Possible 125 Gallon Project...

Fish Tank Travis

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If you’re still interested in catfish, check out the four line catfish and ornate pims. They both look pretty similar to pictus as far as body shape and being silver and black, but they get bigger. For the four line cats, you could probably do four to six. For the ornate pims, you could probably do two, maybe three. Of course, this is assuming you don’t get any other bottom dwellers. The four line cats get to around 8” and the ornate pims can get up to 12”.
 
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Blazeitchris

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Bichirs aren't particularly aggressive to anything that they can't eat and won't really fight other species at all. There's upper and lower jaw species that differ a bit, I suggest you look at the Stickies in the "Polypterus" section and get a better idea :)
Definitely going to go with upper jaw species (huge size difference!). I'm kinda leaning towards a Senegal Bichir.

Bro, put this in the threads for your tanks, forum etiquette to not derail someone else's thread with an unrelated question. I know your new here and its fine, but just letting you know so you learn.

To the OP- I would stick with south American cichlids. Oscar is SA. Jack Dempsey, salvini, texas, are CA. Which are generally much less tolerant of other cichlids. South American cichlids live with many other cichlids in close proximity in the wild, so they tend to kill each other less in aquaria.
Some examples of SA cichlids that would work- Severum, Satanoperca jurupari, Geophagus Tapajos redhead, guianacara gaeyi, B. Cupido,

If you really want the jack Dempsey and your pH isn't low, I would say give it a shot. It might not work out, but JD is one of the milder CA cichlids, and I have found them to be great tankmates for Oscars. The problem you might run into, would be trying to mix the JD with the smaller SA's like cupido. Personally I would scratch the JD and go with the SA fish, but if you really couldn't live without the JD, it might be fine.
I think I'll give it a shot, I've got time to think about it lol. I'm trying to find tankmates of similar size to counter problems like that.

If you’re still interested in catfish, check out the four line catfish and ornate pims. They both look pretty similar to pictus as far as body shape and being silver and black, but they get bigger. For the four line cats, you could probably do four to six. For the ornate pims, you could probably do two, maybe three. Of course, this is assuming you don’t get any other bottom dwellers. The four line cats get to around 8” and the ornate pims can get up to 12”.
I took a look at four line catfish and I have to say they do intrigue me, however I don't think they're available locally :(
 

Hendre

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Senegal bichirs are awesome, I have two myself and love the activity of them! They should be chilled with cichlids too:)
 

Fish Tank Travis

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Definitely going to go with upper jaw species (huge size difference!). I'm kinda leaning towards a Senegal Bichir.



I think I'll give it a shot, I've got time to think about it lol. I'm trying to find tankmates of similar size to counter problems like that.



I took a look at four line catfish and I have to say they do intrigue me, however I don't think they're available locally :(
Four line cats are quite popular. The ornate pims are a bit more rare and would probably need to be mail ordered.
 

jaws7777

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A polypterus focused tank will be easier on aggression and killing each other haha. You could do a few polys with a single mild cichlid of sorts, and I think it'll be awesome :D

By the way, they're plain out addictive so be careful! One becomes two which becomes three...
+1. On both accounts.

Even if the group of cichlids does get along at adult sizes the bioload would be extremely high.

I would do 1 cichlid and maybe 3 to 5 bichirs. Possible bichirs would be delhezi, mokelembembe (spelling ?), Gold dust (hider but pretty) , Palmas Palmas/polli, and retropinnis.

I'd add senagalus if you weren't keeping an Oscar. Some sens stat really small anday end up in the O's belly down the road.




Going to crash your thread B Blazeitchris

I am getting a 150 hopefully today and this is the planned stocking:
BGK x1
Clown Loaches x5
Hi-Fin Pleco x1
Angelfish x6
M Cockatoo Dwarf Cichlid x1
F Cockatoo Dwarf Cichlid x3
Congo Tetras x7
Yellow-Banded Tetra x7
Denison Barb x4
And I have space for more fish as majority of these are not very large.
I was wondering. Could a bichir live with these fish? I like them but don't want an entire tank of them. I only want 1-2
Start your own thread in polypterus section.
 

Blazeitchris

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+1. On both accounts.

Even if the group of cichlids does get along at adult sizes the bioload would be extremely high.

I would do 1 cichlid and maybe 3 to 5 bichirs. Possible bichirs would be delhezi, mokelembembe (spelling ?), Gold dust (hider but pretty) , Palmas Palmas/polli, and retropinnis.

I'd add senagalus if you weren't keeping an Oscar. Some sens stat really small anday end up in the O's belly down the road.





Start your own thread in polypterus section.
I'd really like this to be a cichlid-based tank, having a bichir to share the bottom with the catfish is just a plus. Don't get me wrong I really do like bichirs now, but the cichlids are going to be the intended eye-catchers:)
 
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Davidiator

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Sorry that I crashed your thread B Blazeitchris

Everyone else. Sorry I saw others do things like that and decided to do that.
Really sorry
 
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jaws7777

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I'd really like this to be a cichlid-based tank, having a bichir to share the bottom with the catfish is just a plus. Don't get me wrong I really do like bichirs now, but the cichlids are going to be the intended eye-catchers:)
Maybe look into smaller/med sized cichlids like acaras and cryptoheros.
 
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Blazeitchris

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Sorry that I crashed your thread B Blazeitchris

Everyone else. Sorry I saw others do things like that and decided to do that.
Really sorry
It's alright, no hard feelings. :D

Maybe look into smaller/med sized cichlids like acaras and cryptoheros.
I can't do that unfortunately. One of the main reasons I'm planning this setup is because it will be my last project for awhile and I really want to stock an Oscar and Jack Dempsey with others. I already have "smaller" cichlids in my 55 (Peacocks). I picked the "125 gallon" because it seems to be a common size when talking about larger cichlids such as the ones I mentioned in my original post. ;)
 

Backfromthedead

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It's alright, no hard feelings. :D



I can't do that unfortunately. One of the main reasons I'm planning this setup is because it will be my last project for awhile and I really want to stock an Oscar and Jack Dempsey with others. I already have "smaller" cichlids in my 55 (Peacocks). I picked the "125 gallon" because it seems to be a common size when talking about larger cichlids such as the ones I mentioned in my original post. ;)
ive seen plenty of nice setups featuring oscars and jack dempseys. just be aware that jd prefer harder water/higher ph than oscars(and other SA cichlids) come from in the wild. but ive found that most oscars adapt well to slightly or moderately hard water environments. just be wary of buying wild oscars(or other SA cichlids) for instance because they may be used to very soft acidic water.

on the other hand jd will suffer in soft water environments.

good luck with your tank.
 
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