200 gallon

[d1anonly22]

my dad just got a two hundred gallon, he told me he wanted to go with cichlids so i gave him mine from my over crowded 50 gallon. i had a tiger oscar, a mating pair of jack dempseys plus a sellable sized fry from their first batch, and my african melanochromis johannii. my dad had also bought a green terror, firemouth, and a small Pseudotropheus sp. "Blue Dolphin" (Ndonga). he just needs to add some rocks that i gave him and once the caves are provided every thing should be on its way. its a really amazing tank. the fish should be able to get to there full potetial in it. and im really happy to get the oscar out of the 50 gallon. now my fiance want a 300 gallon for an oscar and some other americans, im thinking firemout

 

[Idealconcepts]

What filtration is he running on it?

Oscars are very messy fish and his water parameters can crash with out adequate filtration and regular water changes.

Post some pics of his tank when you get a chance.

 

[d1anonly22]

its got two huge filters on it not sure what brand. or size.

 

[exodon king]

wait... africans and new world cichlids mixed?

 

[d1anonly22]

yeah i know, i always get crap for it. but honestly the only african i keep with my jacks and oscar was my melanochromis johanni, but my dad had already purchased the fish he got before i seen them, he got a small firemouth, small green terror that the petco guy told him was a jack dempsey( i let him know when i came over an seen it), and he got a the small demasoni and thought it was an electric blue johanni till i showed him mine and then showed him what his was online. but everyone is doing fine and getting brine shrimp, and feeder minows and crayfish on ocasion. i just gave him a big box of rocks to make caves and next time i go over there i will take a video for you all.

 

[Idealconcepts]

wait... africans and new world cichlids mixed?

I agree, its not suggested or recommended. Especially when feeding requirements differ, ph and hardness differ, and often times the way they communicate is different. In some very rare instances it can work, but usually in a really large tank.

 

[Idealconcepts]

its got two huge filters on it not sure what brand. or size.

If they are a good size he should be good for now, if not he will just have to keep an eye on them to make sure they don't get clogged and the flow gets reduced and have to clean them more often.

 

[d1anonly22]

i know, ive been doing this for a while, its just my dad who needs help. like with picking his fish. the tank should be big enough for them to get along, like i said i had them in my 50 gallon for a long time before i put them in the 200.

 

[exodon king]

I agree, its not suggested or recommended. Especially when feeding requirements differ, ph and hardness differ, and often times the way they communicate is different. In some very rare instances it can work, but usually in a really large tank.

not to mention different temp requirements, and food requirements. malawi bloat is pretty common in these scenarios.

 

[d1anonly22]

yeah i had an aruatus that got bloat and died, but my johanni is a survivor and has made it into adult hood just fine. i dont know how my dads little african will do. like i said i always get crap for it. but i know its best for them to have their own tanks with proper settings, and i wont mix them again even though it worked out for me, besides the one loss. i also realize that since the tanks arent setup for africans that my johannis life spand isnt going to be as long as most, but he was a gift that i really could turn down because of certian cercumstances i can not get into on this site or with a stranger so please dont hate me for keeping him in an american cichlid tank. about the temp requirements, johannis preffer 78-82 the same as all the americans i have iin the tank, and acually the demasoni is the same too.

 

[Idealconcepts]

Not hating on you. Most people don't admit or see anything wrong with it and keep doing it. At least you understand the potential results and plan not to do it in the future.

I'm not sure if you mentioned this to your dad yet, but he has a good size tank to do a really nice African Cichlid Community tank. Some research just needs to be done on what are the best fish to minimize hybrids. Not to take away from this site but there are sites dedicated to Cichlids and also African Cichlids so there would be a greater number of people there that can provide deeper insight into this. If you want the site or want to pass it along to your dad let me know.

yeah i had an aruatus that got bloat and died, but my johanni is a survivor and has made it into adult hood just fine. i dont know how my dads little african will do. like i said i always get crap for it. but i know its best for them to have their own tanks with proper settings, and i wont mix them again even though it worked out for me, besides the one loss. i also realize that since the tanks arent setup for africans that my johannis life spand isnt going to be as long as most, but he was a gift that i really could turn down because of certian cercumstances i can not get into on this site or with a stranger so please dont hate me for keeping him in an american cichlid tank. about the temp requirements, johannis preffer 78-82 the same as all the americans i have iin the tank, and acually the demasoni is the same too.

 

[d1anonly22]

thank you for the info, he wanted an African tank from what he said when i called him yesterday, but he didn't know what he was buying and the jerks at petco are brainless most of the time. they told him that the firemouth and green terror were africans. i know better though and wasnt fulled when he showed me what he got, but its ok because it gave me a bigger home for my fish that i was worried i wouldnt be able to provied the room for.