Questions on SA Cichlids

[Bobleflaad]

Thank you for all your answers, the tank has now been setup.

Currently the inhabitants are:

Green Terror 1 Male and 2 Females (They have bred before so one of the females are part of the pair, i am unsure which one so currently they both went in).

Oscars 2 unknown.

The decor is a homemade mudbank/boulder background, driftwood, redmoor roots and some flat stones of unknown origin (no lime in them). The substrate is black gravel.

I will get the silver dollars if the only place in the country that has them still have some.

I will also try with a few plants, I am still undecided on which type, but sofar Java fern is on the positive list.

When the dust have settled I will try to get a few pictures and post them here.

 

[Bobleflaad]

A quick update:

I managed to get 10 silver dollars (possibly red hook).

The SD's are doing well and keeping nicely out of the cichlids way, the are very very fast little fish.

BUT..

After a very short period in the new tank the Green Terrors decided to lay eggs, and the male started a "green terror" regime. I had all sorts of obstacles in the tank and many relly good hiding places, but the GT seems to seek out a victim in this case the bigger of the oscars. It did not care about the smaller oscar, the SD's or the Sailfin "Pleco" (which I also got at the LFS), but solely went on a hunt for the larger oscar. It was fairly obvious that the Oscar would not take the battering for an extended period so I pulled the GT's out of the tank, in order to restore the peace (save the Oscar).

So actually as I was told, a 130G is not enough for a breeding pair of GT's with any other cichlids / fish. I am sure the GT male would have killed the larger Oscar and then would have gone on to kill the rest.

The Oscar just did a silly dance/stance and never really did any effort to defend itself. So even though it is a pity I have to sell the Green Terrors, since the oscars caught me a bit more (maybe it is the "rooting for the little guy" syndrome).

I am also now pretty sure that the larger of the Oscars is a female, since I think her egg tupe came out briefly during the bashing around by the GT.

Still going to post some pics, but I will leave the lights of for the next day or so in order for everyone to settle down abit.

I am ready for all the "I told you so", so lets have it

 

[TwistedPenguin]

The Oscar just did a silly dance/stance and never really did any effort to defend itself. So even though it is a pity I have to sell the Green Terrors, since the oscars caught me a bit more (maybe it is the "rooting for the little guy" syndrome).

One of the most valuable "Oscar lessons" you'll figure out Ounce for ounce Osars are are bark and very little bite. They'll try to bluff (sometimes) but generally they seldom seem to defend themselves against outright attacks.
A breeding pair of Convicts will kill an Oscar. The chances of a breeding pair of GT's in with Oscars was pretty much a death wish for the Oscars. I'll take my Oscars over every other fish I've got-wonderful personalities even if they need a Man Pill every so often.