Some picz of my cichlid
- Thread starter srisha
- Start date
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Aquarium1
Aquarium Advice Addict
very nice cichlids. What size tank do you have? This might help you with Identification: New World Cichlid Genus Gallery
srisha
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Thank you, size is
Width: 110cm (43.31")
Height: 47cm (18.5")
Depth: 50cm (19.69")
Approximately 66.5 gallons.
Aquarium1
Aquarium Advice Addict
ok, that's pretty good. Oscars need quite a bit of space since they can grow to be about 13", so I was just wandering. What is the stocking in there? I'm guessing you do weekly pwcs, lol?
Aquarium1
Aquarium Advice Addict
Err... I just noticed you had 2 oscars. Thats a bit much for that size tank. For one, it would be ok, but for 2 you need at least 125g tank, at least from what I've read. They get really big and are really messy.
srisha
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
I have 2 pairs of Oscars, 1 pair of Green Terror, 2 Pairs of Jewel Cichlids, 2 pairs of silver sharks, and a pair of sucker mouth.
Pardon me asking, what is pwcs?
Aquarium1
Aquarium Advice Addict
Partial Water Change.
dkpate
Aquarium Advice Addict
2 pairs? As in 4 oscars? EEK!
srisha
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Actually the tank is quite big, didnt know that they need that much space. In my previous collection I had a pair of 8" Oscar and 2 pairs of 8" Pirana in tank which was slightly bigger than this.
Yeah, I know, oscars eat a lot and dirty the tank quite quickly...
Aquarium1
Aquarium Advice Addict
Yeah 4 is definitely way to much. 1 pair needs a 125 just for themselves. They may seem small now, but they can get huge and are really messy. What are you feeding them?
Pirhana's also need humongous tank (ie. 300g)
Pirhana's also need humongous tank (ie. 300g)
srisha
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Ok, I change once in 3 months, actually i clean up the entire tank. Though I clean the filters once in 2-3 weeks.
Looks like, from what you are saying, I need to change quite often,
Aquarium1
Aquarium Advice Addict
Yeah, at least weekly, but with that many fish your going to need to get rid of 3 of your oscars or get a much larger tank.
Sicklid
Aquarium Advice Addict
The fish in the 2nd shot is a Venustus or a hybrid of one, I'm sure. Totally different water parameters than all the other fish in there and I wouldn't have them together, but hey... that's just my opinion!
tmcgee
Aquarium Advice Activist
Here's the deal. Will all of those fish "live" in a 65 gallon fish tank, probably. But think about it this way. Place 8 babies in a 10x12 room in a house. As babies, they fit fine. They have plenty of room to crawl or do whatever else they please. Now, as they get older and become teenagers, they will start to feel cramped and as fully grown adults, if they grow fully, they will have little to no room to stretch out and move around. Is this an extreme example, maybe, but it is a very real example. Sure these fish could survive, if they don't get aggressive and kill each other, but it really makes no sense. Just because they are an animal and not human doesn't mean you should treat them any differently. Now this is my opinion and take it for what it's worth but I would reconsider your stocking. That being said, the few pictures you have of the tank look nice. Do you have any full shots of the tank?
Also, you should really keep up on your partial water changes. Weekly probably is best. Get a test kit for water parameters and see where your's are at right now. Also, never completely clean the tank. Just the filter media and then change some of the water. That is all that is needed to keep the parameters in check and not have chemical imbalances.
Any further question can be answered by all of the experienced people on this site. Don't be afraid to ask. We can only give our opinions and you can take them as you wish.
Also, you should really keep up on your partial water changes. Weekly probably is best. Get a test kit for water parameters and see where your's are at right now. Also, never completely clean the tank. Just the filter media and then change some of the water. That is all that is needed to keep the parameters in check and not have chemical imbalances.
Any further question can be answered by all of the experienced people on this site. Don't be afraid to ask. We can only give our opinions and you can take them as you wish.
Aquarium1
Aquarium Advice Addict
+1
I agree, this fish is not a new world cichlid or south american cichlid and thats what your other cichlids are. Not a good mix. Another thing is that a oscar, and that is 1 oscar needs atleast a 75g (48"x18") atleast. You can keep a pair in a 125g or more. Now 4 oscars is a whole new story. They need much more room then you would think. I would think 300g+ would be ideal. Now with any oscar you need ALOT of house keeping. This means regular water changes, for example once every 1 too 2 weeks, 1 week being prefered. Your tank mates are fine but the silver sharks (which are also called bala sharks) and the plecos, and the oscars will need a bigger tank. The bala sharks and plecos will need a bigger tank then a 75g. I would suggest getting rid all these fish if you do not upgrade (the oscars, the balas, the suckerfish). If you do upgrade to a 75g you still need to get rid of 3 oscars, the suckerfish, and the bala sharks. The bala sharks and oscars grow quickly so act fast but you should have some time on the sucker fish.
By the way the piranas need a 300g+ tank like aquarium1 said, ESPECIALLY since they like to be in schools of atleast 6+.
EDIT: I started righting this before tmcgee wrote that but i had to take a break to do something so you guys dont think i am repeating.
srisha
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Well, getting rid of some of them is a viable option as of now, I dont think I can upgrade to a larger tank right now.
Well, I agree to what you are saying. Is there a scientific way of calculating the size of the tank based on number of fish and the size?
I was unaware of all these facts, until I came here, Thank y'all for the feedback. I will make these changes gradually.
By the way, what should be the ph content in the water and which brand/type of equipment should be used to check this?
tmcgee
Aquarium Advice Activist
Glad to see you will take our suggestions and not get offended. BTW, I forgot to welcome you here to AA .
There isn't really a scientific way of calculating the size of the tank based on the number of fish. It is a very complicated process of knowing how large the fish with get, if they are compatible and their bioload on the tank. So the short answer is No.
I believe you have a little bit of time to make the suggested changes because fish don't grow overnight but the Oscars do grow quite rapidly. I bought two in December and they already more than doubled in size.
.There isn't really a scientific way of calculating the size of the tank based on the number of fish. It is a very complicated process of knowing how large the fish with get, if they are compatible and their bioload on the tank. So the short answer is No.
I believe you have a little bit of time to make the suggested changes because fish don't grow overnight but the Oscars do grow quite rapidly. I bought two in December and they already more than doubled in size.
mfdrookie516
Aquarium Free - 2+ Years
i agree with water changes, i do 50% weekly. you'll need to do at least that much. as for the second pic, its not a venustus, but its some sort of hap. venustus mouth doesnt look like that (i have two), but it's definitely not compatable with the rest of your fish
