Stocking New Bridge Tank

[fatmrak315]

some of you may have read about my angel/rainbow bridge tank. well i am setting up a bigger one.

it's measurements are as follow.

tank on right will be 4ft x 18in x 18in
tank of left will be 4ft 6in x 20in x 20in
bridge will measure 3ft x 18in x 15in
running on sump 3ft x 12in x 12in

so stocking i am thinking of so far

4 x Oscar
6 x fire mouth
1 x common pleco
4 x serverums
2 x green terrors
2 x electric blue jack dempeys
4 x convicts

can i add anything else or is there no more room

 

[brian1]

Wow!! Well if there isn't any more room just get another tank...you may as well.......look at my thread "OBSESSION http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/402228-obsession-or-not/

 

[Man of fish]

Sorry I cant help you on the stocking, but how are you building the bridge? I'm very curious!!! It'd be so cool to have like a bridge tank connecting 2 tanks on either side of my bed!!!!!! Fish on both sides and above me!!!!! XD

 

[mattlee]

with the combination of all of these tanks and the sump you will have a good volume of water but i think in this case looking at the stocking there just isnt enough space... a fully grown oscar will get to 12-13 inches and to be honest you only have 1 tank among that lot that i would consider a good enough home for a single oscar which is the 54x20x20 let alone 4 of them
the fish you have chosen can be quite aggressive and need plenty of space. not just for the fish itself but for territories. green terrors can be a nasty fish and with 2 of them along with 4 convicts, 2 jd's, 6 firemouths and 4 oscars you are asking for trouble. if the convicts breed they will dominate at least half of one of the tanks.

i cant express enough how much room these larger cichlids need in comparison to an angelfish. being more realistic to stock all of those fish i would be looking at a tank that stood at least 8x2x2 and even at that you would probably get explosions of aggression between them. i know your tank will sit at 8 foot with there being 2 x 4 ft tanks but what happens if they all end up in the same 4ft tank? what happens when big cichlids meet in the bridge?

your tank worked before because you chose a more suitable fish to stock it with but putting these bigger harder cichlids in a tank like this just wont work as soon as they become mature adults. if its cichlids you want them the convicts and firemouths are a good idea and a good size to have in these size tanks so it may be worth looking at similar sized tank mates.

having kept most of the fish in the list myself i speak from experience not from what ive read in a book or on a forum. i would love to be proved wrong but although you have 11ft of tank space with 2x4ft and a 3ft bridge it just isnt the right set up for these big powerfull fish. these are a completely different type of fish to keep and ive no idea of your experience in the past with big cichlids but from this stocking list it cant be much....

the volume of water will be good but in this set up the fish wont have the space they need.

 

[fatmrak315]

to the reply of wanting to know how to build or understand how a water bridge works, here the link that got me to try my first aqua water bridge.

http/www.bio-elite.co.za/waterbridge.htm

thank you mattle for your very long reply.

first i know the one tank is on the same side. it will if all goes to plan be upgrade to 4ft 6in x 20in x20in next year. these are the tank i have available now. me and my partner have always want oscars, so they are a must. so we will just have two.

don't mind tanking the green terrors out the picture. just wanted them if there was enough space.

as for breeding convicts i will remove males and re-home as necessary. this will hopefully stop the aggression caused by breeding. i know that sounds bad but i don't want hundred of convict babies.

i am learning about these big convicts, everyone has to start somewhere. and there so much conflicting information.

one of the first video i saw of a aqua water bridge was of two oscars crossing. and it truly was inspirational. i know this is a tank i will have to keep an eye on for aggression and territorial issues. but every fish is different so i will not know if this will work until i try it. so i ask keep you fingers crossed and i will tank the risk.

so renewed stocking

2 x oscar
1 x common pleco
1 x jack dempsey
4 x convict
6 x serverums
6 x fire mouths

 

[mattlee]

yes it is your tank and risk but have you ever seen a fully grown oscar? mine was huge and about 13+ inches. if you intend to keep oscars then i really dont think this kind of set up is ideal. also a fully grown severum is a big fish, almost dinner plate size and to have 6 of them would need more room.

if you look at my old journal of my big tank there are pics of my big cichlids i had in it. the tank was 6.5x2x2 and i had 3 severums, 1 oscar, 1 diadema, 1 panaque plec, 1 flier cichlid. i would say the tank was just about big enough for them to give you an idea and the severums werent completely fully grown either. i had a huge piece of bogwood in the middle to reduce the line of sight which helped but when the oscar went for the others, even just a gentle nip, they used the whole tank to escape.

imagine in your planned set up what would happen if the 2 oscars and 4 of the severums find themselves in a 4.5ft tank the only escape is through the tunnel but coming through are another 2 severums and 4 firemouths the scared fish gets through all of this to find itself in another 4ft tank containing more firemouths, convict cichlids and a jack dempsey also somewhere along the way will be a 2ft common pleco

i really would stick to cichlids that didnt get much bigger than 7-8 inches maximum. big fish need big tanks and as i said before although you tank will be in effect 8ft 6 inch it really wont be an 8ft 6 inch tank. its 2 x 4ft tanks with a bridge connecting them in reality with only one being suitable for a fully grown oscar until the other tank is upgraded to a 4ft6x20x20.

go and see some actual fully grown fish that you desire and you will see how much room they will need. especially when quareling between each other which will happen even with a more laid back cichlid. im sure your tank idea will be fine for the selected fish for maybe 6 months but after that im pretty confident it will get ugly with the chosen stocking.

