I have a gold saum right now currently quarantining and planning the larger display, was wondering if it can coexist with some red heads or some other smaller cichlids with lots of color, tank is gonna be 36x28x24 i think it is 105g I could be wrong, filtration isn't a problem, xp3 and large sump run with 2 mag 7s. but how about the aggression assuming I get a couple redheads at the size my terror is now, can I expect them to be okay with eachother once they are adult sized? Really don't want a wet pet tank but I also don't want to risk my fish getting hurt, any and all input is appreciated and will even consider other options as long as they are from the area i'm looking to do, which is a very broad biotope, central and south americans welcomed
Red heads and GTs?
- Thread starter DrawnToBeaches
- Start date
You have to prepare for your Saum to hit full size, anything up to 12" for a male. I have heard the odd one can get over that, how true I don't know. While your tank has amazing height and depth for cichlids, its length is lacking for anything over 8" really which puts Saums more than likely over the limit unless you get lucky and get a female. Even then aggression can still be an issue.
The tanks footprint is very important with cichlids and yours will be unlikely to allow for more than one semi-aggressive cichlid at adult size, especially so if you get a mean Saum. You may not even get any other tankmates if it is particularly nasty which is possible.
Add an extra foot onto the length on that tank and I think you would be on to a definite winner.
As for the red heads, I assume you are not on about a couple of vieja synspilum?
If it is the eartheater then as far as I am aware they are very docile and are unsuitable candidates to be Saum tankmates. They would have little to no defence against a rampaging Saum.
I personally would not put anything that gets over 8" in a tank, with the same dimensions as yours, as I know what a 9.5" fish looks like in a 4ft long tank and it looked too tight to me.
A 8-12" Saum would be completely unsuitable in that tank for life, fine for quarantine and temporary accomodation, but not for life IMO.
The tanks footprint is very important with cichlids and yours will be unlikely to allow for more than one semi-aggressive cichlid at adult size, especially so if you get a mean Saum. You may not even get any other tankmates if it is particularly nasty which is possible.
Add an extra foot onto the length on that tank and I think you would be on to a definite winner.
As for the red heads, I assume you are not on about a couple of vieja synspilum?
If it is the eartheater then as far as I am aware they are very docile and are unsuitable candidates to be Saum tankmates. They would have little to no defence against a rampaging Saum.
I personally would not put anything that gets over 8" in a tank, with the same dimensions as yours, as I know what a 9.5" fish looks like in a 4ft long tank and it looked too tight to me.
A 8-12" Saum would be completely unsuitable in that tank for life, fine for quarantine and temporary accomodation, but not for life IMO.
Like I said in my post, an extra foot with the same height and width would be awsome for a Saum for life and possibly some tankmates.
There are still plenty of colourful fish that don't get too large that you can put in the 3ft one though, salivini to name but one.
i'll probably still do red heads and try a blue acara pair, not sure now. gotta find a tank for my saum
found a 48Lx24xDx25T think it is 120g I'm gonna pick it up for my gold saum and ebjd, will take a pic of the saum to assure me of the id. my ebjd and saum are same age and are both equally docile and skittish even around tetras think they'll be able to grow out together for a while?
Only you know your fish and how they behave with other fish. You can try it and keep an eye on it with a divider handy. Other than that it is really just a rough guess because we don't know how your fish react to tankmates. If they are both docile then the 4ft should be enough space to give them a chance to live peacefully.
Blue acaras are a great alternative to Saums because they can have the majority of the same colouration but much less chance of aggression and stay much smaller.
Good luck.
I wish I could find blue acaras they are so pretty =p have had no luck though. thanks for the help
wow taylor thank you for the offer, i will hit you up as soon as I get a 120g or so, which hopefully is soon after I get paid.