# my 75gallon tank stalking questions.



## mahoney206 (Feb 26, 2013)

So *** got my 75 gal up and running teying to get it cycled been at it a week so far. But I gueas what I want to know is how many CA/SA cichlids do you think could do well in there? *** got my 40 running w 2dempseys and a pleco. Doing great.


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## Azedenkae (Apr 19, 2012)

Depends on what type of cichlids you're thinking of and what sort of filtration you're running. Any particular species you're thinking of?


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## mahoney206 (Feb 26, 2013)

Well im thinking anything central american that stays under say 10" I was thinking green terrors but I also want aomething less common.


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## mahoney206 (Feb 26, 2013)

Sorry those are sa cichlids lol but there the right size I think


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## Azedenkae (Apr 19, 2012)

Look up these species and see if any interest you:
Herichthys cyanoguttatum (Texas Cichlid)
Herichthys carpintis (Green Texas Cichlid)
Thorichthys aureus
Thorichthys ellioti/Thorichthys maculipinnis
Thorichthys meeki (Firemouth)
Amphilophus longimanus (Pink Firemouth)
Herotilapia multispinosa (Rainbow Cichlid)
Archocentrus spirulus (Blue Eyed Cichlid)
Amatitlania sp. Honduran Red Point (Honduran Red Point)
Amatitlania nigrofasciata (Convict Cichlid)
Cryptoheros nanoluteus
Hypsophrys nicaraguensis

See if any of the above interests you. All (or well, most) of them stay under 10 inches and are relatively easy to find.


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## mahoney206 (Feb 26, 2013)

Uea I really like the convict, honduran red point blue eyed cochlid, and hypsophrys nicaraguensis. Those are all awesome


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## Azedenkae (Apr 19, 2012)

Hm... well you're in luck, they can all (sort of) live together!  I'd suggest a pair of Convicts, a pair of Nics (Hypsophrys nicaraguensis), and a few HRPS and Blue Eyed Cichlids. Maybe about 5 each of the latter for 14 fish total.  Never tried it like that, but should work easily.


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## CiChLiD LoVeR128 (Mar 22, 2006)

Azedenkae said:


> Hm... well you're in luck, they can all (sort of) live together!  I'd suggest a pair of Convicts, a pair of Nics (Hypsophrys nicaraguensis), and a few HRPS and Blue Eyed Cichlids. Maybe about 5 each of the latter for 14 fish total.  Never tried it like that, but should work easily.


I disagree. That's way too much for a 75 gal. IMO a pair of Nics would be all for the 75 gal due to how big they get and from what I have heard can be fairly aggressive during spawning.

If you had all those fish that you mentioned, pairs would form all over the place and not real sure who would be left. Cons can take a good chunk of space and will die trying to protect their young if need be.

Since they like all those species why not have a community. Try to make sure they are the same sex.

I would suggest 
1 -10 inch max fish 
2-3 -6 inch max fish

It wouldn't hurt to add some Giant Danios or Buenos Aires Tetras to act as target fish and keep the tank active.


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## mahoney206 (Feb 26, 2013)

Right on man thanks thats not a bad idea


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## Azedenkae (Apr 19, 2012)

CiChLiD LoVeR128 said:


> Azedenkae said:
> 
> 
> > Hm... well you're in luck, they can all (sort of) live together!  I'd suggest a pair of Convicts, a pair of Nics (Hypsophrys nicaraguensis), and a few HRPS and Blue Eyed Cichlids. Maybe about 5 each of the latter for 14 fish total.  Never tried it like that, but should work easily.
> ...


I'm assuming with your suggestion, you're talking about 1 Nic or Convict and 2-3 HRP or Blue Eyed.

That would pose a problem, especially if it's a male only tank. With only 3-4 fish in the tank, and the bigger fish also being the aggressive fish, the others will be constantly bullied. Even if it's a 75g with plenty of hiding space, they'd still be chased constantly. Whilst Convicts and Nics are not Doviis (they are territorial, but not crazy), being all males or all females will result in the dominant fish chasing their 'competition', and so well, the others would get bullied constantly. Even with target fish, it wouldn't change - because target fish is basically for pairs of fish to see a common enemy and hence bond better. When it's all males or all females, they still see each other as competition nonetheless, so it won't work out.

Eventually it'll end up with 1 Convict or Nic.

Given that this is a 75g, a Convict pair will take over a portion of the tank, and will defend it to the death. Luckily, they are territorial and not overly crazy. Once they actually pair up and spawn, they'll stay near the spawn site and/or their kids and chase away others. Note the _chase_, because given the size of the tank, they'll just chase the other cichlids away, without actually killing them (in a smaller tank when the other cichlids are chased away, they won't be able to actually escape the territory and hence will end up getting killed). A 75g will allow for ample space for a Convict pair and a Nic pair to set up their territory and defend it with still enough space left for others - and not actually going about killing everything else.

The HRP and Blue Eyed, being a lot lot lot lot more passive will require others of their kind to form a pack of sorts - and whilst related to Convicts, a pair forming won't try to kill everything.

Which is why I suggested what I did. A pair of Convict, a pair of Nic. You can drop one of the two pair if you want, but if you only have one of each (say a male of each), there'd be a higher chance of craziness actually - since the male Convict/Nic in this case would not have a mate and instead well, just chase after stuff all day. That and then hybridize with something, probably (after killing males of the species most likely). Five ea of HRPs/Blue Eyeds so that they have mates.


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## CiChLiD LoVeR128 (Mar 22, 2006)

Mahoney206 - Just wait and see if others come in and give their opinions. I don't want to hijack your thread. I still don't see how a pair of Cons and pair of nics could leave enough room in a 75 gal for others to live without deaths. This isn't a 150 gal or a lake. It's a 4 foot long tank with probably 18 inch width. I have one.


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## mahoney206 (Feb 26, 2013)

Its actually 5 foot long and 20.5 high itsaccrylic.


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## Azedenkae (Apr 19, 2012)

Aye lol, the 4'x18"x stuff like 15" are the 55g ones, and the slightly bigger ones are the 61g or something ones.

Anw it's my two cents, and whilst I'd rather just stick to that I had to comment because I tried all male tanks and it DID not work out. Regardless of species, there's a crazy high chance of it going south real fast. That's why you see people talk about their tanks of five or less americans and how they keep on having to sell away their fish to be replaced by others and all that. Most of the time one fish will turn into the alpha dog and make all the other's lofe completely utterly horrible.


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## CrypticLifeStyle (Dec 14, 2009)

2 Jack Dempseys can easily take over that 75 by themselves :-/ Mine take over 55's alone


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## mahoney206 (Feb 26, 2013)

Well we will see. All my fish are doing great. They are all healthy and friendly. 
I also decided to go w the hrp's and am getting 3 on friday.


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