 

[minnnt]

What an insanely amazing sounding tank. The stocking is a little off though. Severums are ginormous fish in real life, touching Oscar size and usually a little deeper. The Firemouths will probably be more interested in sorting each other out, but have a habit of starting things they can't finish and also of causing fights between other fish whilst they swim off out the way laughing.

I would have it setup with a planted tank on one side and then a wood tank on the other side. You could transition from one to the other with a mix of both. You could link them together by using the same kind of substrate and rock in all sections.

Have fun what ever you choose.

 

[fatmrak315]

on my angel fish bridge i am currently re-scaping slowly. one side is planted bogwood, and the other will be planted rock. i don't like plants in my gravel though. which is making it hard to scape. i am very much pull everything out to gravel clean person. and it has to be low tech.

but back to the Oscar tank. i know its not a 8ft tank, wish i could get an 8ft in but the positioning of doors does not allow it. i have seen these big cichlids, i grew up with them. so i know what buggers they can be. i am trying to come to a stocking that both me and my partner like. but all your really saying is no no no. your not even suggesting anything to help improve my stocking.

i get that this is either going to go ok or very badly. to the point where i have already talked to different fish shops. who would be willing to take in some of these fish if problems occur. preparing is going to be a huge key in this tank. i know for my best chance for this to work. i am going to have to buy small specimens, and allow to grow up together. by buying 6 servums, i will hopefully end up with two who fit in well together with the other fish.

i do have a question where did you get your large leavey fake plant on the left side of your old oscar tank.

 

[mattlee]

i am trying to come to a stocking that both me and my partner like. but all your really saying is no no no. your not even suggesting anything to help improve my stocking.



i do have a question where did you get your large leavey fake plant on the left side of your old oscar tank.

my input is to research and look at smaller cichlids like the firemouth and convicts as i feel that they will be much more suitable for this type of tank set up. i just cant see severums and oscars being feasable in there...... there are hundreds of beautifull smaller cichlids available but personal preference and research is really down to you and your partner.
dont get me wrong it would look kind of cool if it did work but i just cant see it tbh as the bigger fish need that extra room that this tank wont provode for them.

the fake plants in my old tank were large exo terra plants that are used mainly in reptile set ups

 

[fatmrak315]

thank you for your reply. research is not the easiest thing when you have dyslexia. just reading peoples replies can give me a headache. when reading i look like a idiot, because i have to where yellow lensed glass to help.

its one of the reason i don't post to regularly on here. and the fact i have had people take the #101## when something spelled wrong.

its alot easier than it used to be now that you can have spell checkers on the internet, but its still hard.

so far i have read about
-parrot fish (think they look ugly)
-rainbow cichlid (temped)
-rams (never seem to surive in my water)

 

[balajake]

I would ditch the oscars and firemouths and convicts. love severums they are amazing fish
You could try a Carpintis ( blue Texas Cichlid) like the guy in my picture. A single specimen only though as 2 will probably fight or terrorise the tank when breeding
You could have
1 green/ blue Texas
1 x terror
1 x jack Dempsey
3/4 x Severum
4/5 geophagus red head

Maybe some larger corydoras a
Medium sized Pleco or two. 11 feet worth of tank is a lot to work with but you're original plan didn't consider aggression. Convicts are very mean as are firemouths. Geos can be arsey with each other but don't tend to bother other fish. The only geophapagus I would warn you off is the brasillienesis as they are very aggressive even when young.

 

[minnnt]

Rainbow Cichlids would be a much better choice imo. Have a look for a thread in the members tanks section by crazy airborne. You could mix them with Keyholes too as they're a similar size. You could then stock a group of Geophagus Red Head Tapajos. You could also look into Cryptoheros other than Convicts.

 

[fatmrak315]

we have decide we are going to hold off and save up for a 8ft x 2ft x 2ft. we have been given a quote by a local glass maker. and we will just have to construct tank our self's, and just hope we don't move anytime soon. but it will be worth it if we can have Oscars. thank you for your suggestion.

 

[mattlee]

a much better option in my eyes

 

[Jnoosh]

That.
Is.
Awesome.