# CA tankmates 90 gal



## babarian16 (Apr 27, 2011)

Sup friends,
I have a 90 gal with a roughly 6-7" O, a 6" pleco, JD FM Con and polypterus senegalus.
In the tank there is no real amount of aggression, with the O and JD being the most passive(FM and Con go at it the most). The O has clearly established dominance but almost never chases any fish. At most he'll chase one half way around the tank every now and again..

My problem is that the fish (excluding the O) are still scared of people...They never come to the surface for food and always wait for it to sink to the bottom 1/4 of the tank. I'm a little frustrated since *** had the JD, con and FM for a year...The FM is the only one that will venture half way up the tank to get food.

I originally wanted 2 large fish that would eat other fish but deided to settle for a smaller JD and the other 2. Now im starting to want to go back to my original idea of just getting 2 larger predatory fish with the poly and pleco...

Do you guys have any explantion as to why my fish act like that and what would be some of my options should i get rid of the 3 other fish??

Thanks, CJ


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## Chubbs the Jellybean (Jun 16, 2009)

I'd add some silver dollars, they should help make the others come out of their shells


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## babarian16 (Apr 27, 2011)

But they get pretty big and im not really a fan of how they look... Plus *** heard of ppl having them just as skittish as how my fish are acting now, although yes it does seem to work for most people. Might get crowded in there if i add 4-5 of them too no?


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## 75505 (Apr 20, 2012)

First of all, Jack Dempseys both tend to be shy fish. As was stated, dither fish tend to help. 

I can't explain your Oscar's behavior...that's just very odd. They are considered the puppy dogs of the fish world and often they will very happy greet you, morso if you have food for them! lol

I would say Giant Danios, except they only get to be round 4" and your Oscar might view them as a snack later in it's life. Honestly Silver Dollar's or maybe Tin Foil Barbs. You'll need something half the Oscar's size at least or he'll just try to eat it. "Bigger than his mouth" sometimes fails as a common practice.  lol


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## babarian16 (Apr 27, 2011)

Ya i added a rainbow once and he tried to eat it even though its body was too tall for him..lol
And just to be clear, the oscar is acting normal. Its the other fish that are being shy and have been for a year.


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## 75505 (Apr 20, 2012)

Oh, then all is normal, I'm afraid.  Doesn't seem like you'll have much luck with dithers if he tried to eat a rainbow! xD Talk about his eyes being bigger than his stomach lol.


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## Polarbear69 (Mar 2, 2012)

I utilize eight different types of foods for my Jack Dempseys, Salvinis and Convicts. Three types of flakes, color pellets, blood worms, tubelex worms, brine shrimp and krill. Variety of diet helps them be more attentive to surface. Silver dollars and other target fish might provide more action in tank. Proper background on back of tank and one side might relax your fish from human activity walking near tank too fast.


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## babarian16 (Apr 27, 2011)

I aslo have a very varied diet, bloodworms, brineshrimp, whole shrimp, squid and muscles (cut up), worms and spiders in the warm months and 3 types of pellets...
Im thinking it might just be the personality of the fish i have, unlucky i guess


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## Azedenkae (Apr 19, 2012)

Some fish are just timid period. :/

Have you ever tried rearranging your tank? Sometimes a change of scenery helps.


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## babarian16 (Apr 27, 2011)

Ya i did one big change once and a small one yesterday...the first change seemed to work for a day or two but then things went back to normal..


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## Polarbear69 (Mar 2, 2012)

Salvini are aggressive addition, firemouths like to hide alot. JD's like another of its kind with them. Oscars are usually very firendly with humans and will only bother others if they feel cramped. Plecos are sneaky.


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## babarian16 (Apr 27, 2011)

ya polar thats pretty accurate lol. but u forgot, "convicts just wanna scrap  " and "plecos are feces factories"
The FM is gone now and the pleco will be soon (he makes keeping my sand clean impossible), So itd be the JD Con and Oscar with the polypterus who does his own thing.
Im still thinking i need to change the stock up a bit minus the O and polypterus.
If i got rid of the con would 2 balas work in that mix? I read a few places that they need 6ft tanks and not 4 but do yall think it cud work? Id like to end up with the O and maybe 2 max 3 other fish in there so that they can have their own space still. Another ideas or suggestion are appreciated..

I shud be at my lfs tomro as ill be taking a fish-day to go around n check stuff out n ask questions.


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## Tiktaalik Owner (Aug 17, 2009)

Definitely no Bala Sharks. They can reach 16" and need to be in shoals, same with Tinfoil Barbs. I wouldn't add anything. When those fish are big it will be a struggle to keep your nitrates low. Oscars are uber-sensitive to poor water.

You should look on the bright side. Not everyone can keep those cichlids in the same tank. Some Oscars, JDs, & Cons are epic jerks.


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## spxsk (Mar 29, 2006)

Crazy question, but what temperature do you keep your tank? Sometimes a cooler tank chills out fish in my experience, and raising it a couple degrees everyone gets excited. just my $.02


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## oldcatfish (May 27, 2009)

Are you the one on the Malawi forum thinking about converting to an mbuna tank? See my response ther for what I'd do. If you decided against it, here's another option.

If you like your Oscar's personality, there are other options that will you could replace the other cichlids with more outgoing ones. Most CA's will be too aggressive, but if you can find one of the sand sifters like A. Robertsoni or A. Rostratus, they would work well. You could also keep some of the larger, but more peaceful Malawi Haps with your oscar. A great one would be C. Borleyi, or C. Moori. Some of the other large Haps will work too, but can be a bit more aggressive.

Another alternative--stick with a SA theme and get a Severum. They will work well with your Oscar.

Unfortunately, your tank isn't large enough for the best tankmate (besides a mate)for an Oscar. Petenia Splendida--sold as "Red Bay Snook." They need a 24 inch wide tank, are large, predatory, but passive.

If you like your current fish, try feeding only a very little at a time--but twice a day. Also, it helps the fish feel comfortable with a dark colored background, and overhead cover---floating "plants" or an overhanging tree root/wood decoration. Also, most cichlids are much less skittish with subdued lighting.


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## oldcatfish (May 27, 2009)

Please excuse my poor grammer in the above post--my 2 year old son was "helping" with the reply.


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## babarian16 (Apr 27, 2011)

I had a severum but it died a few months ago from what seemed like an infection. Im not particularly fond of my current stock other than my polypterus and oscar. I am interested in setting up a "proper" mbuna tank so i dont want to mix with ca and sa even if it MAY work.


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## oldcatfish (May 27, 2009)

Re: CA tankmates 90 gal

Postby babarian16 » Fri May 11, 2012 6:15 pm
I had a severum but it died a few months ago from what seemed like an infection. Im not particularly fond of my current stock other than my polypterus and oscar. I am interested in setting up a "proper" mbuna tank so i dont want to mix with ca and sa even if it MAY work.

--It's not that it may work, it's very likely to work. But, I understand you may want a mbuna only tank--which most people don't set up correctly as a "proper" mbuna tank. The "proper" way is to have at least 12 inches between individual rock piles, and 1 harem of a species, mixing only mbuna from different genus. Most people, however, just load the tank with rocks and add about twice the number of species as a "proper" one. Either actually works though.

Anyway, I'd look for another large, placid predator as a tankmate to the two fish that you do like. Go to the Oscar forum for more suggestions...I've only owned a few Oscars over the years. The best mix I had was with a Petenia in my 125g...and that tank was really too small for that mix. A 180g would have been better.


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