Stocking 90-Gal South American.

[jbarr]

Little (lotta) background:
Ok so I've been through a lot wih my 30 gal tank, what with switching the tankmates, finding what's best etc. But I'm soon to get a 90 gal. I'm looking for what's most compatible with my Oscar, who's currently about 4", and a Managuense (Jaguar) who's also nearing 4". I've also got two 3" Green Severums that I'd like to try and keep in the mix. I recently got rid of my Green Terror, as she was suspect for the scars left on my oscar. I was pretty sure it was the GT, at least, since I've seen the GT and the O lock jaws a few times. So I got rid of her, and now more scars have appeared on my severums. I've heard how nasty Jags get, so I'm now almost positive it is the jag. I think I will have to get rid of it. I picture it getting only more aggresive as it grows, even in the 90 gal.

So, I'm wondering a few things;
- Should I wait it out (a week or so) and see if the jag cools down in my new 90 gal? Or trade it in now...
- What are some good/possible tankmates for an O and 2 severums? My oscar seems pretty docile. Compared to the GT and Jag.
- Cichlids and/or dither fish suggestions encouraged.

Any and all is appreciated, thanks!

 

[jbarr]

No one has any suggestions? If no one has first hand experience of a Managuense becoming CALMER as it grows, I think I'll just go ahead and trade it in..

Any suggestions of tank mates for O's and Sevs?

 

[severum mama]

I seriously doubt if the jag will mellow out with age. I don't have any personal experience with them, but I've been told they are pretty aggressive. I think you should return it to be safe.

To be honest, I wouldn't add any more cichlids to the 90. The Oscar will get huge, probably over a foot. The severums will grow to 8-10 inches. It's difficult to take into account the adult size of the fish you like, and a 90 gallon sounds huge, but it's still just a 4 foot tank so I would skip the cichlids because I think you will have territory issues. That said, there are other fish that I think would be fine, like a rainbow shark, or a bristlenose pleco, or even a synodontis if you want a more active catfish. Yo yo loaches may work as well, provided the O can't swallow them. As far as dithers go, I think giant danios would work fine, or maybe Buenos Aires tetras or another of the larger, more nippy tetra species.

 

[BrianNY]

Part of the problem with these fish is that they all seem to have their own personality. I've seen Jags kept with parrot cichlids, flowerhorns, and JDs without any problems.

IMO I wouldn't keep severums with them because they aren't aggressive enough. A good choice for a dither fish would be tin foil barbs. I've seen this work as well.

 

[severum mama]

BrianNY- Do you mean that you wouldn't keep severums with an Oscar, or with a Jag? I think the sevs could work with the Oscar, with caution. My sev has some serious attitude, and nearly killed one of my blood parrots once. The parrot had to be moved or the stress of the beating it took would have killed it. Then again, many others report that their sevs are pretty passive. I agree with BrianNY that the fish's individual personality will be the deciding factor in whether your setup will work, and that tinfoils would be good dithers. Large tiger barbs will likely work as well.

 

[Voodoo Chilli]

IME, the jag will get nastier the older he gets. I'd look to move him now.

I'm with Sev. mama- leave the cichlid list at the oscar and the sevs. Like she said, you could maybe include a plec of some type, or perhaps a smallish school of tiger barbs (or similar dither species).

 

[jbarr]

I think that's what I'll do. Oscar and Sevs.
So now dither fish.
You've been coming up with some good suggestions.

Would I be able to do a small school of clown loaches? Or what are those loaches that are greyish-brown/red with orange tips. Look just like clown loaches... some type of botia.

Rainbow/Red-tail sharks always interested me.. I was thinking Red-tail. What about Black sharks? Those get pretty big I hear though...

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Aggressive, aggressive, aggressive, lol. The Red Tail and the Black Shark are very aggressive, and the Rainbow Shark is a bit less aggressive. But with the cichlids, they may be able to handle a full-sized red tail. I'm getting rid of mine, he's just too aggressive for my tank.

 

[severum mama]

If you want to play it safe, go with a rainbow shark rather than a redtail or black; it's probably a safer bet, and more colorful anyway. My rainbow has tripled in total size since June, and its attitude has increased exponentially! IT can hold its own with 2 parrot cichlids and an aggressive female con. If this were my tank, I would get a rainbow shark (making sure that it is larger than mouth size for your cichlids), and get 4 or 5 yo yo loaches (again, take into account mouth size). You are sure to have a very active and interesting tank that way, even while you are waiting for your cichlids to reach adult size. JMO.

 

[BrianNY]

The key factors I would use when mixing fish like this are size and shape of the mouth. Cichlids defend themselves with their mouths. A severums mouth would be considered petite compared to that of an oscar of similar size. An oscar could not defend itself against a similar sized toothed fish such as a jack dempsey.

Young cichlids that are raised together will often (but not always), have a tolerance for their tankmates. There is nothing wrong with liking and keeping those species which get big and nasty. There is always a risk when combining any of these fish however. Just look at how many threads have been started on angels behaving badly. Cichlids are territoreal.

I understand that most people want to keep a variety of species in their tank. That can be easily done with so called "community fish". The thing is, cichlids aren't really community fish are they? So when one asks which can be kept together, the real answer is proceed at your own risk.

 

[Voodoo Chilli]

Personally, I'd skip anything that's also got territorial tendencies (all the sharks fall in this category), and go with fish that are just happy to be there: a school of barbs, the larger rasboras, tetras, etc. (Think fish that are large enough to not be eaten.) These fish will occupy space, remain active, help keep the large cichlids comfortable, and won't demand territories that could lead to even more aggression in the tank.

 

[severum mama]

True, but my rainbow shark knows its place in my tank. The loaches are on the bottom of the heirarchy, while the cichlids are at the top. The shark only harasses the loaches, and since they seem to get a kick out of chasing each other anyway, they don't seem stressed by it. I think it could work.