# 90 gallon stocking advice



## dankordye (May 10, 2013)

I currently have a 30 gallon aquarium with a jack dempsey, a pictus catfish, and a clown pleco. All were bought very small. I originally had 2 jack dempsey but one became very dominant and I couldn't stand to watch my other fish become overstressed so i returned the less dominant fish to the lfs. I have had them for almost two months and am looking to upgrade to a 90 gallon in august. I am relatively new to the world of cichlids but have been doing a lot of research over the past couple months and am looking to set up the ideal environment that will keep me and my fish happy for the rest of their lives. I was considering using a school of dither fish to reduce aggression and have been toying with the idea of using tiger barbs. I would also like to add a jaguar, salvini, and a convict but I'm not sure how they would fair with my jack. I have grown attached to him and would hate to something happen to him but I understand that there are many variables involved in the keeping of aggressive cichlids. I love the red terrors but I'm afraid after all I've read about their aggression and max size that they could pose a threat to the well being of my jack. I am open to any suggestions on tankmates and any advice will be greatly appreciated.


----------



## Azedenkae (Apr 19, 2012)

With dithers, you have to choose carefully as the nature of dithers is to add movement and entice the cichlids into being less shy, but may not have any effect at all on aggression. In fact, if the dithers are treated as a food source, it may increase aggression by adding a resource that could be competed for (i.e. entice aggression).

In a cichlid tank, besides non-cichlid fish that the cichlids generally don't bother (such as common plecos and fish of a comparable size), the rest will have to be fast to avoid being predated on. With cichlids, the rule of thumb is either understock, or overstock. Sounds strange, but you either need so few cichlid that they all have ample space, or lot's of cichlids to spread out the aggression. The first example brings the issue of not enough cichlid (i.e. colors), and may bother some. The second example brings the issue of requiring very good filtration and maintenance (which may bother others).

I'll finish this post later. Sorry, on the go atm.


----------



## Azedenkae (Apr 19, 2012)

Time to finish my post.  If you have cichlids of different sexes in their invariable a pair will probably form and cause issues. Best I can suggest is to add fish of the same sex as your JD, but of the same size or smaller. I'd rule out the Jaguar, as it will most likely be way too aggressive.

I'd suggest Green Texans, Convicts, Elliotis, Nics and similar species. They will either add activity or color to the tank, but will not outshadow the Jack Dempsey. As it is a 90gal, you can add quite a lot of the above, at least one of each even. None of them grow immensely big, and as long as you keep the filtration up, they'll be fine.


----------



## NZSIC'S (Apr 30, 2013)

Well they might not be dithers then.. but for me clown loaches are perfect for my Oscar (not ideal for JD being faster/more agile then the Oscar)

My Oscar likes to exert his dominance over every fish in the tank (most will stay out of his way when he gets aggressive with the exception of the Severum) - He is not always aggressive, but has no problems showing everyone else that he is Alpha #1

Having the clown loaches consume some of his time/effort.. it just gives my prized EBJD and Firemouth a bit more space.


----------



## dankordye (May 10, 2013)

I really like the look of the Convicts, and Elliotis. So would a salvini be too aggressive for my jack as well? And how about a firemouth would he be able to hold his own amongst the others?


----------



## Azedenkae (Apr 19, 2012)

A Firemouth should be alright with so many fish. I dun really know about Salvinis tho, some say they're super passive, others say they're super aggressive, so I stay away from them.


----------



## dankordye (May 10, 2013)

Okay so I'll stay away from the jaguars and terrors since they get so large. What do you think about doing my male jack, one female texas, one male convict, one male ellioti, and one male firemouth? Would that pretty much max out a 90 gallon with my pictus, and my clown pleco or would I still have room for another cichlid or two? Or would that already be to many? And also what about dithers? Can I add them as well, and if so how many? Where do I need to draw the line? I apologize, I am still new to this and am trying to grasp the concept on how many cichlids of this caliber can go in a 90 gallon without sacrificing the well being of any fish.


----------



## Murrayjane (May 16, 2013)

The problem that you might get with having a Male Jack and Female Texas is that they might decide to pair up. In fact, there are a lot of different pairing options within your stocking list. Believe me, I currently have a Bubble Texas pairing with a Pink Convict along with a pair of Jack Dempseys all together in a community 135g. Surprisingly, the fish aren't really fighting too much due to it being so overstocked, but give them each a few more inches and there will be war.

With that said, long term, I think you definitely have reached max capacity with the list you just provided and wouldn't even consider adding more unless you are trying to overstock in order to reduce aggression. Even when you overstock, keep in mind that you will need to re-home all additional fish and Cichlid's aren't likely a top seller at your LFS. (Meaning they won't want them, or you will have to give them away for no store credit).

A Male Jack and even a Male Texas (or say a Green Terror) would probably be fine in a 90g, especially if you add lots of other dither/target fish. Keep a close eye on your Ellioti and Firemouth as they aren't going to be able to handle any serious aggression.


----------



## Murrayjane (May 16, 2013)

As for the number of Dither, all depends on what you want... For Silver Dollars I would go with at least 5, get them at a proportionately good size in comparison with your Jack and other cichlids.


----------

