# Stocking help for soon to be 100 gallon from 55 gallon



## Caglej1994 (Mar 6, 2020)

So I currently have a 55 gallon heavily decorated with lots of hiding spots. I have 2 convicts, 1 Salvini, 2 electric blue Acaras, 1 pictus catfish and 6 giant danios. All the cichlids in the tank are female and are about 2 inches, so no worry about aggression from breeding. I am about to upgrade to 100 gallon 60×18×18 and was wondering if I could get any advice on how these guys should co-exist as they grow, and also if it's smart/advisable to maybe add 2 fire mouths while they are all young. So far the only "aggression" is between the 2 convicts. They like to chase each other around but no serious fighting has occurred. And advice or tips? Thanks in advance!


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## Oscar6 (Aug 4, 2017)

You can never predict how mixing cichlids may turn out. In general, CA fish are far more aggressive than SA. Using that general fact, the Acara may be in way over their head, and have no chance defending against the Cons or the Sal. Firemouths should fare better. Maybe trade the Acara in for some FM?


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## Caglej1994 (Mar 6, 2020)

That's kind if what I was thinking as well. The Acaras seem very peaceful and as of now they seem to be doing well, but like I said they are all small so I'm sure that could change overnight. If I kept an all female tank, of the con, slavin and FM all around the same size, is there a general rule "appropriate number" of these to house together? I would really like to have 6 to 8 cichlids in total. I know if I keep female they will all be around 4 to 6 inches at adulthood. Would be that be too risky to try? I'm open for some aggression and adjustment I just dont want to set it up to fail.


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## Buba2424 (May 25, 2020)

Blue acaras are surprisingly mellow for cichlids of their size and I'd watch the salvini with them. Acaras are also slower and I think would have trouble avoiding the convicts and salvini as they grow. Firemouths are a possibility but I'd either get 1 or three as opposed to two, most cichlids are highly aggressive to others of the same species and the larger might eventually be nasty to the smaller. Firemouths tend to be mellower than convicts and might be picked on so I think your best bet is to go with a male firemouth, as they're a little tougher. They tend to bluff with their aggression, so a bigger male would have an easier time protecting himself from highly overconfident convicts. Another option would be a female Jack Dempsey, which are pretty common and my female is super mellow and lives with an angelfish. I once had to move out my male firemouth who lived with my JD for being a huge jerk to my Electric blue acara, so once again watch the acaras. Another non-cichlid option could be a red tailed black shark, who tend to be pretty spicy and hold their own against cichlids being fast and aggressive on their own, as well as making a good addition to the cleanup crew. They are known to and in my experience have antagonized firemouths though. Pictus catfish also prefer to school and probably would be more comfortable if you brought in a couple more. Keep in mind with cichlids, the more you add, the less aggression will be focused on one individual, and spread out over them all, so 6-8 should be fine for a 100g. Another option could be some pink convicts or marbled convicts, as they would have the same temperament as yours but add more variety. Female convicts only get 2-3" as opposed to larger males, so you can have several without really affecting the bio-load.


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