Need Help Stocking

[bonzo]

Every fish has a different personality and some more aggressive than others. If you keep a close eye on your tank you get to know your fish then you'll know if they're just surviving or thriving. If there's bullying going on you'll know by your fishes behavior. I'm not saying put a 10" oscar in with apistos,but you may find somebody somewhere that does it successfully. As star says get them roughly the same size and let them grow together.
We have quite a variety of fish and the only ones that can't be kept with anything else is our festivums which are not known as an aggressive fish

 

[star4]

What I was trying to point out was getting youngsters and letting they grow out and removing the aggressors/trouble makers is far easier than buying 3-4 fully grown adult cichlids. You cannot tell someone that a severum will live peacefully with a blue acara, chances are yes but there is always that possibility that they wont get on. I could write an essay on my own fish what they will live with and what they wont, but its the personalities of my own fish, not the species in general.

 

[snazy]

Getting them when juveniles doesn't mean that when some of them grow bigger they won't bully or eat the smaller breed fish. It's a basic instinct, not a friendship for life. They may be fine for a long time until you wake up and half your fish have disappeared. It's like putting baby cichlids with cherry shrimp and expect them to live happily forever.

 

[bonzo]

Getting them when juveniles doesn't mean that when some of them grow bigger they won't bully or eat the smaller breed fish. It's a basic instinct, not a friendship for life. They may be fine for a long time until you wake up and half your fish have disappeared. It's like putting baby cichlids with cherry shrimp and expect them to live happily forever.

What cichlids do you keep together in your tank?

 

[snazy]

Getting them when juveniles doesn't mean that when some of them grow bigger they won't bully or eat the smaller breed fish. It's a basic instinct, not a friendship for life. They may be fine for a long time until you wake up and half your fish have disappeared. It's like putting baby cichlids with cherry shrimp and expect them to live happily forever.

What cichlids do you keep together in your tank?

I don't, I just made an example to point out that predator adult fish will wipe out their buddies from teenage years.

 

[bonzo]

The majority of cichlids aren't predators and I don't think anyone has suggested predators for the tank

 

[snazy]

The majority of cichlids aren't predators and I don't think anyone has suggested predators for the tank

From all the fish we put in aquariums, there's only one that I can think of is safe from not eating any other fish that fit in their mouth or other inhabitants, and that's the otocinclus, pure vegetarian, won't touch a baby shrimp even. All the rest are "predators", but different levels of aggression depending on breed and of course personality but personality in fish can change over time.

 

[bonzo]

Keeping in mind the OP started with the statement

"I am looking to start up a 75 gallon cichlid tank".



What do you suggest for stocking for a cichlid tank.

 

[snazy]

It's better not to recommend anything than recommend the wrong stocking

 

[balajake]

Cichlids are a joy compared to some community tanks I've kept. The fish in my profile I's my beloved carpintis Percy. He is an absolute joy of a fish. As a single of course and from a small juvenile. I'd never consider two together as I've seen them in shops beating hell out of each other and it's upsetting. He gets on with all the other fish in my tank. I would definately recommend him as a centrepiece fish

 

[bonzo]

My advise is you dont have to go with the flow as long as you use some common sense and have a back up plan if you have a fish that doesnt get on with another.

 

[star4]

Getting them when juveniles doesn't mean that when some of them grow bigger they won't bully or eat the smaller breed fish. It's a basic instinct, not a friendship for life. They may be fine for a long time until you wake up and half your fish have disappeared. It's like putting baby cichlids with cherry shrimp and expect them to live happily forever.

This is why I recommended a spare tank available with a filter running in the main tank, you cannot guarantee any cichlids getting on because someone on a forum said they are ok when the next person will disagree. Once they are fully grown changing your mind and adding a different cichlid is asking for trouble and a youngster would be most likely bullied or eaten by the other fish. And you also state you dont even keep cichlids so why are you sticking your oar in? bandying round the forum saying suriving is not thriving when you havnt got a clue about cichlids, its people like you sticking your two penneth in when someone is asking a serious question that gets matters confused and fish end up suffering.

I am no expert on cichlids, but I am on the personalities of my own personal fish and with 16 tanks of cichlids from dwarfs to oscars, and rescuing cichlids I am pretty sure I am better advising the OP than you, so why are you having a dig at my advice!

 

[balajake]

Getting them when juveniles doesn't mean that when some of them grow bigger they won't bully or eat the smaller breed fish. It's a basic instinct, not a friendship for life. They may be fine for a long time until you wake up and half your fish have disappeared. It's like putting baby cichlids with cherry shrimp and expect them to live happily forever.

What cichlids do you keep together in your tank?

I don't, I just made an example to point out that predator adult fish will wipe out their buddies from teenage years.

You've never kept cichlids or you have a single specimen in one tank ?

 

[dougie]

My advise is you dont have to go with the flow as long as you use some common sense and have a back up plan if you have a fish that doesnt get on with another.

Agree 100% with both Bonzo & Star, common sense & back up plan. The reason (most of us) we keep fish is to observe them & enjoy them. If we're keeping as close an eye as we should be on things, AND have a back up plan, we can usually sort things out before things go wrong. Any fish can go rogue, granted some more likely than others: so common sense with stocking & back up plan should be a no-brainer.

 

[star4]

Cichlids are a joy compared to some community tanks I've kept. The fish in my profile I's my beloved carpintis Percy. He is an absolute joy of a fish. As a single of course and from a small juvenile. I'd never consider two together as I've seen them in shops beating hell out of each other and it's upsetting. He gets on with all the other fish in my tank. I would definately recommend him as a centrepiece fish

Love texas too, sadly I dont have one anymore, I got a group of 18 juvies and eventually moved them around until I had a group of 6 males that lived in harmony together, such a site to see 6 adult texas together. Would so love to do it again if I had the tanks