Compatability

[Tomwalker1988]

Hi guys and gals, so i'm getting back into hobby now I have finished uni. I have kept cichlids in the past but not in the scale i'm planning to now. By the end of July i'm planning to own my own 7x3x3 tank.
I have a stock list in mind and want to get your guys opinion and see if there's any other fish i could possibly add, anyways here's the list as i'm ranting on.

2- Oscars
2- Chocolates
1- Carpintis
1- True Parrot ( Hoplarchus psittacus )
6- Silver Dollars
3- Clown Loach

From what i have read I my run into problems with the chocolates together as they look similar, do you guys think this will be ok or will i be over stocked.

 

[thereverendturtle]

The true parrot may kill or harass the chocolates. Other than that, increase the number of clowns to at least six and you should be good.

 

[Rocksor]

Hi guys and gals, so i'm getting back into hobby now I have finished uni. I have kept cichlids in the past but not in the scale i'm planning to now. By the end of July i'm planning to own my own 7x3x3 tank.
I have a stock list in mind and want to get your guys opinion and see if there's any other fish i could possibly add, anyways here's the list as i'm ranting on.

2- Oscars
2- Chocolates
1- Carpintis
1- True Parrot ( Hoplarchus psittacus )
6- Silver Dollars
3- Clown Loach

From what i have read I my run into problems with the chocolates together as they look similar, do you guys think this will be ok or will i be over stocked.

You max out with the list + 3 additional loaches

 

[Tomwalker1988]

Yeah that's the only problem i see with the chocolates, any suggestions on what i could swap them with. Would rather keep the Parrot in stock list over them.

 

[thereverendturtle]

I'd go for a pair of large Geophagus or relative, like jurapari.

 

[mattlee]

Hi and welcome to the forum

have a read through my journal i made a while ago it may give you some ideas.
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/340115-large-empty-tank-and-thinking-of-oscars/
7x3x3 is a great sized tank and can host pretty much anything with a few exceptions so you really need to research and take your time when stocking it. there are so many species out there to choose from.

personally if this tank was mine and empty i would look at setting up a bit of a species tank using larger fish. if you read my journal i had a real mix of fish which were all super stunning examples but the mix really didnt quite cut it for me and looked too mish mashed. ever since ive kept kind of species tanks and in my eyes its defo the way to go.

looking at your current stock choice i would leave out the texas. i had 2 of these in my tank and had nothing but trouble from them, stunning fish but aggressive.... oscars top your list, does this mean they are your first choice? if so why not set the tank up just for oscars? they are a very common fish but truely stunning with great personalities

4 x oscars
8 x striped/ filament/ melon barbs
1 x nice show plec Leopard/cactus/gold nugget/panaque etc
2 x larger cats - megalodorus are a great choice

it doesnt sound much but trust me when they are all fully grown plus with bogwood and decor the tank will soon look full. if oscars arent your first choice then as i said there are so many cichlids to choose from but i would keep south americans or central american not both together. CA are generally more aggressive and may not mix very well with SA cichlids.

clown loaches as stunning and active as they are in the shops will lose their beautifull colouration and they do go quite dull in time and also quite fat, chunky and large. many people will never have seen a fully grown clown but they really are nothing like what you see when you buy them young.

another idea that i would love to do one day in a severum tank. lots of wood and a good group of gold severums or red spotted severums, i saw a display tank with just this and it was awesome, add a few cats and dithers and wow...... talking of dithers i see you have chose silver dollars. these are a good choice as they get big, are fast and can handle a bit of nipping etc pretty well. these do get big though and can take up lots of room especially when in a group which they prefer. a kepy larger barbs in with my huge oscar with no issues at all so i would go for these instead personally. more colour and you could have a few more making it look more natural.

any way the choice is endless so take your time and if you get time read through my journal as it may give you some ideas you didnt have before. keep us updated too as i would love to see this when done

 

[Tomwalker1988]

Hi and cheers, long time browser of forums but never joined any before.

Yeah one of the reasons i'm starting to look now ! So once I get the tank every thing is ready to go. Going into a process like this I think getting everything sorted first is the best approach. Once every thing is bought i will order the tank so in no rush to set it up at the min. Plus the girlfriend is still freaking out about the size lol.

From my knowledge the cichlid i'm currently looking at are all south american. The only one I can think of that you may have got confused with is the carpintis which is South American it looks like a H. cyanoguttatus which is the true Texas. The carpintis I would be getting Would be the escondido hopefully from a reputable source. From what I have read these are a lot more laid back from the true Texas and don't get as big.

