# So I went to the LFS yesterday



## KCOAST (Jun 3, 2009)

I went to my local fish store the other day and they had a sweet deal on a 150 gallon tank 72x24x20 and I decided I'm probably gona take advantage of the sale and pick it up today and set it up rather then go with the 55 as previously specified in another post. I also was able o talk my GF out of the Blood Parrot idea and talked her into some other species. So instead of the BP'S and the Jack Dempsey. I wanted to go for these species:

Jack Dempsey
Convicts
Salvini's 
Firemouths 
Green Terror

So my question is if I wanted to add those fish once the tank is fully cycled what would be a good match or will this work, and how many of each should I add to the tank? My LFS has got a great selection and all species they have in stock are about 1 or 2 inches.


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## Comic Sans (Apr 21, 2009)

NICE! Sounds like you are working on my dream tank! Make sure to take pictures and keep us updated (read: make all the mistakes for me :lol: )

My opinion is to ditch the GT. They get big and are beautiful fish, but the others are all found in the same biotope, so for me the Terror would be the one not like the others. Personality-wise, etc. there is absolutely no reason it shouldn't fit work with the other stock though, so whatever you prefer.

That tank has an awesome footprint (6x2)! My first instinct would be to do 1 Jack, 1 Female Sal and a pair each of FMs and cons, or perhaps 2 pairs of FM. The reason for that is i'm not a big fan of cons, though a pair in the tank is a great source of live feeders! If that setup worked I'd try pushing it and add a male Sal in as well, to see if you could get them into breeding colours. If I could get it up to 1 jack, a pair of sals and a colony of say 5 FMs I'd be stoked. Not sure if that would be overstocked though, so I defer to experience.


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## KCOAST (Jun 3, 2009)

Thanks and I will definitly update with some pics once everything is up and running, Since its a great tank I would like to do sand insted of gravel and possibly plant it but I know that the planting may not work with some of these species and they may just tear them up...

Yes the GT is the one I was on the fence with and wasnt sure if it that be the way to go. I definitly liked your suggestion of the jack and 1 sal and maybe the pair of cons and FM's. I think I should take advantage of the sale because I dont know if something like this would ever come along again.

My other thoughts would be the Jack, sal and a pair of FM's or a Pair of cons (either or) and possibly a Jag but I dont no if that mix would work or not because of the Jag....

Any thoughts on a Jag in with this mix or taken out some to include the Jag? and how well would the Jag co-exsist with some of theses species


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## Comic Sans (Apr 21, 2009)

I haven't kept jags, but they get BIG, and they are MEAN. I almost suggested one, because I'd love to get one they are AWESOME, but I don't think they would work with the setup you are thinking of.

1 Jag alone in the tank, great.
1 pair of Jags in the tank, probably fine, could be trouble.
I'd even try a small Jag growing up with an established pair of salvini, together the pair might hold their own, I've heard stories of sals doing fine with the big guapotes.

Anything else I think would get killed. But having never kept the jag I can't say that for sure.


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## cichlidfeesh (Apr 6, 2009)

I currently have 1 Green terror, 1 FM, 1 Sal, 1 Jaguar, 3 Convicts in my tank and they all get along great. I would definetly say get a green terror just becasue how beautiful they are, and i think they go just fine with the other fish. The jaguar is also a stunning fish, mine just recently got his spots in and is looking fantastic. My sal is a great looking fish as well but she tends to be more on the shy side. I think with a 150g you are in a good position to take care of these fish, just let them grow up together and adapt your tank to what happens. If a fish gets too overly aggressive there are ways of dealing with it (store credit, dividers, more hiding places, ect..)

If you're interested here is a link to a video of my tank
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59mu--1o ... annel_page


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## Comic Sans (Apr 21, 2009)

That's a beautiful sal! I hope mine gets red like that.

What size tank do you have? Based on that video it looks to me like your GT and Jag are both around 8" correct? I have no doubt that everything is working now, but imagine that same tank with the GT at a foot and the Jag twice as big as it is now. I think people can underestimate the impact of having your fish grow up and adjust to one another, but I don't think that (or any) jag is going to tolerate much company once it's a foot long, nm 16".


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## KCOAST (Jun 3, 2009)

Thanks for the advice everyone...

I was hoping to watch your youtube video but I'm at work and they block youtube, so I will have to check it out later...

Whats the best way to identify the sex of a sal? I wuld be looking for a female


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## Comic Sans (Apr 21, 2009)

Females have a solid black spot ringed with blue on the dorsal fin and may also have a similar spot on one or both gill plates. These generally show up when they are quite small.

