Re-Stocking

[stephen.h89]

i am having a move around and looking for ideas for a 5ft/400l tank, i want a red terror, green terror and a jack dempsey, or just a pair of red or green terrors, what dither fish could i keep with these?

 

[kizno1]

Silver dollars should be fine but a pair of green or red terrors are going to be extremely aggressive towards other fish.

 

[Flagtail]

First I'll go started with dithers. There are a number of choices but I'll list the ones I use.
~ Silverdollars.There are many kinds and many different species. All will do well in your tank but some like the Mylossoma kind will eventully grow big. There are Metynnis, Myleus, Mylossoma,and more speices. You should stick with metynnis argentus the common silver dollar which will reach about 5-7''. You can also get a spotted silverdollar species which will reach around 3-4''. If you wanted a big silverdollar and have atleast a 150 you can get Myleus Rubrippinis redhook silverdollar. They will grow to about 12''. They should be in groups of atleast 3.
Flagtail prochilodulis-These are somewhat hardy and delicate. A mix of both if you will. They tend to like alage. They will grave on alage and gladly accept flakes and pellets. You will have to have atleast 4-5 to calm down any aggression between them. They should be ok with the cichlids, mine use to live with red devil w/o any problems. If you want to go flagtail, aim for the SemaProchilodulis family. Semaprochilodulis Taeniurus reach about 10-12'', while Insingus reach about 14-18''.
Rainbow fish, Tinfoil barbs, bala sharks, and congo tetras. These will all look good in their. They eat almost everything offered. They will ofter stick up for them selves. Good go with cichlids. However, they can be quite nippy so be very careful with them. Many smaller tetras will work as well, that is if they are not eaten.
Hope this helps.
-Flagtail

 

[hamfist]

You have much more chance of a pair of either sort of terror working out, than a mixture of species.
If you are going to try a mix then the best chance of it working out is to buy them all young and get all the same sex (if poss.). However, general advice is that "most" RT males will not tolerate another large cihlid (unless its their mate) in a tank that size long term. Doesn't mean it can't be done. Just makes it less likely to work out.

 

[stephen.h89]

First I'll go started with dithers. There are a number of choices but I'll list the ones I use.
~ Silverdollars.There are many kinds and many different species. All will do well in your tank but some like the Mylossoma kind will eventully grow big. There are Metynnis, Myleus, Mylossoma,and more speices. You should stick with metynnis argentus the common silver dollar which will reach about 5-7''. You can also get a spotted silverdollar species which will reach around 3-4''. If you wanted a big silverdollar and have atleast a 150 you can get Myleus Rubrippinis redhook silverdollar. They will grow to about 12''. They should be in groups of atleast 3.
Flagtail prochilodulis-These are somewhat hardy and delicate. A mix of both if you will. They tend to like alage. They will grave on alage and gladly accept flakes and pellets. You will have to have atleast 4-5 to calm down any aggression between them. They should be ok with the cichlids, mine use to live with red devil w/o any problems. If you want to go flagtail, aim for the SemaProchilodulis family. Semaprochilodulis Taeniurus reach about 10-12'', while Insingus reach about 14-18''.
Rainbow fish, Tinfoil barbs, bala sharks, and congo tetras. These will all look good in their. They eat almost everything offered. They will ofter stick up for them selves. Good go with cichlids. However, they can be quite nippy so be very careful with them. Many smaller tetras will work as well, that is if they are not eaten.
Hope this helps.
-Flagtail

ok the silver dollars seem like a good idea but i think they may be too to keep in a group in my 5ft tank, i want a pair of GT/RT and about 30 5-6" fish or as the silvers are larer probably more like 5-10 of them, plus the bottom feeders i will want and maybe a few shoals of tetras and hope they dont get eaten.

so to stop confusion my plan is:
1 pair GT/RT
5-10 silver dollars
4 bottom feeders - unsure which yet, prob synos
4 shoals of tetra, congo, black widow, black phantom, cardinal

 

[shroob]

Hi again. If you went with the pair of Red Terrors, I wouldn't put anything else in the tank, even then theres the chance the male will kill the female, or visa versa. They are very aggressive fish.

A pair of GT's is a safer option, I like silver dollars for dither fish - large enough not to be eaten and quick. Congo tetra's might be viable, though with the fish you listed theres a chance no dithers will work. You could also have a plec of some sort. Also armoured catfish should stand up well to any potential aggression (eg. striped/spotted raphael)

If you went with a 'community' of cichlids, and you wanted a red terror, I would ensure it was female in that tank. So your stocking would be 1 female RT, 1 GT and one JD (sex of GT and JD not as important). Possibly room for dithers.

EDIT: Just seen your latest post.

The Red terror pair definitely wont work in that list. And the dithers you list (black widow, black phantom, cardinal) will just be expensive snacks.

I would suggest your stocking would be better if it was:
1 pair or red terros
OR
1 pair of GT
6 silver dollars
Armoured catfish

 

[stephen.h89]

ok so its probably a pair of green terrors then, will defo go for 6 silver dollars and probably 2-3 striped/spotted raphael's if they dont get too big, ill check now

 

[Carlovel1]

The Red terror pair definitely wont work in that list. And the dithers you list (black widow, black phantom, cardinal) will just be expensive snacks.

+1
I'd definatly not small tetras to an aggresive cichlid tank

 

[stephen.h89]

ok so stocking will be as follows

green terror x2
silver dollar x6
striped/spotted raphael x3

is there anything else i could put in with the list above in 5ft/400lr

 

[stephen.h89]

i have just read up on silver dollars and im a bit concerned, i was reading and every seemed fine untill i read this: The fish can be extremely shy and nervous if placed in a tank with overly aggressive fish or the tank is placed in a high traffic area. i think i may try and find another dither fish

 

[Flagtail]

i have just read up on silver dollars and im a bit concerned, i was reading and every seemed fine untill i read this: The fish can be extremely shy and nervous if placed in a tank with overly aggressive fish or the tank is placed in a high traffic area. i think i may try and find another dither fish

Don't take that meaning to heart. That only happens when you have 1-2 of them. They will feel insecure. But you are going to have a whole school, so they will have many to shoal with.

 

[stephen.h89]

ah rite, i wish it stated details like that for noobs like me...lol

 

[Flagtail]

ah rite, i wish it stated details like that for noobs like me...lol

Yeah the sites should do that. What kind of silverdollars you thinking of getting?

 

[hamfist]

Just another option for dithers ..... Giant danios. Possibly less shy than the SD's and definately MUCH less body mass.
Giant danios should be fine with a pair of GT's. There's a small chance that one of the Gt's may get a taste for them, but they should be too big and too fast.

 

[stephen.h89]

didnt kno there was more than 1 kind of silver dollar, and i will read up on giant danios and see if i like the idea of them