Stocking

[Confish]

hey im re stocking my 48"x20"x16X i asked about this before in the past but i just want to make sure im thinking of this stocking

1x Rotkeil Severum
1x Blue acara
4x Bolivian Rams
6/8 dithers (rummy nose tetras) ?

i have few questions 1. im thinking of getting the sevs of star if able to get them also the BA but was wondering if it would be best to get 2/3 sevs as they are only young then when older sell on the other 2 just in case somthing goes wrong as star is a good distance away.?

2. what other dithers could i have as some people have said rummy nose are too small and dont like the look of giant dainos

3. is there any other cichlid that i could have instead of the BA as ive heard they can be aggressive ?

cheers everyone for any help

 

[shroob]

1) I would personally only get the 1 severum for that tank. I get where you're comming from though, but there may be a problem rehoming the other fish, or you become too attached and end with too much fish in too little water.

2) Rummy noses may be indeed too small for an adult severum/BA. I would go for deep bodied dithers, rather than pencil shaped ones. Bleeding hearts, black phantom, lemon, columbian, serpea etc.

3) You could have plenty of other cichlids than a BA. If you don't like the idea of semi-aggressive cichlids, perhaps look at festivums, keyhole cichlids, flyer cichlids, sajica, or maybe the dwarf cichlids (rams, apisto's). Of course the severum may be a problem, mine was very aggressive. They maybe called 'gentle giants' but every one is different, so the dwarf cichlids may not work and a 'hardier/semi-aggressive' would be better. I think a blue acara should be a good match for a severum personally.

 

[kaivalagi]

I wouldn't have both a sev and rams,

With dithers and another decent sized group, how about:

1 x Rotkeil Sev
1 x Blue/Port Acara
4-5 x Geophagus sp Redhead Tapajos
8 x Emperor Tetra

 

[Confish]

ah you get so much different stories as some say rams are ok but i do like the look of red head tapaos how big do they get is there any other colourful geos i could have? and ye i think ill be looking into less pencil shaped dithers the only fish im 100% on is a the sev cheers for the advice

 

[kaivalagi]

As with all cichlids sometimes a species mix can work and other times not, my only concern with Sevs and rams is the obvious size difference...growing them up together could help things but I wouldn't try it myself...

Any of the geophagus family is gorgeous, I would base your choice on max length when adult as some can get to 10"+...I am biased as I have tapajos but there are a number of others you could go for too...ask around your LFS to see what is and will be available then narrow down from there. If you get your heart set on a particular species after researching you may never find them...

 

[markandhisfish]

i wouldnt be overly worried about bolivian rams with a sev. i kept my sevs with corys for ages and never a problem. remember that for such a large cichlid , a severum actually has a relatively small mouth. 1 option to consider for your dither is tiger barbs. but have a group of around 10 . they work brilliantly with the kind of cichlids you are looking at . plus they give real life to the tank .

 

[meguro]

blue acaras can be aggressive to rams so watch out for that if u mix them together

 

[Confish]

i was wondering if instead of the BA could instead go with sev rams and geos ? i like the red headed ones as they look really colourful and dont grow to big also arnt tiger barbs fin nippers?

 

[kaivalagi]

So your looking for something to go with a sev and a group of geos other than a blue acara right? Should it be an SA cichlid?

Fish I can think of, all still Acara variants:

• [font="Arial][size=2]Acarichthys heckelii[/size][/font]
• [font="Arial][size=2]Aequidens metae[/size][/font]
• [font="Arial][size=2]Cleithracara maronii[/size][/font][/list][font="Arial][color="#FFFFFF"]Every cichlid can be a problem or nice as pie, you could get a blue acara and it will be a lovely addition or you could get a keyhole and it's a right old piece of work...
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[Confish]

hey ye i would like to keep it SA and i like the first fish that you listed ye i was thinking the sev would be the centre fish and then a group of cichlids and another cichlid then dithers and ye i know it hit and miss found that out with previous fish lol thanks for your help always best to get other peoples help