Time For A Change

[Bluetooth]

Hi guys.

About 10 months ago i bought 4 discus and have brought them up well and frankly im getting a bit tired of them, being a pure cichlid guy i like fish that.. well do stuff instead of beg for food all the time.

Anyway, im looking to swapping out my discus for something else and wanted to see what you guys could dream up to give me ideas.

My water at the moment is Ph 6.4 and in the "very soft" category (perfect discus water from what i can remember), Trigon 190Litre (corner tank). Filtered by Aqua One Advance 1250L/h and Fluval U3 although id like to remove the U3 and solely run the aqua one.

Thinking apistos or geophagus etc but like i said id like to see what you guys think.

 

[rdp50734]

I have done the same, from discus to aspistos, acaras and blockheads! Discus just wasn't for me, I like cichlid agro! LOL

 

[Wills]

Wow quite a lot of people are doing this atm..... must be something in the water haha. Have to admit while I can admire discus and totally get why people keep them they would never be my first choice for fish I have to say.

Right onto your tank, 190 liters is a bit too small for any of the Geophagus species but it is a good size for some of their relatives like Cupid Cichlids or Guianacara. I have a Guianacara at the moment and I cant wait to get rid of her she is an absolute nightmare but I think if she was in a group it would be a good set up. Personally though I would go for cupids a nice mid sized dwarf gets to about 3 inches 4.5 inches for a bull male and they do well in a group environment. I would do 4 of the cupids with 2 angels or 2 festivums then an array of catfish and tetras etc

Wills

 

[ChilliPepper]

I don't blame you. I think Discus are beautiful, but boring. Give me my 'ugly' Oscars any day!

Anyway, so 190L. I also have a 190L, and have a mix of Apistogramma, Bolivian Ram, Keyhole and Dwarf Rainbowfish, along with a small plec and some Khuli loaches. I am so pleased with this tank, peaceful yet full of character. The Rainbows, although not cichlids, are fantastic fish and bring out the shy dwarf cichlids. You could go for a similar setup.

Or you could have a Blue Acara or a pair of Curviceps in there, with a shoal of Rainbows or Congo/Bleeding Heart Tetras. Maybe some Cories/Plec for the bottom.

There are loads of Apistogrammas which would love your water, and are beautiful little things.

 

[snowflake311]

Aww Your over them all ready? That's too bad. The only thing I don't like about discus is how you should not keep any other fish with them. That can be boring only one type of fish. All my severums do is beg for food. That's all any of my cichlids do. I have to hide to see them act normal because if I'm in sight they beg.

Honestly my pleco and tetras are the only fisb that jus swim around and do stuff when I'm around.

 

[shroob]

Get a breeding pair of smaller cichlids if you want to see different behaviour. I reckon you could do 2 pairs of smaller apistos/dwarfs given the right tank layout or a pair of medium sized central american cichlids.

My prefered option would be the central americans, they tend to have more character, to me anyway. A pair of sajica, Thorichthys sp., Honduran red points, rainbows etc. Could even have a few dithers with them (though be prepared to loose some), if you want to keep it within a biotope then have a group of swordfish (green ones are my favourite).

Of course if you go with the S.A. option you could have tetras/corydoras for company.

 

[AstonN24vantage]

what about an oscar?

 

[kaivalagi]

I'm not sure if a 190litre/50USG corner tank could take an Oscar once fully grown...I don't keep them and don't know what the min tank size for one Oscar ought to be though, I would suspect close to 75USG but I don't keep them...anyone like to comment on the min size for an Oscar? Would that corner tank work in the long run?

I would say a fair few dwarf cichlids would be nice. how about 4 x bolivian rams, 4 x apistos, 8-12 x rummy nose tetra and a BN Plec maybe...alternatively you could go for one pairing of lots of the medium sized american cichlids, hrp or acara for example and dithers

 

[shroob]

I'm not sure if a 190litre/50USG corner tank could take an Oscar once fully grown...I don't keep them and don't know what the min tank size for one Oscar ought to be though, I would suspect close to 75USG but I don't keep them...anyone like to comment on the min size for an Oscar? Would that corner tank work in the long run?

I would say a fair few dwarf cichlids would be nice. how about 4 x bolivian rams, 4 x apistos, 8-12 x rummy nose tetra and a BN Plec maybe...alternatively you could go for one pairing of lots of the medium sized american cichlids, hrp or acara for example and dithers

An oscar wouldn't fit in that size tank. Also I think you may been abit generous with your suggested dwarf cichlids, though I don't have personal experience with them but I've read 12"x12" footprint for a pair mimimum (which gives 3.85 pairs for a trigon if my calculations are correct).

 

[hamfist]

A 190 litre is too small for an oscar for sure.

One species to consider for a 190 is Acarichthys heckelii. I have a couple at the moment and they are proving to be a great cichlid community fish. Reasonably mild mannered with others. Although very able to stick up for themselves if the need arises. They were also confident and tame from the moment I put them in the tank. They also like a bit of geo-like substrate sifting if you have an appropriate substrate.
They are almost impossible to sex and it seems that they are nearly impossible to breed in an aquarium setup anyway, so not a species that you are likely to breed.
How about a pair of T.Ellioti, or firemouths, plus a couple of heckelii in your 190. Along with a small shoal of columbian or congo tetras ? Or maybe a small shoal of cories for the bottom.

 

[Bluetooth]

Hello All.

I would like to thank everyone for their ideas. Had a rather long discussion with the misses about the fish tanks we currently have and have decided that we're going to get rid in the coming year because......

Gonna invest in a 6x2x2

Bought 2 2" oscars this morning and will be buying 2 more this coming weekend from ferrybridge aquatics. Basically going to grow them on for the next 6 - 7 months and then in that time save for the new tank, buy it, sell the others, organize transfer etc and get it all swapped over =-)

Cant wait but got a bit of time to go yet.

Will be great.

 

[ChilliPepper]

Hello All.

I would like to thank everyone for their ideas. Had a rather long discussion with the misses about the fish tanks we currently have and have decided that we're going to get rid in the coming year because......

Gonna invest in a 6x2x2

Bought 2 2" oscars this morning and will be buying 2 more this coming weekend from ferrybridge aquatics. Basically going to grow them on for the next 6 - 7 months and then in that time save for the new tank, buy it, sell the others, organize transfer etc and get it all swapped over =-)

Cant wait but got a bit of time to go yet.

Will be great.

Cool - but keep the 190L as well

 

[Bluetooth]

Id be hung drawn and quartered lol

 

[Bluetooth]

From earlier on looking a bit sheepish in the bag, will take some more tomorrow, theyve already fed today and taken a look at my corys lol

yes, i drive a ford, other models are available ;P

 

[Bluetooth]

Time to change from prima to doromin i think, they are used to feeding from the surface