The first fish i ever owned was a oscar which is the reason there on the list, call it sentimental I just can't leave them off
My main fish of the tank would be the Hoplarchus psittacus absolutely stunning fish when its at adult size!

I think if i was to do a bio type cichlid tank then it would most certainly be discus love the look of them. The only problem with bio types or same species tanks is I think I would get bored. I do agree with keeping South Americans and Americans separate. Love your idea of a severum another type of fish that can be as colorful as discuss

Yeah theres some massive clown loach out there! One of the reasons I picked clown loach was I really don't like plecs and there never ending poooo when I first started in the hobby it was a plec that accompanied the Oscar it got to about 12 inches and just made a total mess out of my tank! Was a relief when my lfs said they would take it, I know not all plecs are like the common one but its put me off them for life lol.

The siver dollars would just be there as dithers not so much fussed what I use as long as there fast and a big enough target for the cichlids and yeah I would be staying away from the red hock SDs as they get as big as some cichlids !

I like the geophagus idea from thereverendturtle as they would be taking the bottom of the tank rather than the middle which the other cichlids would be doing.

Thanks for the input and if you have any more ideas fire away

 

[minnnt]

The Chocs would take centre stage for me

 

[Tomwalker1988]

Chocolates are cool fish might get a pair for my 4x2x2 tank once i have finished with the 7 footer. Would love to keep a pair in the big tank once I get it, why cant all fish get along guess it would be too easy then lol.

 

[mattlee]

i dont think a pair of fully grown chocs would like it in a 4x2x2, infact its probably too small for 1 fully grown choc.....

texas cichlids are central american and probably way too tough for the likes of oscars and chocs tbh. i tried 2 in with my s. american fish and they battered them including an oscar that was pushing 13 inches. the texas were about 9-10 inches. in my experience there is no such thing as a laid back texas cichlid of any species..... the escondido may be reported to be calmer but still not a placid fish.

a stunning show pleco has place in any cichlid tank imo and the poo shouldnt be an issue if regular maintenance is done. maybe look at a meat eating pleco instead of an algae and wood eating species then they will poo in comparrison to what you feed them.

good luck with your tank and plan it well is my advice as swapping fish can be a bit of a mission, especially when you need one gone asap due to attitude etc. keep us posted with any progress

 

[Tomwalker1988]

That's me failing geography opps lol had a blip there and thought mexico was part of south america yeah i get where your coming from with the aggression one way I am hoping to combat it is with dithers and growing them out at a young age 2-3 inch. In a few months time if it all go's tits up with carpintis you can say i told yo so

I was under the impression that a pair of Chocolates would need a minimum tank size of 55 gallons, obviously the bigger the better.

Yeah not a stranger to tank maintenance I do 2 50% water changes a week. The thing i din't like was as soon as you had finished 10 min later there was poo there again and then 10 min later it was there again. Think i'm just not a plec guy

 

[mattlee]

i had the same issues with plec poo at one time and on light coloured sand it stood out a mile. the worst plec i had for it was a panaque but with it being a wood eater and several pieces of wood in the tank it had constant food like you it put me off plecs for good until recently when i set up my angel tank and couldnt resist a few.... ive now got L200 - green phantom, L128 blue phantom and L309 tapajo bristlenose all are stunning and i wouldnt have a tank without them. the best thing to do is use dark coloured sand/gravel and you wont see it

there are some truely stunning big plecs available that would look awesome in a tank of your size so please give them a look before saying no.

chocolates get huge and would need more than 4x2x2. my oscar ended up in a 5x2x2 and it was just about right for him as a single fish and his barb dither mates, there is no way i could have put him in anything smaller.

take a look on aquarist classifieds and search for oddball express. Ross imports most of his fish from Rapps and Conkel in the USA which are quality specimins. he also will have some fish you have never heard of and possibly the best place to get the texas from. worth a trip there but he will post too if its too far to go... hes in Staffordshire.

 

[minnnt]

Yeah I remember the hundreds of posts stating "I WILL NEVER EVER EVER EVER HAVE ANOTHER PLEC EVER NEVER EVER EVER" Matt. Sorry, how many have you got now?

 

[mattlee]

Yeah I remember the hundreds of posts stating "I WILL NEVER EVER EVER EVER HAVE ANOTHER PLEC EVER NEVER EVER EVER" Matt. Sorry, how many have you got now?

5

with another one ordered

you know more than anyone how we all change our minds

 

[minnnt]

Who me? I haven't changed any fish ever...