Stocking 150 gallon tank

[Towely]

I bought a 55 gallon tank that came with a Jack Dempsey, 3 green terrors, and a sun catfish. They are all very young at the moment so it works but I bought it with plans to upgrade them to a larger tank and turn the 55 into something else(african cichlid tank maybe).

Found a 150 gallon on craigslist that I'm picking up in the near future. I'm a bit concerned on the current combo though. How well do you think the sun cat will do with SA cichlids? I've read that it's a bad combo with African cichlids but nothing on their south american brothers.

Also what else, if anything, would make a good addition to this setup?

 

[Frank Castle]

I bought a 55 gallon tank that came with a Jack Dempsey, 3 green terrors, and a sun catfish. They are all very young at the moment so it works but I bought it with plans to upgrade them to a larger tank and turn the 55 into something else(african cichlid tank maybe).

Found a 150 gallon on craigslist that I'm picking up in the near future. I'm a bit concerned on the current combo though. How well do you think the sun cat will do with SA cichlids? I've read that it's a bad combo with African cichlids but nothing on their south american brothers.

Also what else, if anything, would make a good addition to this setup?

the list of compatible species is endless for GTs and JDs, but your best bet is to start everything together as juveniles in the 55g w/ lots of cover and hide-space, caves, etc and raise them together, then add them to the 150g once they start to out-grow the tank. It's a bit unorthodox, but it works for me and has for decades. Look at it as "teaching them skills for group living".

You can check out my recent posts in the SA/CA Cichlids photo thread if you want some ideas for tankmates.

 

[tanker]

Sun Cats are fine with anything they cannot fit into their mouths (very small fishes). IMO, they will be fine with a JD or GT.

 

[Frank Castle]

Sun Cats are fine with anything they cannot fit into their mouths (very small fishes). IMO, they will be fine with a JD or GT.

i agree, I had a large specimen in a tank w/ several other large catfish and various aggressive CA cichlids a number of years ago.

Currently I have a small one 4-5" with a group of 3 Striped Raphaels, a Four-lined Pim, 3 Synodontis eupterus, and Gibbiceps Sailfin Pleco. The tank also has various aggressive CA Cichlids - Jaguar, Red Tiger Motagua, Dovii, 1M; 3F Jack Dempseys, Synspilum/Melanura, 1M; 1F Texas. They are very reclusive fish and will spend the day hours hiding in caves only coming out to feed usually. With some time, they can eventually be trained to take pellets from the surface and may become more active when they are comfortable with their surroundings

 

[Towely]

Thanks for the info! I'm VERY new to the cichlid game. I've been running a 125 gallon community tank with success but I've never owned anything else. I don't want to take any chances making a newbie mistake that could be avoided by asking first.

So a Jaguar would work? Good, wife loves those. I REALLY like the look of that Red Tiger Motagua. Would convicts work in there?

Also, this one is a bit out there but my wife fell in love with electric blue crayfish. I wouldn't have the slightest clue but if you got one at a comparable size to what is currently in the tank could those be mixed?

Also, in a 150 gallon tank being stocked with mostly larger SA cichlids, about how many should I plan on stocking it with?

 

[Tifftastic]

I would not mix a crayfish with fish. Crayfish are notorious for eating small fish or destroying the fins of larger fish.

How many you plan on getting depends on which species exactly you want to have. Even if you are planning on getting really large ones, some are more aggressive/territorial than others. So, it's hard to give a number for how many without knowing which fish you plan to have.

 

[Towely]

We're looking into a Tiger Oscar, an Electric Blue JD, Jaguar, Texas Cichlid, Firemouth etc.

Not planning on adding ALL of these but these are the fish we like. Going that route what are some combos we could do and how many could we go with?

 

[Towely]

Or what about a needlenose gar?

 

[Towely]

Or a hujeta gar?(this time limit to edit your post is really harshing my mellow)

 

[Frank Castle]

Or a hujeta gar?(this time limit to edit your post is really harshing my mellow)

I agree. Time should not expire until another post is made in said thread

I have been on many websites with no limit on time to edit posts. Li just doesn't like the feature