75gal Central American?

sweetpickles7

Superstar Fish
Feb 13, 2007
1,239
0
0
Central Illinois
#1
Well, im getting a tank from a friend and im not quite sure if its a 75gal but its like 6inches wider than my 55gal.I've been having many ideas but this is my favorite,what do you think?
75gal
2 convicts[pair]
4 firemouth meeki
1 salvini
12 buenos aires tetra
1 pleco
My only concern is that they are to aggressive that they might not work well together?Comments appreciated!
 

Big Vine

Elite Fish
Feb 7, 2006
3,895
9
0
47
Florida
#6
All of the suggestions above are potentially workable, IMO...I don't see anything too terribly risky there. Of course there's always a risk that you end up with chaos, but isn't that half the fun? ;)

If I had that size of tank, I'd modify things a bit and aim for a pair of convicts, a pair of firemouths, and a female salvini. One pleco would be fine, as would the BA tetras, but again (if it were my tank) I'd opt for Columbian tetras instead of the Buenos Aires. I just find them to be a lot more colorful. The size difference between the two isn't huge anyway, so I wouldn't worry about that. Besides, the cichlids will be focused on each other a lot of the time anyway, so they shouldn't bother with the tetras a whole lot.

BV
 

TheFool

Large Fish
Apr 19, 2006
323
2
0
#8
If it's central american then what are the tetras doing in there? Shop around and try to get some wild caught, or quite recently tank bred swordtails, something like Xiphorous montezumae. Also try to learn about other cichlids than cons, firemouths and so on. There are lots of other nice fish that a decent lfs might be able to order for you - Thorichthys elliotti is similar to a firemouth, but a bit smaller, nicer and you would be able to sell any fry.

Is there a decent, recent book on C American cichlids (not Axelrod!) or livebearers?