittacus ,while others say it is not a big deal. I am not interested in breeding them I just want them to do well. Do I need to reconsider getting this fish?

2. In my stock list below do any of these fish need to be kept in a male/female pair in order to thrive? When I had Firemouth Cichlids they were more interesting to watch after pairing ,and seemed to be more out-going after pairing which is why I ask.

Here is the list:

Hoplarchus psittacus- I would like two of these, and they are priority #1.

Chocolate Cichlid- Two

Pike cichlid-After reading about these I am more confused than when I started. I would like a pike that is colorful ,but cost less than 75$. "Atabapo I" grows into a nice looking red pike from what I understand as well as being in my price range ,but it seems to get too large? Are there other smaller pikes that fit what I am looking for?

Heros Rotkeil,notatus,or liberifer: Maybe two from this list.

Fire eel- 1

Here are some other fish I like ,but not as much as the ones I listed above. If something needs to be replaced I would prefer to do it with a species from this list:

Aequidens rivulatus-1
Polypterus delhezi-1
Cryptoheros sajica(T-bar cichlid)- 2
Lima Shovelnose catfish- 1
Caquetaia spectabilis- 1


Is there some combination of these fish that will work? Like I said I am more interested in the top list ,but if I have extra room or need to replace something then I also like the fish in the bottom list. Sorry to ask so many questions ,but this is my first time with large cichlids. It seems the bigger the cichlids get the more subjective information on them becomes which is really why I am making this thread. Just want some second opinions I guess.

 

[lunsforj]

I have a wc pair and I keep them with satanoperca lillithi, geophagus sveni, crenicicichla lenticulata, cichla intermedia and a few large plecs, large black ghost knife, and a large brycon in a 300. I tried to grow them up with a pair of chocolate cichlids and they absolutely hated each other. The chocolates were on the receiving end most of the time. I consider them to be "testy" with fish of similar shape and those that challenge them for dominance like my cichla. They do seem fine with the pikes though. My pair does not seem to be strongly bonded and I'm not sure if that is typical of the species. Every now and then they will defend an area together but then that passes and they go back to ignoring one another. My male is 10-11 inches and female is probably 8 for reference.

 

[Chockful O Phail]

I believe true parrots can do well in neutral water. It’s water quality issues along with hard water. Perhaps though try rethinking because even in a 180 you’re stock list is kind of full and it’ll be difficult to keep perfect water for the parrots. I would say a pair of parrots, the pike should be ok, and dither/targets like tiger silver dollars. You could keep a Flagtail for a long while before it gets to big. 6+ largish cichlids in a 180 is going to be cramped though.

 

[lunsforj]

Oh I forgot to mention that I'm on well water that is about 7 dkh and runs a pH of about 7.5. I do weekly 40 percent water changes and they seem fine. Haven't developed hole in the head or any other complications.

 

[Omrit]

I believe true parrots can do well in neutral water. It’s water quality issues along with hard water. Perhaps though try rethinking because even in a 180 you’re stock list is kind of full and it’ll be difficult to keep perfect water for the parrots. I would say a pair of parrots, the pike should be ok, and dither/targets like tiger silver dollars. You could keep a Flagtail for a long while before it gets to big. 6+ largish cichlids in a 180 is going to be cramped though.

Alright thanks for the help. Is soft water somehow better for preventing disease? I never really understood why fish needed soft water.

I have had Rams and Apistos do well in my water as well as angelfish breeding in it. It had always confused me as I had always been told these species needed soft water to do well, or in the angelfish's case breed. I guess it worked because I kept clean water?



Edit:

Also what kind of pike would you recommend? The red atapo seems really large.

 

[Chockful O Phail]

Alright thanks for the help. Is soft water somehow better for preventing disease? I never really understood why fish needed soft water.

I have had Rams and Apistos do well in my water as well as angelfish breeding in it. It had always confused me as I had always been told these species needed soft water to do well, or in the angelfish's case breed. I guess it worked because I kept clean water?



Edit:

Also what kind of pike would you recommend? The red atapo seems really large.

Very few fish absolutely have to have soft water, it may be easier to keep some of them in soft water but neutral will work. Exceptions being Uaru F. and the like. Psittacus have gotten the rep similar to discus and oscars because they are very susceptible to poor water quality.

As far as pikes, I can’t recommend one because I live in an area with rock masquerading as water and have tried to get away from SA fish before I could get any crenicichla. There is a member on here that has an atabapo red in a 180 with some wide bar dollars that looks like it fits in the tank nicely. I would suggest looking through the crenicihla forum posts for ideas.

 

[Rocksor]

Alright thanks for the help. Is soft water somehow better for preventing disease? I never really understood why fish needed soft water.

I have had Rams and Apistos do well in my water as well as angelfish breeding in it. It had always confused me as I had always been told these species needed soft water to do well, or in the angelfish's case breed. I guess it worked because I kept clean water?



Edit:

Also what kind of pike would you recommend? The red atapo seems really large.

Soft water should have water that has lower total dissolved solids. If the water has too much dissolved solids then it could stress a fish out because it affects there ability to release enough minerals from their body. If the water is too soft for the fish, they lose minerals much faster than their body can keep. This also stresses them out, and will cause them to get sick. If your rams did well, the true parrot should do fine.

A female Atabapo 1 gets to 12" generally, and would be fine in that tank size. It's the males that get much larger. A female will have a white stripe in the dorsal fin, in between the black and red coloring. They can get aggressive and pick on your true parrot.

You could look for Crenicichla sveni or C. Saxatilis. There are even smaller ones like C. sp belly crawler. All 3 are much cheaper than an Atabapo, and would not likely challenge your centerpiece parrot.

 

[Omrit]

Atabapo is the 2nd cheapest pike I have seen (30$ on aquabid) which is what interested me in them. I might be mixing it up as the pike names really confuse me. I am not a huge fan of Belly crawler ,but C. Saxatilis looks nice.


I might just go with the Chocolate Cichlids. It is starting to sound like the Parrots are not a great choice for a first time big cichlid owner.

 

[Rocksor]

one or two Chocolate cichlids with a shoal of festivums and a saxatilis pike would be nice in that tank. A good bottom feeder would be jurupari earth eaters

 

[lunsforj]

I actually think you'd be happier with chocolates. They are personable, great to look at, form strong pair bonds, and aren't overly hard on fellow tankmates. I highly recommend the wc ones the wetsopt gets. They grow into beautiful adults, wine red colors mixed with green/yellow sides.