Cichlid Stocking Advice (150 gallons)

[SilverGoldfish]

Hey everyone, I'm new to these forums and was interested in delving into the world of cichlids! Now, I know the basic stuff (aggression, good and not so good lake/sub-group mixes, etc.) but was wondering about a few things.

1. In a 150 gallon tank (72" x 18" x 18") I would like to have ~60 Peacocks/Haps, so I'm looking at fish that are smaller at full size. Would a range of 4.5" to 7.5" (average of 6") of full sized fish be feasable?

2. What would be the maximum final size fish I should get if I have my mind set on a 4.5" fish? 7" or 7.5" or 8"?

Below, I pasted a list of some fish I was looking at. Feel free to give suggestions, warnings, and any feedback! I am going for half blue, half yellowish, and a few greys/greens.

Algae Eaters
Bristlenose Plecos (3)

Peacocks
OB Peacock Hybrid (Yellow/Orange and Blue)

Gold Peacock Hybrid (Gold/Blue)

German Red Peacock (Red/Orange)

Ruby Red Peacock (Red/Orange)

Northern Auloncara (Dark Blue) Might Be Too Small

Guenther's Cichlid (Brown/Dark Green)

Midnight Peacock (Deep Blue) Might Be Too Small

Eureka Peacock (Blue with Orange Speckles)

Mamela (Yellow with Blue Patches)

Blue Regal Peacock (Deep Blue)

Auloncara Blue Gold Sand (Yellow with Blue Accents)

Mason's Peacock (Blue and Black/White)

Long Nose Peacock (Faded Blue)

Red Shoulder (Dark Blue and Orange)

Blue Neon (Yellow Body with Blue Accents)

Flametail Peacock (Dark Blue/Deep Blue and Orange)

Flavescent Peacock (Light Yellow)

Zunga (Dark Blue and Gold)

Sunshine Peacock (Yellow/Orange)

Yellow Regal (Yellow with Blue Accents)

Auloncara "Turkis" (Light Blue/Silver)

Auloncara "Yellow Collar" (Dark Blue/Black with White Accents)


Haps
Copadichromis Azureus (Electric Blue)

Red Fin (Yellow Body with Blue Head)

Copadichromis Chrysonotus (Black/Blue)



Tanks a ton!!!!

 

[Cecibella123]

To begin with, I wouldn't go with plecos. Any aggression from the cichlids will stress them to death. Most synodontis catfish do well with cichlids, if you want bottom feeders. Throw in a few mts to clean up detritus, maybe. They'll likely have a population explosion and you'll need to cull them once in a while, but they're cheap and easy to come by.
Secondly, those dimensions equal only 101g, not 150.
As to stocking, IMO, stick to peacocks since you seem to like them. They aren't usually an overly aggressive cichlid, and come in a large variety of colors. If you can, try for groupings of 1 male to 3-4 females of each color you choose. Make sure you have enough caves for each male to have at least 1 (preferably 2) for his own territory.
60 fish? Too many. I have a total of 29 fish (26 malawi cichlids, 2 synodontis cf_polli cats, and 1 algae eater) in my 137g tank, the largest of which will only get 5-5.5", and I think it's overstocked. I know many people advise to pack cichlids in to prevent aggression, but doing so also curbs their natural behavior, which, IMO, lessens their beauty.

 

[Kentaaa]

Hello there and welcome! I just joined this forum not too terribly long ago as well. My very first forum post was a stocking question too and other members pointed me to AqAdvisor.com. It's a WONDERFUL tool that acts as a calculator to determine what fish and how many will fit in your tank. It's super easy! All you do is input your tank size/dimensions, add your filtration (they have MANY different models and types of filtration but if you cannot find yours you can create a custom entry and manually enter how many gallons your filter is rated for), select which fish you want to add, and VOILA! It tells you everything from how full your tank would be, what percentage of your water you should change every week, what your filter capacity would be, if your selected stock is compatible, what "perfect" temperature as well as pH your tank should be, and more! I don't know how I survived without it! It's an amazing tool to see if your aquarium is overstocked or not adequately filtered. Just a side note, of course this calculator isn't a "bible" and just provides an estimation. It does run a little bit on the lean side (better to be under stocked than over stocked), and I've personally found that you can stock up to about 120% and still be fine as long as you have adequate filtration. Hope this helps!


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[SilverGoldfish]

Thanks for the advice Kentaaa!

Cecibella, I don't think those are the right dimensions- I know it is 6ft long though and it is 150 gallons. I understand what you are saying though- wwhen I posted this thread, I was under the misconception that every species can only be preseent once to reduce aggression, now I see that that's not the case. I will probably have to reduce my list to account for this, so I will probably go with majority peacocks. Also, I was thinking about an all male tank, so that they don't spawn fry. Would this be a bad idea if I want to get more than 1 of each species?


Thanks so much!

 

[SilverGoldfish]

Also, I think males are more vibrant

 

[ralfieboy]

Mixing peacock females is not a good idea. They will hybridize and there will be more aggression for breeding rights and territory. You also have peaceful and mildly aggressive peacocks on your list. By peaceful I am referring for African cichlids. You need to do some more research and reduce the number of fish. I am fine mixing haps and peacocks. Some of the fish on your list will also be harder to find. Zunga can be substituted for Koningsi Peacock or Ngara Flametail. Some of the peacocks will not color up in an all male hap/peacock tank Kandeense and Chitande come to mind. Red Collar are more aggressive than Cobwe/Cobue. OB and Gold Peacock are also pretty aggressive.
Adding bushy nose pleco's of the short fin variety is okay. They also get along with some of the Synodontis species like Multipunctatus and Petricola.


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[Cecibella123]

Silvergoldfish, you're right that males are often more vibrant. I believe you that your tank is 150g. IMO, you can likely do all males, provided you have enough hiding places that weaker fish don't get picked to death. Not having females should help lessen aggression.