I've got a 300 gallon mixed cichlid tank. Dimensions are aprox 8X2X3 Currently have about 20 africans, 2 Jack dempseys, 2 parrots, and 2 flowerhorns. (I know, I'm not supposed to mix them) . About 30 fish total. All fish are currently around or under 2 inches and in my opinion the tank seems kind of bare. I have read that it is good to crowd africans but don't have a good idea of what "crowd" actually means. I realize that these fish will eventually grow up to fill the tank, and I would like to properly stock it now and let them grow up together, as it would probly be hard to later introduce small fish into the tank and not have them get eaten. Probly equally as hard to try and decide who would have to be removed later if too crowded. Filtration ect. aside, how many fish would be comfortable in a tank this size? I have read the 1 inch per gallon rule but 300 inches seems ridiculous. And not to get off topic, I have seen alot of different eels out there and have been interested but don't know if they are compatable with cichlids. Are there any eels out there who could live together with these quys? People at my LFS never who crap and can't ever answer questions.
Stocking a 300 gallon
- Thread starter lucas2
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Well with a 300g(360g with the dimensions you gave) you have alot of options. I would tend to lean towards the south/central american cichlids. Either the tiretrack eel or the fire eel will do fine with large cichlids.
The one inch per gallon rule is only good for small fish(2"-3") IMO. Best to find a good quality pet store that your can trade fish. Do lots of reseach and ask questions here on MFK. Eventually you will get a good idea on what direction you want to go with your tank.
You could not even keep one arapaima gigas in that tank
The one inch per gallon rule is only good for small fish(2"-3") IMO. Best to find a good quality pet store that your can trade fish. Do lots of reseach and ask questions here on MFK. Eventually you will get a good idea on what direction you want to go with your tank.
skylar69;989930; said:
You could not even keep one arapaima gigas in that tank"Crowding" with malawis refers to keeping a higher number of fish than would normally be recommended to reduce aggression. Obviously the more fish the more the aggression can be spread between individuals, however this does mean you need to over filter to keep the water chemistry good.
(ROUGHLY) If you say 75g for 2 jacks, 75 for 2 flowers, 42 for 2 (big) parrots, thats 192 gallons leaving 108 gallon for the africans. I've seen a tank about 100 gall with roughly 50-60 medium to large african.
However, the aggression of the jacks and the flowers might make it difficult to keep that many others. I'm not all that sure but theres my calculations for you so hopefully someone else has better info.
(ROUGHLY) If you say 75g for 2 jacks, 75 for 2 flowers, 42 for 2 (big) parrots, thats 192 gallons leaving 108 gallon for the africans. I've seen a tank about 100 gall with roughly 50-60 medium to large african.
However, the aggression of the jacks and the flowers might make it difficult to keep that many others. I'm not all that sure but theres my calculations for you so hopefully someone else has better info.
Don't underestimate the viciousness of African cichlids. They are more than capable of killing any juvi New world cichlid. What kind of africans do you have?
Honestly, I don't know. I am new to cichlids and when you buy them at petsmart,petco ect. they are just listed as SA, or African and their approximate adult size. I have been just buying what looks good to me and trying to stay with 5" and under with exception of the JD's,Flowerhorns, and parrots.
They all get along pretty well together. A couple have nipped fins, and they like to chase each other, but no real aggression towards each other. I cant say the same for the shrimp, crabs, frogs, snails, guppys that they have eaten in the last month.
Lol, why did you put those fish in there? Get rid of the Africans (That sounds so racist XP) and replace them with 4 monster fish, or more, haha. LArge killer cichlid set up would be so cool. I seen it done with a dovi, jag, midas, and rtc in a 300 before ,that would look cool. Or leave the Africans in there for the larger fish to eat eventually. ;D