Topic: 125 Gallon CA/SA Community

[FZSBasketball06]

Ok first of all I'm going to have a ton of filtration, I don't know alot about filtration but will have 2 canisters, 2 sponges, and if I can remember correctly I think I will have a 350 Magnum (That sounds alot like gun so IDK if thats what it is called sorry)

Anyways what do you think of this tank (I dont have any fish yet)

1 Firemouth
1 Green Texas
1 Green Servum
1 Blue Acara
1 Port Acara
1 Rainbow Cichlid
6 Silver Dollars
2 Jaguar Catfish
4 Pictus Catfish
1 Raphael Catfish
1 Loricaria Cat

The only fish that I'm worried about is the Green Texas because I can't find much on them and don't know how aggrasive they are, and I have found that I tend to have a over stocking problem so and I want to get this tank right the first time.  I plan on having the typical Cichlid tank with lots of rocks, driftwood, pots, and fake plants.

[Maddy mad man]

well first of all i think by green texas you mean green terror and there is plenty of info online about those critters and plenty of knowledge about them here too.

The green terror will grow to about 10 - 12 inches and as you say is an aggressive fish - min 55g
The severum you are looking at about 8- 10 inches - relatively docile but can be territorail - min. 55g
The blue Acara - 6 - 8inches - territorial - 35g min.
Sorry dont know much about the port acara but it is sure to be online
firemouth - 6 inches - relatively peaceful.  More aggressive to its own king - 30G
Rainbow - 4 - 6 inches - 25 - 30g

Without going into detail about the catfish they will all get to a reasonable size though i shouldnt imagine there is an aggression issue there.  Will happily discuss them in more detail if you would like me too, though not familiar with the loricaria or the raphael - ther will be someone else along to help you with those.  The dollars will help as dither fish.

SUMMARY

Yep you are going to be overstocked.

Personally i would lose the green terror - he will probably cause a lot of problems - and a lot of the catfish - maybe keeping the four pictus wo need about 30 - 35g each.

Good luck

Other people will be along with greater knowledge than I and will give you their opinions.

[FZSBasketball06]

No I ment Green Texas, I think another name for it is Pearl Texas or something like that.  I have read that they get anywhere from 8 to 12 inches and are a little more aggrasive than a Green Servum.  But I really haven't been able to find all that much info on them.

The Loricaria Cat gets to be around 12inches long and is an algae eater.
The Rapheal Catfish gets to be 8 to 10 inches.
The Port Acara gets to 4 to 6.

Thanks alot for the quick reply.

[Maddy mad man]

From what ZS has said regarding the catfish you are going to be overstocked as I indicated.  Really it is your prteference what you get but if you are right about the green texas then i would in your case still consider it.  I agree with ZS on the firemouth front  and the texas cichlid front (apols for thinking youmeant green terror) - i dont care too much for them either.

Severums are great fish and I disagree sligjhtly with ZS when he suggests not getting one though I agree with him that they are much better in pairs.  I would personally get these if nothing else.  Perhaps a pair of Sevs (green not gold - latter is boring incomparison) and a pair of blue acara and then a mixture of catfish.  Sevs can be territorial but IME they are generally very passive cichlids and one of my absolute favorites  - i have 3 pairs. 

Really you need to look at the sizes of the fish we have given you and decide for yourself what you can or cant have and what you want.

A general rule is 1 gallon of water per inch of fish or ?12inches of water surface per inch of fish (not including the caudal fin).

Happy hunting and I hope we have given some insight.

[FZSBasketball06]

Wow I didn't expect to get some many replies so fast, thanks.   

And this tank idea is by no means set in stone so...If you were in my position what would you do?  (Lets use NWC and Fish that go with them and are from the same area please   )

[Maddy mad man]

Well personally I would have a pair of green severums - male and female - and these would be the feature of my tank.  I would also have an archer fish which, though really brackish water fishes and said to prefer this in adult life, like guppies can tolerate all waters - indeed the archers breed off the reefs which is why they are not bred in captivity.  Another good reason for an archer fish is that you will always have a wild specimen.  I have very healthy archer fish in tropical freshwater and would recommend them to anyone - look them up and you will be surely impressed.

As bottom cleaners I would have one, possibly two plecs though i would be cautious as they can be territorial, and corydoras as mine live quite happily with the much larger severums in that particular tank.  I think blue acara are nice and would consider a pair of these, though the green terror i do have a lot of affections for and might head in that direction (in which case i would nt get corys.

So having waffled i would have.........

a pair of green severums
one green terror or oscar
two pictus catfish
one plecostamus

you would have to add the green terror or oscar last as they are the more aggressive fish and it will allow the others time to extablish their territories.  Also ensure that neither GT or oscar was bigger than existing fish when you add.  Your other fish all reacha  good size and will be able to take care of themselves.

On the other hand with a 125G I might even just have the one dovii, or a female umbee or a breeding pair of oscars if you can find them.

[Ezekial]

Anyways what do you think of this tank (I dont have any fish yet)

1 Firemouth
1 Green Texas
1 Green Servum
1 Blue Acara
1 Port Acara
1 Rainbow Cichlid
6 Silver Dollars
2 Jaguar Catfish
4 Pictus Catfish
1 Raphael Catfish
1 Loricaria Cat

That is a lot of catfish.  IMO, I'd get rid of the Texas cichlid, it's the odd one out on the aggression scale.  All the others are really just mildly aggressive and the Texas will be more aggressive and bigger than all the rest.  Not a good combo.   

