What To Decide On

[Cichlids_lover1010]

My dad has bought me a 6ft tank for the house as he is sick of two three tanks around the house so he said they can go in the garage and this can be the main tank.
Now I have decided I want American cichlids just not sure which ones
I was thinking of having a a community tank with tetras discus and German rams. I really want the rams
Can corys go in the community? Thinking of sand as substrate as well
Or have something like a pair of oscars with what other cichlids
Can jack dempseys go with them? What else are compatible with oscars

 

[onidrase]

It's really hard to say with oscars. Some of them are big softies, while others can't be kept with anything but themselves. Your oscars personality is what decides what you can keep it with. I personally would not look into getting an oscar with tank mates unless you had a good place to rehome the fish the oscar constantly bullies.

With the community tank with tetras and rams, you certainly won't be able to keep them with oscars and jack dempseys or other aggressive fish. Cory's would be fine in that setup, though.

 

[ripil]

+1. corys would be fine in a communtity set up mate. oscars seem to always be picking on something. your tank would be big enough for them but its always touch and go as the ones i've kept always seem to be fighting. i've kept tinfoils with oscars and they never seemed to bother with eachother. the tinfoil was much more interested in the bala shark. rams are such a nice fish personally i'd go with a communtity set up and keep rams. oscars as babies are usually constantly swimming and as they get bigger they seem to swim less and just wait for food. which after a while i found got a bit boring.

 

[walkers101]

if you want 2 oscars buy a proven breeding pair

I originally started with one and had to take another as it was being bullied its only by chance that they paired up which is very rare

i have them in with dempseys acaras and others

its the luck of the draw with oscars

 

[GShorty1981]

I wouldnt go for rams etc in such a big tank, they would be lost, go for a cichlid community, over crowd and have bigger water changes, Oscars will be alright if you add them later on down the line when they are small and let them grow with the other fish.

 

[Cichlids_lover1010]

Thanks for the replies
I was more leaning to the community tank side
What if I had 2 pairs of blue rams in there? Since I read there territorial they would have the whole bottom section with the corys?
I'm going to do a lot more reading before I set this up
Would discus bother the rams?

 

[onidrase]

Thanks for the replies
I was more leaning to the community tank side
What if I had 2 pairs of blue rams in there? Since I read there territorial they would have the whole bottom section with the corys?
I'm going to do a lot more reading before I set this up
Would discus bother the rams?

discus are fragile and need a school. Unless you're prepared to give them special treatment and won't be damaged by nearly 100 dollar ea fish dying on you suddenly because something messed up, don't touch them. I'd wait until you have a lot of fishkeeping experience before you go toward discus.

you could get two pairs of rams, but they'll bicker a bit. I'd aim for bolivian rams, blue rams are picky about water, they need pH to be lower than most community tanks prefer and they like their water warmer than a lot of other fish. The rams will not bother the corys. they'll quarrel with each other on occasion, but they never bother other species of fish.

 

[mattlee]

have a read of my journal at the bottom of my sig. it may be of some use to you as i went through the very same thing

now i have a lone oscar that wont let anything else in the tank. but hes a beauty

 

[meguro]

here are some examples of large community tanks (not my tanks)

http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=lr66AH4RmNk&feature=player_embedded

http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBjP8UWpr8s&feature=related

 

[Nick16]

if you are fairly experianced go for some faster moving fish, like rainbows, denisonii etc

 

[Cichlids_lover1010]

Instead of discus
What about angels? Are they easier to keep
I've only been keeping fish for about a year
And I've only had African cichlids
So this would be my first try at American cichlids
Need all the info I can get

 

[micko]

South American cichlids!

SEVERUM!!!!

Amazing fish.

 

[onidrase]

Instead of discus
What about angels? Are they easier to keep
I've only been keeping fish for about a year
And I've only had African cichlids
So this would be my first try at American cichlids
Need all the info I can get

Angels can be pretty fragile too due to overbreeding. But they're not as hard to keep as discus. Severums are good peaceful fish too, but still sturdy enough to stand their ground against more aggressive fish. They to get a good size, about the size of a dinner plate, I think they're a good choice.

 

[ChilliPepper]

My dad has bought me a 6ft tank for the house as he is sick of two three tanks around the house so he said they can go in the garage and this can be the main tank.
Now I have decided I want American cichlids just not sure which ones
I was thinking of having a a community tank with tetras discus and German rams. I really want the rams
Can corys go in the community? Thinking of sand as substrate as well
Or have something like a pair of oscars with what other cichlids
Can jack dempseys go with them? What else are compatible with oscars

If you went for Oscars, it would probably be best to get two at the same time, or else get six or so and see which ones get on best. But I'd be hesitant with this method unless you can be sure of the unwanted ones having large enough future homes.
I have a 12" Oscar adult in with a 4" juvi and they get along perfectly fine... For now. It really depends on the temperament of your Oscar as to what you can get away with. Though I'd always recommend JD's with Oscars as I have one with mine and they ignore each other totally.

If you want the rams, then Discus etc would be good additions. If the 6ft is not in a high traffic area, then I'd thoroughly recommend Rainbowfish in a planted tank. It is a pain planting up such a big tank though, but the effect stunning once grown in.