Wet pet suggestions?

[Oompaloompa]

Hi! I'm planning to keep a single wet pet fish in a 4ft by 1.5ft by 1.5ft tank (can't go bigger because of space constraints and can't go taller because I'm short and already have difficulty cleaning 1.5 height tanks)! I'm finding it a bit challenging to figure out what species would be suitable for this tank size.

I previously had a flowerhorn in there who lived to be about 5-6 years old and 11" before passing and I always felt that the tank was too small for him. Size wise I would prefer a 6"-8" fish so that they will have more room but be big enough that my parents will not complain about me putting such a small fish in a "big" tank.

The absolute maximum size I'm looking for will be a 10" max size fish, since most fish do not hit the maximum in captivity and will likely hit the 8-9" mark instead (correct me if I'm wrong please). I will try to get a female since they stay on the smaller side, but it can be difficult to sex them when they're young so I prefer to play it safe and not try to find a female of a 12" max size species.

The tank sits at around 29-31C most days and I am comfortable doing 50% water changes twice a week to keep the nitrates below 20ppm. I'm more comfortable with SA cichlids since I know they generally do well in my water. I am considering CA cichlids too but will get a gH kH test kit to confirm that they'll be alright with my tap water parameters before getting one!

The flowerhorn (Watermelon) brought a lot of joy to me and everyone in my family so I'm hoping to find another interactive pet fish!

 

[Zmouvek]

Hi! I'm planning to keep a single wet pet fish in a 4ft by 1.5ft by 1.5ft tank (can't go bigger because of space constraints and can't go taller because I'm short and already have difficulty cleaning 1.5 height tanks)! I'm finding it a bit challenging to figure out what species would be suitable for this tank size.

I previously had a flowerhorn in there who lived to be about 5-6 years old and 11" before passing and I always felt that the tank was too small for him. Size wise I would prefer a 6"-8" fish so that they will have more room but be big enough that my parents will not complain about me putting such a small fish in a "big" tank.

The absolute maximum size I'm looking for will be a 10" max size fish, since most fish do not hit the maximum in captivity and will likely hit the 8-9" mark instead (correct me if I'm wrong please). I will try to get a female since they stay on the smaller side, but it can be difficult to sex them when they're young so I prefer to play it safe and not try to find a female of a 12" max size species.

The tank sits at around 29-31C most days and I am comfortable doing 50% water changes twice a week to keep the nitrates below 20ppm. I'm more comfortable with SA cichlids since I know they generally do well in my water. I am considering CA cichlids too but will get a gH kH test kit to confirm that they'll be alright with my tap water parameters before getting one!

The flowerhorn (Watermelon) brought a lot of joy to me and everyone in my family so I'm hoping to find another interactive pet fish!

Maybe a Cuban Cichlid? Maxes out at 10 inches, pretty sure they are related to oscars, and in my experience aggression has a positive correlation with person-ability (and let it be known Cubans are aggressive, the fish and the people) or maybe a jack dempsey?

 

[SalviniCichlidFan]

Cuban cichlid's are taxonomically not related to Oscars at all except for the fact that they're both new world cichlids.

I would try to ask around for people who have experience keeping cichlids that don't need dithers. I think there's a recent thread on that topic. I remember someone mentioning cichlids like Oscars don't need dithers, but they're too big for your tank.

I would avoid cichlids like salvini and fire mouths because in my experience they tend to be shy cichlids that need dithers to be comfortable.

I would personally suggest Hemichromis elongatus. I recently purchased one and it's in my quarantine tank right now but it's very personable and strikes hard at food I give him since I first put him in the tank. (Today I held my hand with some pellets above the feeding hole on my tank lid for a second too long and he jumped at my finger and grabbed the pellets out of my hand).

edit: I know OP is requesting Central American cichlids but in my experience West African rivirines like H. Elongatus are quite similar in behavior and temperament.

 

[Deadeye]

Any of the wet pet cichlids that would do well in a 4 foot tank for life would be convicts and their relatives. Short of blood parrots, the rest just get too big imo. A lot of them also tend to be more reclusive.

IMO a red wolf fish is the best option. They are incredibly interactive and a great predatory fish. They don’t do well with others, so you don’t really need to worry about tankmate options.

 

[Cichlids-r-beasts]

Probably a Convict pair. Maybe a female Gold Saum, female Jack Dempsey. Salvini probably. Nothing more than 8 inches imo.

 

[Zmouvek]

Cuban cichlid's are taxonomically not related to Oscars at all except for the fact that they're both new world cichlids.

Oh my bad, I thought they were in the same tribe

 

[Deadeye]

I’ll just toss out that a Jack is not a good wet pet cichlid. They are one of the shyer ones and not very interactive. At best mine will act normal when I’m near the tank, but none of the interactive behavior you’d get from an Oscar or convict. It also gets too big for a 4 foot tank (as does a green terror).

 

[Cichlids-r-beasts]

I’ll just toss out that a Jack is not a good wet pet cichlid. They are one of the shyer ones and not very interactive. At best mine will act normal when I’m near the tank, but none of the interactive behavior you’d get from an Oscar or convict. It also gets too big for a 4 foot tank (as does a green terror).

I haven’t seen females in both species get past the 6-8 inch mark so I figured it might’ve worked, though I guess that was pushing it. My female JD was pretty interactive as a wet pet, very food motivated though.
Ik I’ve only had one O but damn I’ve never seen a more food driven fish, other than that her personality was pretty bland. Nice fish though I loved her, she was a gentle giant. I will say the most interactive fish I’ve had were my Labiatus, Texas cichlid, Convicts (yes every single of them lol) and my Butti.

 

[Roger Mcfish]

Maybe a Cuban Cichlid? Maxes out at 10 inches, pretty sure they are related to oscars, and in my experience aggression has a positive correlation with person-ability (and let it be known Cubans are aggressive, the fish and the people) or maybe a jack dempsey?

What is your pH, GH, and KH from your tap water source?
Until you respond with these results (not just pH), Ill give a few wet pet options.

A cuban is a great single wet pet. Females won't color up to the max without having a male ready to pair. Both males and female are beautiful though. If you're into hybrids, an electric blue Texas cichlid (pearl scale aka carpintis) or a single female parachromis freidrichstalli aka yellow jacket may work just to name a few. Or even a green terror.

 

[Roger Mcfish]