Tbar tank stocking

[WaterPond]

Well, i just got back from looking at a 60gal tank... its rather tall

I am so excited...

Well, some of you know that i won 9tbar cichlids... they need a home where they can be as agressive as they want, right now they are in my community tank. I plan on giving away 5 of these, and just keeping four, but for the time being, they will all be together. Heres some cichlids i would like to have... i will tell you some and you can help me put together a stocking plan.

-Jack dempseys
-pink convicts(really want one)
-blue texas cichlid
-firemouth cichlids
-4 tbar cichlids (need to have these)
-severum
-Jurupari Earth Eater
-Salvin's Cichlid
-green terror(i really want one of these)

Any of these go well with the tbars???

I have a sailfin pleco that will be moving into this tank too.

AHHH, i am so excited...

 

[JDogg]

well i know nothing about T-Bar cichlids except for what i found HERE so i do not know how they will do with the others listed... a 60 gallon does not give you a lot of room.

i have kept convict, they breed like crazy and are very aggressive when spawning so if you go with a convict i would suggest only 1, unless you want to at least cut your tank in half when ever they have fry (one a month).

i am leaning towards Severns (IME) may work best with what the above like suggests T-Bars are like. perhaps adding 1 convict (no breeding will mean less aggression, (hopefully) maybe one firemouth. my suggestions are based only on the fact that of the above list Severum, Firemouths and Convicts are the only once i have kept (though never at the same time)

i hope that was SOME help, but i know not much

 

[WaterPond]

ok, so maybe
-one pink convict
-one gold severum
-one firemouth cichlid
-4 tbars
-1 sailfin pleco
... can i please, PLEASE have a jack dempsey too?, maybe if i cut out the severum?

 

[severum mama]

That seems like an awful lot of cichlids for a 60 gallon. Is this a 3 foot tank or a 4 foot tank? Either way, I'd rule out the JD. I had to give mine up due to aggression when it got to be about 4 inches long. You may want to ditch the FM too. Mine is very aggressive. The sajicas will likely be less aggressive than either of these species, IMO- it's conspecific aggression that you need to watch out for with them. You may have trouble keeping 4 together in your tank. Finally, keep in mind that the convict can breed with the sajicas- I've seen pics of the result. I've noted in the past that you don't seem to be a fan of hybrid fish, so that may be something you want to consider.

 

[Voodoo Chilli]

I'm with Sevmama on this one: you're looking at way too many fish for a 60g tank. On top of that, I wouldn't keep the sajicas with JDs, Texas, salvinis, or the GTs in anything smaller than a 125g. Those species grow a good bit larger and are much more aggressive.

Personally, I think the tank is big enough for the four sajicas, some type of bottom feeder (if you're at all inclined to get one), and maybe a school or two of dither fish. It's not large enough to do the SA/CA community tank you've got in mind. That's not "expert" advice, but it is from someone who's been keeping cichlids for 17 years now and has learned from LOTS of mistakes.

 

[WaterPond]

ok

I don't know a whole lot about cichlids. sorry for my ignorance.
so i have:

tbars(4)
pink convict(1)- i don't dislike hybrids

what should i use as dither fish?

THe tank is 3'

 

[severum mama]

pink convict(1)- i don't dislike hybrids

Oops, I must be thinking of someone else.

In a 3 foot tank, I'd skip the con. It's likely to cause a lot of trouble IMO- mine is kept in check by 2 much bigger fish, but sajicas are about the same size as a con. It may work for a while, but you're looking at a whole different ballgame when the fish hit sexual maturity. 4 sajicas in a 3 foot tank may be pushing it anyway, as a 3 foot tank doesn't afford fish much room to get away from an aggressor, but you may be able to get away with it. It's worth a shot IMO. For dithers, you'll need something tough in case your sajicas spawn. Tiger barbs, green tiger barbs, or black ruby barbs would work. If you would prefer tetras, Buenos Aires, Columbian, and possibly serpae or congos should be ok. I'd pick a species and get a school of 10.

Is the tank an All Glass brand? I've seen 65 gallon tanks that measure 36"x18"x24", but never a 60 gallon. 8)

 

[WaterPond]

Ok, new plan. I have found homes for all but 2 of the tbars. My plan is to have all nine in there for a while... then wait for one pair. Then i will give the rest away. I am thinking tiger parbs as dithers... maybe 5 of them.

I am also thinking of another semi agressive fish. Maybe a rainbow shark??

I DUNNO! , i'm totally at a loss when it comes to this tank. It HAS to house 2 tbars now.

 

[Voodoo Chilli]

I second everything Sev has mentioned.

I like your idea to keep the nine together and allow themselves to pair off. I'd keep the nicest looking pair and find good homes for the rest.

I'd really suggest staying away from other semi-aggressives in that tank; the footprint just doesn't offer much in the way of territory. The pair of sajs, maybe the school of tigers, maybe even another school of the sturdier tetras or rasboras would make a really nice looking tank. Keep in mind that a breeding pair of sajicas will help populate the tank; the parents won't see the barbs as much of a threat. A red shark (or similar type fish) is going to spend its life cowering in the corner as it faces the wrath of the cichlid parents.

