Oscar Delay

[420Loach]

okay...i called all of the lfs around where i live, and none of them have albino tiger oscars . my uncle came over while i was on the computer and told me that if i really wanted an oscar to wait until i had a larger tank, that way he could reach a much larger size.) he also said he would help me build the tank when i can get the materials. only problem is i would also need a much bigger filteration set up, which i will probably also build if i can find an idea.

ive decided to wait on the oscar, because id rather do it right. in the meantime im thinking of ideas for a cichlid tank. so far all i can think of are green terrors and choclate cich. is it a bad idea to mix these? if not what other cichlids could i fit in a 55 gal. thanks for any help.

- loach

 

[wayne]

Blue Acara, firemouths, festivum, sajica, spilurum, ..... there's over a 1000 species of cichlid and many are good for 55's. Do you have a 'good for cichlids lfs', you need to see what'savailable, and then research them. You need to decide if you want one large, a few large, or a medium cichlid community.

 

[420Loach]

hey thanks wayne! sorry i didnt reply sooner, but i wrote down the data and ran off to the store to see what they had, after writng the ones i liked down i went home(and thanks to my server being down) and wasnt able to get online until around 12:00am.

they didnt have much, but i got a jack dempsy to go in the tank. i read you cant keep much with it but thats okay cause it should get big, and look pretty when fully grown. but i would like something

can i get another cichlid for my 55? these are the ones i can get here that i am intrested in:

convict
red devil
red terror
firemouth
flowerhorn
gold severum
jack dempsy

thanks again for any help!

 

[wayne]

Convict - maybe
Red Devil/Terror - no too big and nasty, need bigger tank to themselves or a monster
Firemouth - maybe, a bit meek
Flowerhorn - bad tempered hybrid. No
Gold Severum - I think these get a bit big, not too nasty. Maybe in the short erm, butare you goingto buy a bigger tank. If you're not sure, don't buy.
Another Jack D - probably not - big fght unless they mate, which isn't likely

You can always try big plecs, including bigger L's , depending on what they can get, or some other cichlid proof cat. Also big tetras like silver dollars. It depends on how good your local shops are.

The problem with these big cichlids is that while you think a 55 is a big tank, they don't, or at least not. I've seen people do astonishing things heaping big fish into 55's and 75's, but generally they don't work. Some of the fish you mention get VERY big, too big for a 55 really. It's a shame American stores don't offer a better choice of cichlids, except for a few specialists, but there you go. I like medium cichlids myself like Biotodoma or Acarichthys, but I bet these don't get distributed too often , ditto most of the Geophagus species. Either of these would be a great , better fish for you.

Bear in mind most of these fish should live for at least 10 years, so don't buy them and think oh, I'll buy a big tank later. My own nightmare when I was 15 was a tilapia that went from 3 to 10 inches in under 6 months. Don't think people will want to take this fish back from you either, and unless it's andastonishly good wildcaught they will never pay!!

 

[420Loach]

ok. so no more cichlids in the 55. thanks wayne!*thumbsups so some kind of pl*co or catfish. would a pictus catfish work? or common plecos? if not, how can you tell if a catfish is cichlid proof? thanks again!

-loach

(do flowerhorns really get up to 60 inches? i read that in a bio of it somewhere but thought it might have been a misprint, but that was the reason i bought a JD instead of that.)

 

[DarthV]

I'd put a couple male convicts in there to liven up the tank Or maybe just one.

Flowerhorns probably will get to about 12", maybe a little larger. They are a hybrid fish...a crossbreed of a Trimac and another cichlid (not sure which)...and Trimacs are very nasty fish...so the flowerhorns should also have a mean temperament.

 

[wayne at home]

I've seen Flowerhorns maybe 14 or 16 inches i n Malaysia, but I still don't like them.
I wouldn't really bother with convicts, they're just snappy.

Plenty of cats are cichlid proof - pictus should be ok ith many cichlids, platydoras are weird nice and not too uncommon (as well as venomous, watch it!). There's lots of bulletproof L-numbers too

 

[420Loach]

cool! thanks again you guys! i gotta go look for a pictus or two. my JD doesnt do much but hide in a cave, until i put some brine shrimp in his tank. he snarffed all of them, but he waited until they got to the bottom half of the tank. then he went back into a cave.

i was thinking of putting my kenyis in the tank(the larger male killed the other so i have 7 now) but i wasnt sure if they would get eaten or fin nip the JD they range from 1.5" to 1.2". would this be a bad idea?