Of the two acaras, severum, rainbow, and FM, I'd get rid of one.  I don't think it matter which one really but ditch one.  You can keep the silver dollars if you want but i'd cut that list of catfish down.  I don't think the jaguars and raphael will get along and raphaels like to hide a ton which turns me off to them.  I'd go with the pictus cats only or them and the loricaria if that is an algae eater (never heard of it, so don't know how it will mix )

So to summarize, if this is the list of fish you're most interested in, I'd go with
1 blue acara
1 severum
1 rainbow
1 FM
6 silver dollars
4 pictus cats
1 Loricaria (optional)

that looks surprisingly similar to my original plans for my future 125 gallon.  Just substitue 3 clown loaches for the pictus cats and 6 columbian tetras for the silver dollars and 2 plecos for the loricaria and it'd be the same tank.

[Ezekial]

A general rule is 1 gallon of water per inch of fish or ?12inches of water surface per inch of fish (not including the caudal fin).

That rule does not apply to the majority of cichlids as they are typically more aggressive and messy and need more water per inch and more surface area.

It's just some crap the petstores spew to sell fish and tanks.  Works great for little community fish though.

Too true, too true.  When i started out I was told 1"/gallon for small community fish and 3 gallons/1" of fish for cichlids (give them credit for making a distinction, I guess) but even that doesn' really work.  You could find some instances where it might but in general it's just too generic and too general to be worth anything.  Too many combinations where that "rule" would have to be adjusted.

Stick a Dovii or Umbee in the tank and it's closer to 20 gallons/1" of fish (slight exaggeration but you get my point)

[stilllearnin]

A different 2 cents - almost up to a nickle in one post now    

1 Firemouth <----  don't see them doing well with  carpinitis or blue acaras

1 Green Texas <--- Herichthys carpinitis is (usually) more aggressive then a "normal texas"

1 Green Servum <--- I think they do better in pairs also

1 Blue Acara <--- nice fish just watch their  aggression in a community setup

1 Port Acara <--- MEAN MEAN MEAN FISH,always under rated - they're usually either  "Aequidens"
portalegrense or  "Aequidens" bimaculatum both are aggressive. Bimacs are sold more often as port acara then true ports and bimacs are the more aggressive of the two.



1 Rainbow Cichlid <----  Like ZS mentioned you might have problems between them and acaras



2 Jaguar Catfish <---  theres a few species that go by that name    Liosomadorus morrowi stays 6" or less and would probally work fine.
Liosomadorus oncinus stays 8" or less and might work.  And theres another species sorry not sure on it's name,sold as Jaguar cat that gets 12"+

4 Pictus Catfish <--- if you add pairs of cichlids - I'd pass on them

1 Raphael Catfish <--- agree with ZS

1 Loricaria Cat <---- Thats another huge group that fits or switches under that common name,certain plecos,whiptails cats,giant whiptails

[Maddy mad man]

A general rule is 1 gallon of water per inch of fish or ?12inches of water surface per inch of fish (not including the caudal fin).

That rule does not apply to the majority of cichlids as they are typically more aggressive and messy and need more water per inch and more surface area.

It's just some crap the petstores spew to sell fish and tanks.  Works great for little community fish though.

Yeah that was just given as a general guide but common sense tells us that the larger the fish the greater the space required and the greater the bioload - I should have been a little more elaborate on that.  Gonna disagree with you slightly on it being crap from pet stores - its more text book stuff rather than LFS promotion.

Would still have a pair of dreen severums though have recently had the plasure of seeing rotkiel severums and they are as gorgeous if not more so than the greens.  My three pairs at different ages are fab and I would recommend the sev as an interesting, interactive fish to anyone.

[Maddy mad man]

It is still crap used by petstores to sell fish to newbs.  Just because it was in a text book doesn't mean it's true, or works anymore with the more responsible fish keeping that is promoted nowadays.

Nah I didnt mean i t is a qupte directly from a text book, though that is what the books tend to say.  And yes it probably is crap spouted by the LFS's.  Being a responsible FK is about researching your fish first and providing the right environment - do that and we should all be ok .  However I do think it is good advice for the person opting to choose smaller fish - community type as you say.  I also think it applies to smaller cichlids.

[FZSBasketball06]

once again thanks for all the replies. 

What do you think about this idea:

1 Oscar
2 Servum
3 of some kinda earth eater (the only kind that I can find get to be 1ft long and I would think that would crowd the tank)
either Jagaur Catfish (8 inch ones) or Pictus Catfish
and 1 or 2 smaller Pleco's

And are there any eather eaters around 6, 7, 8 inches.

[JC]

I wouldnt' mix the catfish with the eartheaters personally  but other than that I think that list looks fine to me 

[Maddy mad man]

Ditto what JC says.

I would go Pictus with the catfish as I think they are great.

Ohterwise good looking list.

[Gerry]

If you go for catfish,,Jags will never be seen, try this guy Plimelodi Ornatus

http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/pimelodi/pimelodu/428_F.PHP