Forget the whole "ignorance" bit: you're simply inexperienced with cichlids. We all were at one time. The main thing is that you're asking questions and learning from the get-go, not to mention getting to do it with an uncommon species to boot. Keep asking, learning, and have fun!

 

[severum mama]

Now that you are only planning to keep the cichlid pair, I agree that you can bump your stock up to 2 schools of dithers if you want. I think you'll be surprised how great your tank will look with your pair as the centerpiece fish. They will really stand out. If you like tiger barbs, I'd go ahead and get 10-12, or if you want you could get 6 and then 6 of another species, like the larger tetras or something.

 

[hsherman1986]

i would suggest a larger school of tiger barbs. I love mine so much, unfortunatly, I was unable to keep them with my cichlids (they kept ganging up on my dojo loaches, and I did not want to move the dojos) so now I have a school of 5 austrailian rainbows (as far as cichlids go, i keep one firemouth, one convict, and one severum).

If you get 12, you can get 4 tigers, 4 albinos, and 4 greens. That would be a bada** school of fish right there!! (I had 15, a few have died since then, I have 1 green, 5 tigers, and 5 albinos)

 

[WaterPond]

Just a question... how hard it it to breed tiger barbs?

Heres the tank so far:

2 tbar cichlids
5-10 tiger barbs(they have them on for 99cents at my LFS right now if you buy 5 or more
3 green tiger barbs
1 sailfin pleco (will get a better home when it gets larger, it was sold to me as a clown pleco almost a year ago.)

What do you think??

 

[ksfishguy]

You would not be disappointed with a firemouth or two...

 

[severum mama]

You would not be disappointed with a firemouth or two...

I agree, they're great fish, but I wouldn't chance it in a 3 foot tank. Just too risky IMO.

Jason, I like your idea for stocking. You may be happier with the look of the tank if you go with 6/6 TBs/green TBs. I also like the suggestion for 4/4/4 TBs/Greens/albinos. They are all just color variants of the same species, so they will school together. I'm also going to put in the good word for black ruby barbs, if I didn't already mention them. They're beautiful, they play nice with tigers, and they're a little more unusual. 8)

1 sailfin pleco (will get a better home when it gets larger, it was sold to me as a clown pleco almost a year ago.)

You got quite the surprise, I'm sure!

 

[Voodoo Chilli]

Yep, I'd skip the firemouths in there too. Like Sev said, the sajicas as the centerpiece fish are going to look awesome when they mature.

Have you thought about a bristlenose plec? They do a great job and don't get too large.

 

[Stephen]

Jack Dempseys -- too aggressive
Pink Convicts -- too aggressive
Texas Cichlid -- way too aggressive
Firemouth Cichlids -- too aggressive
Severum -- different water requirements
Jurupari Earth Eater -- different water requirements
Salvin's Cichlid -- way too aggressive
Green Terror -- way too aggressive

The tiger barbs would be a good idea, I've kept them successfully with much larger cichlids like Viejas.

You could probably try another Archocentrus/Cryptoheros specie (I personally like the nanoleutus for the color) if they're available.

 

[Big Ben]

I dont know how tbars are but in my cichlid tank i think its 48 gallons(36x24x13) i have: 2 severums, 1 jack dempsey,1 green terror, 1 jurupari, 3 convicts that are 2 inch or smaller. i also keep a dalmation molly and a few cories in this tank.

the cons are babies from the pair i had before but sold. i agree that u should skip convict cichlids becayse of breeding agression. a pair has formed already at 2inches but so far theyve only dugged a few pits which ive ruined so they dontlay. 1 convict would work nicely, a femaledoenst get very big.

my jack dempsey isnt very agressive at all, neither is the green terror. one of the severums is the king of my tank. everyone gets along fine in mine other then the one severum chasing ppl away from his driftwood if they stick around too long, but then again they were raised young together.

i think the jurupari would work well, of all my cichlids he probly goes around the least noticed and isnt even chased by the dominant severum.

of all of them id say the jack dempsey is the nicest looker. but by far the green terror is my favourite. he's almost exactly like the oscar i once owned.

it could be risky to try them out together though because i hear stories often about how u sometimes can get calmer jack dempseys/green terrors and sometimes u can get really nasty ones. but i will say this, more often i hear ppl saying their green terrors arent aggressive and r actually quite calm.

raising them young together with other fish could have an effect somewhat i think. im talking from 1.5-2 inches young.
i knew the risks involvedwhen i got mine but i made sure i got all of mine young at the same time and its worked out. if u decided to go with those cichlids it is a bit of gamble in my mind, but afterall its up to u.

i hear texas cichlids can be nasty. dont kno about firemouths, but i hear theyre rated a bit less aggressive then jacks and gts

thats all the advice i can give u

 

[WaterPond]

I'm going to keep it the way it is.

I got 5 tiger barbs today, and i plan on getting 6 green tigers (once the new walmart opens, lol)<<< btw, thats they only place that caries them around here, i dont usually shop for fish at walmart.

I saw red taioled blue botia at my LFS today, what do you think of them???

 

[Voodoo Chilli]

I've heard that the blue botia can be a bit territorial/semi-agressive.

 

[hsherman1986]

i second the word on the blue botia. I have heard the same thing. Good job with the TB, you will not be sorry on that one. sounds like you got everything under control so far, good luck!!