what do you do when adding new Cichlids to your established tank?

[bowyersfish]

I use to be an avid Aquariumist, had WAY TOO MANY tanks, some community and some breeding pairs. The only thing that has always been true is its always been new world Cichlids. I am not sure why but there is just something about them - the way they interact with you, with each other, the killer instinct, the colors and my favorite, the color changes when feeding on live food and breeding.

I have always been a big fan of a total tank renovation of all interior items in the tank when adding a new cichlid and so far that has worked great for me and they have never killed each other. Take everything out, clean the substrate, check the under gravel panel and do a water drain/fill and putting the new fish in before all the decor. Doing this I have been able to add all types of cichlids into an established tank in the past.

Currently i have an established 150 with an fx6 and 2 x 400gph powerheads and the fish love it. large albino red oscar, small wild oscar, large female firemouth, Green texas, female Salvini, and a black line pike cichlid in the tank. Have 3 new fish coming to add to the tank next week and i guess i am going to find out if my old technique will work. So was just wondering how you all deal with adding new aggressive fish to your community tanks?

incoming fish all around 2-3 inches:
Kronoheros cf. umbriferus 'Rio Magdalena'
Mesoheros festae 'Narino' F1
Nandopsis haitiensis

 

[Deadeye]

Welcome to the forum!
Are these fish already full grown? That many large cichlids (specifically the 2 Oscars) makes for a very overstocked tank.
I definitely wouldn’t add 3 of the most aggressive cichlids into that mix.

 

[coltiger1975]

Welcome to the forum!
Are these fish already full grown? That many large cichlids (specifically the 2 Oscars) makes for a very overstocked tank.
I definitely wouldn’t add 3 of the most aggressive cichlids into that mix.

I agree that's not ideal as the incoming species may be small but you'll likely end up with just one if they survive. They would all need a much larger tank to coexist, I personally wouldn't keep any of your current stock with the incoming ones long term. Most will likely get killed with the exception of maybe the Salvini

 

[bowyersfish]

Welcome to the forum!
Are these fish already full grown? That many large cichlids (specifically the 2 Oscars) makes for a very overstocked tank.
I definitely wouldn’t add 3 of the most aggressive cichlids into that mix.

no they are not, all fish in the 3 in range minus the albino red, he is about 5-6 in.
Not planning on keeping them all together forever, and in the past i have had all these fish together in a much smaller tank minus the umbee and they coexisted for over 8 years.

 

[dogofwar]

Well first thing that you want to do is quarantine them. Dumping new fish straight into a tank with fish risks the existing ones getting disease...and forces the already stressed out fish that you're adding to deal with the stress of a new pecking order.

 

[bowyersfish]

Well first thing that you want to do is quarantine them. Dumping new fish straight into a tank with fish risks the existing ones getting disease...and forces the already stressed out fish that you're adding to deal with the stress of a new pecking order.

yea, i have quarantine tanks for them, just to be sure. will probably epson salt cure their food before i put them in just to clean them out to be safe.

 

[Deadeye]

no they are not, all fish in the 3 in range minus the albino red, he is about 5-6 in.
Not planning on keeping them all together forever, and in the past i have had all these fish together in a much smaller tank minus the umbee and they coexisted for over 8 years.

8 years and the largest Oscar is only 6 inches?
Or do you mean the individual species?

 

[Caperguy99]

Aside from the stocking question, you can add new fish during a water change and sometimes it distracts the existing tank dwellers.

 

[Alexxxxsv14]

Make sure they are all fed well prior to introducing new fish. Of course after proper quarantine and acclimation to new tank water. I like to float the new fish for like 15-20 min and then pour them into a bucket and do a slow drip acclimation. At least for me it has worked.

 

[bowyersfish]

8 years and the largest Oscar is only 6 inches?
Or do you mean the individual species?

Nah brother, it was almost 20 years ago when I had a tank with these fish in it. Was a battle royal in a 55 gallon but was better than watching tv any day.