# 250 gallon south american mix



## Fish addict (Sep 26, 2009)

i started my 250 gallon tank today with a diy background and some rocks i will have pictures as soon as substrate settles,


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## scrubjay (Oct 25, 2009)

woohoo! Can't wait to see what your stocking list is. :dancing:


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## Fish addict (Sep 26, 2009)

stocking list:
2x green terror
2x placos
2x jack Dempsey
1x fire mouth
2x peacock bass
1x Port Acara
1x jagure cichlid
1x wolf cichlid
1x Pearl Cichlid
1xRedhump Eartheater
1xSalvini Cichlid
1xBlack Belt Cichlid
1xConvict Cichlid
1xNicaragua Cichlid
1xBlue Acara
1xTexas Cichlid


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## clgkag (Mar 22, 2008)

Gonna be a full tank. Is the wolf cichlid a dovii? If so the rest of your fish may be in trouble as it matures. What is a pearl cichlid? I have only heard texas called pearl and you listed texas seperately. Looking forward to pics.


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## DeadFishFloating (Oct 9, 2007)

"Geophagus" brasiliensis is also called a pearl cichlid.


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## TangSteve (Sep 20, 2009)

CA and SA mix

I had a Dovii take over an entire 400g pond when it was only 8". There were other CA cichlids in there well over 18". I had to pull out the Dovii and give it a horse trough to live out its life.

Two peacock bass will need the entire space of the 250g to be housed long term.

Your convict and Salvini will end up as food as well for the managuense, dovii or ocellaris.


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## scrubjay (Oct 25, 2009)

a tank full of testosterone? :?


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## Fish addict (Sep 26, 2009)

i duno that was just my first thought i got carried away :lol: but what do you guys recommend for stocking (i have to have at least a pair of green terrors and a pair of jack Dempsey) :thumb:


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## Fish addict (Sep 26, 2009)

heres the link of some SA fish that i am interested in http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/cichlid/LargeCichlidsAmerican.php


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## scrubjay (Oct 25, 2009)

My personal favorite is the Jaguar Cichlid. A lot of these species are best kept either in single-species tanks to breed, or singly with fish the same size so they don't eat each other. For example, the Jack Dempseys and Green Terrors "only" get to be 8-10, " but a Jaguar can get to over 16" and Parachromis dovii (wolf cichlid) 30"!!

If you read the profiles from that site, they all sound pretty similar in terms of keeping them with other species:
"The Wolf Cichlid needs appropriate tank mates. They are predators and will eat smaller fish and invertebrates. Many do not tolerate any other fish in their tank unless they are a male/female pair, and even then the male may attack and kill a female. If kept singly you may be able to keep with them other fish, but hundreds of gallons are needed with divided territories. They become more aggressive when they are in breeding mode and all other fish should be removed at that time."

If it were me, and I wanted some bad-ass fish like these, I would pick one species and have a pair of dovii or Jaguar cichlids, rather than a huge number of species. Or pick the three species you like best and see if you can keep them as pairs? I actually did have a 100-gallon tank of several bad-ass Central American cichlids like this, including a jaguar, but honestly, I got bored watching them constantly harassing each other. That's why I think it would be more fun to have a pair of giants like the dovii and see if they would breed :drooling: Sounds like they have a lot of personality.


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## TangSteve (Sep 20, 2009)

If you can pick up some peacock bass they make great "wet pets" depending on the species you get a trio (1m/2f) would be awesome in a tank that size.

You could keep some tinfoil barbs as dithers and fillers for the tank until the bass become huge.


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## scrubjay (Oct 25, 2009)

I like dovii more than peacock bass, but heck, use jack dempseys and green terrors as dithers :lol:


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## Fish addict (Sep 26, 2009)

here are some pics of the tankhttp://s971.photobucket.com/albums/...gallon/?action=view&current=DSC_0283.jpg[url]
ok so i rethought my stocking list
2x green terror
2xjack dempsy
1x peacock bass
2x placo
1xRedhump Eartheater
1xSalvini Cichlid 
1xfire mouth 
1xBlue Acara
1xTexas Cichlid
1x Pearl Cichlid
1xConvict Cichlid


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## murcat (Jan 29, 2008)

your photobucket account is locked...need a password...please change it.. :thumb:


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## scrubjay (Oct 25, 2009)

Most eartheaters are very mild-mannered fish that look best and are most comfortable in groups. I think it would just get harassed in that tank.


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## Fish addict (Sep 26, 2009)

ok fixed it now you can see :thumb:


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## scrubjay (Oct 25, 2009)

sweet tank! I love your choice of rocks and substrate.


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## Fish addict (Sep 26, 2009)

i got the rocks at my grandfathers place and i got 100 lbs of the sand at homedepot for 10$ plus i got my first green terror today just 1


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## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

very nice background, love how you did the koralias


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## Fish addict (Sep 26, 2009)

cjacob316 said:


> very nice background, love how you did the koralias


 it seemed like a good idea but i just thought of how much of a pain in the @$$ to get them out if the motor fails :-?


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## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

ot's not just a hole to the back glass where it attaches to the magnet?


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## Fish addict (Sep 26, 2009)

no its a old school one with suction cups


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## smitty (May 7, 2004)

Try finding out the fish that share the same waters in the wild and try adding those.


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## Fish addict (Sep 26, 2009)

will 4 green terrors and 2 peacock bass be ok in my tank or can i have 4 green terrors and 4 jack Dempseys


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## scrubjay (Oct 25, 2009)

You're worried about stocking? :-?

As TangSteve said above "Two peacock bass will need the entire space of the 250g to be housed long term."

With a setup like yours, full of large aggressive piscivores, you should have every expectation of messing with the population quite a bit as time goes by. If it were me, I would therefore proceed with a little more caution rather than thinking of adding more fish. It's not a viable long-term mix, as far as anyone can predict. But there's only one way to find out, right? I would just suggest a backup plan--have a hospital tank and a fish store willing to take fish that aren't working out, or an extra large aquarium for them.


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## CrypticLifeStyle (Dec 14, 2009)

I love the DIY background you have :thumb: ...How did you make that if you don't mind me asking...


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