# Vieja Argentia or Texas Cichlid?



## zimmy (Aug 13, 2010)

I'm redoing my planted SA tank to a CA tank (no plants). The tank is 112G (5' long). I'm thinking of going with two salvini and either a vieja argentia or a texas cichlid. Any feedback about if these combinations could work and if one option is better than the other?

I'll probably start with 5-6 salvini till I get a pair. All fish will be juvies (in the 2-3" range).


----------



## CjCichlid (Sep 14, 2005)

Sals can be nasty and a pair can easily claim a 5ft tank. You may be better off with a lone female and a few other CA cichlids.


----------



## sumthinfishy (Jan 26, 2013)

agreed. my friend had a pair of salvinis that ended up taking over his 240 once they started to breed. the other fish were multiple types of viejas and other big ca cichlids.


----------



## zimmy (Aug 13, 2010)

Thanks for the responses. Turns out my LFS no longer has salvinis anyway. I'm going to go with some sajica and the v. argentia and maybe some mollies/swords.

I spent the evening yesterday pulling out all the soil from the planted tank and replacing it with sand. What a mess!

Tonight the new fish will go in. I'm ridiculously excited.


----------



## stalefish83 (May 22, 2014)

Post some pics when it's done!!


----------



## sumthinfishy (Jan 26, 2013)

i wouldnt put mollies and swords in with argentea. argentea can get to be 8" or bigger. plus can be a little nasty themselves


----------



## CjCichlid (Sep 14, 2005)

Livebearers can certainly work with larger CA cichlids. It really just comes down to the individual fish and whether they are piscivorous or not. Introducing the cichlids to them at a young age can help as well. I wouldn't hesitate giving them a shot.


----------



## sumthinfishy (Jan 26, 2013)

give it a try. im sure the argentea will enjoy the snack


----------



## zimmy (Aug 13, 2010)

I added fish last night. Stocklist as follows:

1 x v. argentea
4 x a. sajica
5 x t. meeki
8 x mollies

Interestingly when the fish were introduced to the tank the mollies chased the argentea around tank. I almost thought I was going to have to rescue it. Today they seem to be mostly ignoring each other. I know that things will change as the fish get bigger but it was an unexpected start. It's a very lively tank. I'm going to do some more aquascaping tomorrow and will put up some pics this weekend.


----------



## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

Why the change zimmy? The planted tank looked great.


----------



## zimmy (Aug 13, 2010)

Iggy Newcastle said:


> Why the change zimmy? The planted tank looked great.


It did look good but it was a lot of work maintaining the plants. Also, I got a bit bored with the fish. My last tank was a tropheus/petro tank. A planted community tank, with a handful of very skittish keyholes as the featured fish, wasn't doing it for me. I'd considered going the CA route when I first set up the tank, and reading some of yours and CJ's threads made me think I'd enjoy this tank more. So far I'm thinking it was the right decision. Way more interesting action in the tank.


----------