This is a good bet 95% of the time. I had a male that sort of had a little bit of a dorsal spot, and I've heard of people with males that have them, but they are _very_ rare. If you get one with both spots (like mine) it's virtually guaranteed.

Females also generally have more/brighter red on the belly, but this isn't a good indicator, especially at smaller size.

If you go to my tank (icon below) there is a pic of the sal that pretty clearly shows both spots.


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## cichlidfeesh (Apr 6, 2009)

My GT is about 4.5'' and my jag is 5''. A college budget and space limitations means they are currently in a 55g. I know, I know, call the fish police. When they get too big or if there is too much aggression that means its time for craigs list or the LFS. *** been through this before with my oscar i had living in there previous to these fish. I think that a 150g would be a heck of a lot better though, i wish i were in your shoes, but i'll save that for when i buy a house :dancing:


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## Comic Sans (Apr 21, 2009)

As long as you have a plan for them.

And wow, that means the salvini is a lot smaller than I had though...GREAT looking fish.


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## cichlidfeesh (Apr 6, 2009)

Yeah I'd say my Sal is about 3'' at most, when i first got her my roomate said she was ugly, but after a few weeks in the tank she colored right up!


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## KCOAST (Jun 3, 2009)

Thanks again for everyones suggestions!!!!!

how would the severum's fair in these type of scenario's


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## josmoloco (Aug 23, 2008)

Comic, please speak from experience, not just of "what you heard"

Ok, since you have a long and wide 150g setup Kcoast, don't skimp out on the GT. 
1 female Dempsey 
1 Convict
1 female Salvini 
1 male Green Terror 
a pair of severum
3 pimlodela pictus
12 giant danios


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## josmoloco (Aug 23, 2008)

something like this


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## Comic Sans (Apr 21, 2009)

josmoloco said:


> Comic, please speak from experience, not just of "what you heard"


Point taken, I apologize.


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## Toby_H (Apr 15, 2005)

While The GT is the only â€˜South Americanâ€™ Cichlid on your originally listed list of â€˜Central Americanâ€™ Cichlidsâ€¦ not all of the CAâ€™s listed are from the same â€œbio-typeâ€


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## cichlidfeesh (Apr 6, 2009)

Unless you do some careful planning, or get lucky, a Jaguar, or any other large predatory fish, can be a pain sometimes. I tend to just throw fish in a tank and see how it works out. That is how my jag got an 8 dollar meal, mainly my clown loach. They were living together for a few months and one day i saw his poor tail sticking out of my Jag's mouth. MY Jag has also gone through a lot of convicts (planned that way), an african cichlid i couldnt get rid of (becasue my LFS said they dont sell that kind(too aggressive)), and is slowly outgrowing the rest of my fish. If you dont want to learn the hard way i would do a lot of research on growth rate, max size, temperment, ect..


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

id go an all male tank personally, cichlids have a tendency to pair with different species, and with 150g of room, you have an ok amount of room to do all males for the species you want.


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## illy-d (Nov 6, 2005)

And you can plant the tank - just choose the 'right' plants... Preferably ones that float or will fix them selves to logs/wood.

This is my old 135g tank with Java Fern, Anubias, and Pennywort. Fish included a JD, Severum(s), Convict(s), dithers, and for awhile a trio of clown loaches. Personally I wouldn't keep a JD again because they hide too much... But I would add Nics to the mix!


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## KCOAST (Jun 3, 2009)

Thanks again for everyones advice...

I think Iam skipping the Jag idea

BTW had another question about boaundries...

How long does it take for them to ussually establish bouandries? I understand that could depend upon the actual fish and the species..

Just wondering say I added a sev pair and a GT at the same time and then a few days later added a salv....


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## chrispyweld (Dec 20, 2005)

You should be ok as long as everything is young. You will be surprised how addresses change in your tank. The good homes inhabitants will change a lot until everything gets more mature and a more permanent pecking order is establish. At least that has been my experience.

If you have to make a choice between larger fish I would go for the GT over the JD. I loved mine! Know they don't tend to get their mean on until the 7-9in range though. Then it's like night and day. Mine still did well in a community 125g I had until it died trying to eat a catfish with sharp fins. So I would take that into consideration when picking out a clean up crew. In my experience JD's do hide more often than not. My GT was very social always out an about. It hated my youngest daughter and would flare and rush the tank when ever she went by but that was part of the fun.

Please disregard my current stock list as they are all young and many will be removed very soon. I will be shooting for the 5-6 fish mark long term.


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