Upgraded to 75 gallon

[nate da fishman]

i am upgradding to a 75 gallon this weekend and was wondering if i can any more fish in my tank. i have two jack dempseys 2 inches and the the other one is about 2.25 inches. and a blood parrot that is roughly 5 inches. i will have tons of cover becasue he is including alot of dcor and ahve also alot.
i have wondering aboutm a green terror, firemouths, or maybe a pair of convicts. let me know what would work
thanks,
nate

[nate da fishman]

also how can i sex my jds

[Bluepitbullz]

Your JD if he is male will turn a BLACK with blue dots and have very pointed dorsal and anal fins.... If your JDs are a pair (m/f) when they get big enough to mate and claim their own territory NOTHING will be able to live with em... except something that will kill them like a pair of red devils...

[nate da fishman]

really? then should i get rid of a jd? people same jds can be gentle or pissed all the time. these so far seam to be nice.
but ill see what others have to say
nate

[nate da fishman]

also they whould have alot of spaces to live, in the 75 gallon with tons of plants, caves etc
nate

P.S. love blue pits too. i have one and a big black lab and pit mix.

[BucJason]

I wouldn't recommend Pairs of different species...because if you get a male /female bonded pair trying to mate then all hell is going to break loose. Even with a pair of convicts ,who may be small, but will fight with fierceness you won't believe for thier size. If you want different types of cichlids ,I would probably get one of each.

[nate da fishman]

if i get rid of a jd can i get a green terror? and what else?
nate

[jm1212]

male GTs get to 13 inches or more, and they arent called terrors for nothing.

try severum, or the firemouths tyou listed first may also work.

[nate da fishman]

alright, but does it matter the size of the severums or firemouths? not to big i know but what if there to small or big?
nate

[nate da fishman]

can you suggest a list? i am sorta new about this and do only know about some species of SA cichlids.

nate

[nate da fishman]

maybe rams?
nate

[nate da fishman]

what do you think everyone, i will most likely get a firemouth and wat are commen severums becasue i have never seen them at petland. does petco or petsmart have them?

nate

[Bluepitbullz]

If your set on keeping the JDs or at least one JD try this: JD,GT,Jaguar(Managuense) those make 3 good (diff) tank mates that are all about the same level of aggresion... Or JD+Oscar... or JD+3firemouths... or JD+convict+firemouth... i would stick to 3 fish tho not 2 because the aggression will be spread out more (not one dominant fish kickin the #$#@ out of the lesser sized or subdominant fish) Or you could just get a male red devil and kill em all... j/k

[Bluepitbullz]

I would stay away from rams as they will become a snack for your JDs... Sevrums arent a good choice either as they will just become stressed out and die from being harassed by the beefier JDs...

[nate da fishman]

sounds good i will have to think about it. i was always fond of a GT but some say "terrot" means something. but i have a couple options to think off.
thanks,
nate

[BucJason]

I would get a JD , a convict , and a Firemouth.

[nate da fishman]

i just might. should i aim for all the same sexes so i dont get any hybrids?
nate

[nate da fishman]

maybe a oscat , jd, and a firmouth. does that sound good? it doees to me
nate

[Into the ocean]

Oscar will dramatically increase the bioload of the tank. Oscar/firemouth might work. If you are set on a JD it will be hard to get an oscar also. Missing cichlids is really just trial and error, just make sure you have a backup plan or divider on hand.

[nate da fishman]

but i have a blood parrot that im not getting rid of and i really like one of my JDs so what else? sorry but i forgot about the BP
nate

[Into the ocean]

Honestly, I think a BP and a JD will fill out a 75 pretty nicely themselves.

you might think about a school of giant danios to add some movement or something...

[nate da fishman]

maybe, it sounds better to me to have alot of rather that 2 or 3
nate

[Into the ocean]

It definitely sounds better, but an adult JD and BP both require around 40 gallons each to thrive...those two fish with some dithers would be a pretty interesting tank imo.

[nate da fishman]

i do think so too but in about 3 2 years i should upgrade again anf probably ill get a 125.

but in abour 3 years when i get my own place.

nate

[nate da fishman]

can you tell me some of those dithers your talking about? i know giant danios are and idea but i want a lot of choice incase my lfs doesnt have those.
nate

[nate da fishman]

i dont know alot about guarmis. they do look kool. but the same there peacefull so they would get eatin right?
nate

[nate da fishman]

loaches?

[BucJason]

a dither can be any hardy fish that is big enough not to be eaten, and fast enough not to be caught. large tiger barbs work also.

I've heard of people keeping loaches with JD's with no problem, but they aren't really a dither fish, they just seem to be ignored by some dempseys

[nate da fishman]

alright

[Into the ocean]

I suggested giant danios because neons might become lunch, and I've heard tiger barbs like to nip at fins.

Clown loaches become way too big and prefer to be kept in groups of at least 5 to thrive. Plus they are scaleless and thus susceptible to ICH.

3 years is long time in fish years...I would sit tight with 2 cichlids and a school of dithers then you could add a 3rd and/or 4th fish when you upgrade in a few years.

No need to rush things, again, I think a JD/BP combo with a school of dithers would be a nice 75 gallon tank, you would have 2 large colorful fish and plenty of activity with the dithers.

Plus, you wouldn't be pushing your bioload too much.

Best of luck!

[nate da fishman]

thank you

[BucJason]

I'm thinking some of the larger rainbowfish would work, but never tried it.

[nate da fishman]

never heard of them are they expensive?
nate

[nate da fishman]

i got the tank and looks good.

nate

[Into the ocean]

Congrats...do you have any pics?

[nate da fishman]

i got the tank today esterday and ill clean it out, get some filter cartiges and exc. no pics but will get some in do time

nate

[nate da fishman]

and about the rainbow fish are they expensive?
nate

[BucJason]

and about the rainbow fish are they expensive?
nate


Yeah, most kinds are fairly expensive....Australian rainbows aren't bad though, they are pretty cheap.

[nate da fishman]

alright im going to get those cartiges and i stainde the tank and im goin to let it dry.
nate

[nate da fishman]

ill set the ank up tomarrow and let you know. te varnish still neeeds to dry.
nate

[nate da fishman]

my tank is almost ready about an hor or so then ill let you know.


nate

[nate da fishman]

every thing is good now and its setup up and ill try to post picks in the near future. i might get some other fish and i know people had there opinions before but can anyon else give me a idea? thanks,
nate