Depending on what else you stock, 6 geos should be fine, they do better in groups. Pike cichlids are apparently great in community tanks where nothing fits in their mouths.
SA/CA Cichlid stocking advice.
- Thread starter Aquamaniac96
- Start date
No need for 2 300 watt heaters 1 is enough. Another option for filtration are sumps. You can easily fit a 30 gal in your stand. It would add to your over all water volume and sonce you dont have the tank yet you'd probably be able to get a 55 gal in there (before you put the main tank on the tand).
Are you set on a community set up or is having a solo wet pet and maybe a non cichlid type fish an option ? Check out pearsei highly interactive fish like a puppy. Other members say amphs are great too, a pair of parachromis loiselli would be stunning, lots of options
Are you set on a community set up or is having a solo wet pet and maybe a non cichlid type fish an option ? Check out pearsei highly interactive fish like a puppy. Other members say amphs are great too, a pair of parachromis loiselli would be stunning, lots of options
I'll look more into dwarf pikes, chocolates, and those True Parrots. I am pretty set on a community. I just love the activity and vibrance of a community tank. I love to watch the fish interact with eachother. The Parachromis and pearsi look pretty cool! I also looked into doing a sump. I feel like it would be cheaper in the long run than the canister filter. If not cheaper, then surely more effective. I'll take a better look at doing a sump. I'm not in any rush for any of this. I probably won't have all of this set up til close to the End of July if I'm lucky. Oh also the only reason I would get 2 heaters is that's what I saw suggested, but if one's enough that's awesome cause that'll save me $50 and put less stress on the energy bill! Thanks! Also the aquarium doesn't have to be exclusively cichlids. I looked at maybe doing small community catfish, bichirs are cool too. I won't discount any ideas you throw at me really. I'll look into them all. I have much experience to gain, and who knows maybe you will introduce me to a new fish I fall in love with. I really wish an arowana could fit in a 125.
Yeah spend some time in the filtration section. I wish i would have taken the time to learn about sumps whwn i got back into the hobby. Maintenance is a breeze just change out filter socks wash the dirty ones in the machine replace with clean ones, no more lugging around a can and squeezing out foam pads. Plus you can do what ever you want with a sump add all the bio to your hearts content, get crazy with baffles or make it simple and easy to maintain.
I've had great results with bichirs and cichlids that are on the milder side. They basically ignore each other. You could probably keep captive bred endlicheri in a 125. Look into the smaller growing bichirs like dels, retros, gold dust... post some threads in the other sections and get opinions (filtration and polypterus)
Never kept a true parrot but i thought that they get too big for a 125 for life. Not sure
I think my only fear of the sump was drilling holes into the aquarium. I'm not sure if it's necessary but I definitely don't have the tools for that. If I can do a sump, I'll just go all out with it. You're right, I'd much rather clean out a filter sock than lug around a big ol canister and deal with possible leaks/floods. You're right about the parrot. 15". The Delhezi looks pretty awesome! Thanks for your help and suggestions by the way.
I think my only fear of the sump was drilling holes into the aquarium. I'm not sure if it's necessary but I definitely don't have the tools for that. If I can do a sump, I'll just go all out with it. You're right, I'd much rather clean out a filter sock than lug around a big ol canister and deal with possible leaks/floods. You're right about the parrot. 15". The Delhezi looks pretty awesome! Thanks for your help and suggestions by the way.
No prob bro. Just passing along info that was passed to me.
You can always get the tank pre drilled when you buy it. But doubt that thats gonna happen at petco/petsmart. You can use hob overflows. I have them but to be honest the only reason why is because i already had fish in the tank and wasnt going to go through all the dramma of deaining and moving fish around. That being said have a frilled tank is more reliable than hob overflows. But inhave had 0 issues with mine.
There are kits you can buy from glass-holes.com. you would need to make sure the glass isnt tempered. Im telling you the guys in the filtration section will turn you into a sump master in no time. You wont regret taking the time now. Maybe a little.more money up front but in the long haul it'll make life much esier
I don't mind putting up more money if it means a cleaner tank and less cleaning for me. I've done it before for my Crested Gecko terrarium with live plants, bugs, automatic rain system and timers for the lighting. If Cichlids weren't so notorious for destroying plants I would consider live plants. I hear Amazon Swords and a few others are resilient enough. It would hurt to have that extra filtration. But idk if I would need a CO2 system for that. I almost considered looking at trying to get the aquarium pre-drilled an all and then making my own stand. I've done it before with just 2x6's and cinderblocks. I'll take a look at them.
