Need input about tank size.

[stephcps]

Hello,

I am in planning stages of an oscar tank. I would like to stock with

1 oscar
1 electric blue jack dempsey
5-6 clown loaches
1 pleco undetermined

I am thinking of getting a 100 long which is 60x18x17.
With 18 being width and 17 being height. I'm concerned about the height...will this be ok?
I'm thinking about getting acrylic...any issues with that you think? I'm just thinkning about the rearranging I know Oscars love to do.

I am undecided right now about filtration but will have 2 canisters of some kind and maybe at least 1 mag250.

What do you think about the stocking? Would you suggest anything different?
If I had to use a different footprint say a 48x18x24 would the same stocking be possible?

This is in planning mode...nothing bought or in concrete. So, please let me know what you think. I've read until I'm sick of reading!!

Thanks!!
Steph

[nano cichlids]

I like you first footprint I think it would be just fine for an Oscar. Arcylic is fine I use it in most of my tanks, just because cichlids like to move things around and some times this can scratch glass. 2 canister filters would be great oscars are very messy and produce a lot of waste I have two in a tank similar to yours just a inch higher and inch more narrow and I have to do 3 water changes weekly. Stock sounds fine, the only problem I see is if the Oscar eats the EBJD. EBJD grow slow much much slower than a Oscar. Do you know what size the EBJD will be when mixed with the Oscar? Hope this helps!

[RiVerfishgirl]

The tank size sounds fine.

I have mostly glass tanks and I've never had an issue with cichlids scratching the glass. Acrylic is much easier to scratch. And besides that, I can't seem to keep from scratching acrylic myself during cleaning and such, or someone ends up rubbing against the tank, so I tend to stay away from acrylic.

On the other hand acrylic is much higher clarity, but you can attain high clarity through using starfire glass also. But acrylic is much lighter and easier to move, so that is a benefit.

[stephcps]

Yeah the "lighter" was what I was hoping for. LOL. I was planning to get the EBJD and clown loaches soon to let them grow a bit before picking up an oscar. What size would people recommend for the various inhabitants to be when all introduced together?

[excuzzzeme]

Either tank will be acceptable, but the pleco would be a concern. I would then find it better to go with the longer tank. 12" may not sound like much but it really is in the grand scheme of things. It would be best to just eliminate the pleco altogether. You would need a pleco that gets large to keep it safer from both the JD and the O. Large plecos mean large waste.

Plants are not an option with that stock so don't even bother with them. You would also need to try to get your JD and O at about the same size and time for least amount of aggression. Even then there is no guarantee it will work out. I would hold the clown loaches to 3 and need to be large enough to not fit in the mouth of the JD or Oscar, even with eliminating the pleco.

You will definitely need to double up on filtration no matter what. Monitoring the water will help you to figure out your water-change schedule. You will have 5 large fish that really should be housed in a 125-150 (72x18). O, JD, 3 C.L. and that will max out the tank.

FWIW- I keep 1 Oscar, 1 pleco (Pterogoplichthys Disjunctivus), 1 Pink Convict in a 90 (48x18) and in my 100 (72x18) I keep 2 Oscars, 2 convicts, 1 Silver Dollar., 1 Pterogoplichthys Gibbiceps Pleco

(Both of these plecos have the possibility of getting to 20" but I doubt they will make it.)

[RiVerfishgirl]

What size clown loaches are you talking about getting to grow before you add the oscar? Clown loaches grow unbelievably slow, so if you are trying to grow small ones up that will be large enough to keep with the cichlids you are going to be waiting a LONG time. It would be easier just to get larger clown loaches (6" or so) in the first place, even though they're more expensive.

Another concern is that clown loaches need very good water quality and lots of feeding. And with your stocking you are going to have a lot of waste and probably quick nitrate build up. So unless you are planning on doing lots of water changes you may want to discard the notion of the loaches. Whatever cichlids you get may not even be compatible with them, or with a pleco (even a large one), depending on the aggression level you end up with. So you need to keep that in mind also.
Oscars are generally considered somewhat docile towards other fish compared to some cichlids, but I've seen oscars that wouldn't even tolerate other tankmates at all, so it depends on the individual. Dempseys tend to be fairly aggressive overall.

[stephcps]

I really like the loaches...but would silver dollars be a better option?
Excuzzzeme...I thought initially I would get an oscar and a JD around the same size. Then I read the JDs grow slower...I'm very confused.

Like I said I'm tired of trying to figure this out!! LOL!!

[RiVerfishgirl]

I think silver dollars would definitely be a better option. They are fast and actually pretty good at defending themselves, unlike the loaches. Plus they grow faster than the loaches. Also I notice many cichlids tend to ignore silver dollars or actually like having them in the tank as dither fish.

[nano cichlids]

A Jack Dempsey would be perfectly fine with the Oscar. But the electric blue Jack dempsey could be trouble they grow slow as I sated sometimes only 1-2in in a 6 month time span. Your Oscar will grow triple that. Gaining 1-3in every 2ish months. But along with all of that EBJD need extra care there water has to be very clean and well maintained.

[Rbishop]

with the clowns...I would suggest a 6 ft long tank...especially as they age, they will enjoy the swim room.