# Stocking A 125!!!



## Cichlidman14 (Jul 17, 2013)

Hello, after 2 months, my 125 has been result ones and is holding water. Water tested it twice for a day at each time and no leaks right now I'm currently cycling the tank. I have an oscar that I'm growing out for the tank so i want to go with Central Americans. Would a male red terror be suitable with the oscar my LFS has an 8 inch male crammed with other big fish and I would love to get him. Also could I have any other tank mates with my proposed stocking list?


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

I'd skip the RTM. They're very aggressive. And adding a fish at that size is asking for trouble. The Oscar and Festae are SA fish.


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## Cichlidman14 (Jul 17, 2013)

I know the oscar is south American but what could I add to my tank with the oscar? There is an annual auction for my fish club and they have a vast majority of cichlids to purchase. Anyone's i should look out for?


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## BC in SK (Aug 11, 2012)

Cichlidman14 said:


> what could I add to my tank with the oscar?


There are a lot of cichlids that could work out fine with an Oscar.
Some of the SA cichlids such as severum, blue acara, chocolate cichlid, uaru ect. usually have a pretty good chance of working out well with an Oscar.
CA cichlids are usually more aggressive then these SA fish. IME, probably a better chance of an Oscar working out well with some of the smaller CA just because they are in a different weight class and likely a little less competitive with each other. For example convicts (and other Cryptoheros species) or firemouth (and other Thorichthys species). JD and nics are some other possibilities though IMO a greater chance of an Oscar getting bullied at least at some point in time.

Yes, it is sometimes possible to keep Oscars with the very large aggressive CA. It's very hit and miss. Usually you need big tanks and many large tankmates....and even then it is not uncommon for Oscars to end up getting picked on or bullied too much. Especially growing up, Oscars are not very capable and often end up at the bottom of the pecking order. I would consider festae, although they come from SA, to be the same as the very large aggressive CA.


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## Cichlidman14 (Jul 17, 2013)

I have a fire mouth in a 55, could i do a the red terror( or jack dempsey) with the oscar and a pair of convicts?
Stocking:1 firemouth 
1 oscar
1 red terror( jack dempsey)
Pair of convicts


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## Cichlidman14 (Jul 17, 2013)

Also have an electric blue acara that I'm growing out.


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## BC in SK (Aug 11, 2012)

Cichlidman14 said:


> 1 red terror


Never any sure thing that cichlids will get along; no way of predicting the future. 
But I suspect you are very much under estimating the potential aggression of this kind of fish. Not sure what you have kept in the past as far as far as large CA? 
I would place it in the same league/group of aggression with other large CA like RD/midas, trimac , jag, even dovii, ect.
Lots and lots of variables, and fish can be very different at various points in their life. If you go that route you got to have some kind of back up plan; some ability to move fish around.
The fact that they would be the only large fish doesn't bode well for the Oscar. Long term, odds are fairly slim for that working out in a 125 gal.


Cichlidman14 said:


> ( jack dempsey)


Yeah, maybe. had these 2 work fine many times. also had JD bully Oscars at times, as well. 
Certainly better if the Oscar get's big and dominates....though despite the size difference that is not always the case.


Cichlidman14 said:


> Pair of convicts


No guarantee that a pair will work out.
I breed cons in the cichlid community tank.....but I always have some tankmates that can stand up to them. 
If there isn't anything to stand up to them, they COULD take over the whole tank and push everything into the corners. No saying whether an Oscar will be able to contain them into a smaller area.


Cichlidman14 said:


> 1 firemouth





Cichlidman14 said:


> electric blue acara


I think these options are fine.


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## Cichlidman14 (Jul 17, 2013)

so 
1x oscar
1x jack dempsey
1x firemouth
1x eb acara
And the convict pair is a hit or miss.


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

Cichlidman14 said:


> so
> 1x oscar
> 1x jack dempsey
> 1x firemouth
> ...


That's a lot for the 125. Why not try the Oscar with the two fish you already have? Avoid the pair of cons and JD, which have a higher chance of causing you problems.


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## Cichlidman14 (Jul 17, 2013)

3 fish for that size tank? I understand the oscar and jack can reach 1 ft+ but I couldn't have the firemouth mixed in with them?


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