# Stocking South/Central American Cichlid Tank?



## CrownJewel (Oct 18, 2010)

I need to restock a cichlid tank. I know the way I stocked the tank would indicate that I'm a "cichlid newbie" so to speak, but really it was just some unusual circumstances. Anyway, I need much less aggression in my new setup, and I want it to be more of a regional themed tank.

The current stock of the tank is as follows;
2.1.0 Jewel Cichlid (1 male adult 3", 2 juvies 2")
1.3.0 Black Convict (sub-adults 1 1/2")
0.0.1 Zebra Cichlid (juvie 1")

I want to make my new tank setup more of a semi-aggressive tank than a full-fledged deadly aggressive tank. I am really tired of losing fish, and I never really wanted it setup like that to begin with. When people know you own fish, they just give you whatever they have; Some of you may know how that works. :?

Anyway, I would like to keep the convicts - at least most of them. There is an alpha pair, and there are two other females. The pair is fairly aggressive towards everyone else in the tank (except the red zebra). I would like to remove the Jewels, because these are about as aggressive as an auratus. I would also like to move out the Zebra, mostly because it doesn't belong in my American Cichlid tank.

I would really love to add a Blue Acara. They were the first fish I feel in love with when I started fishkeeping, although I started out with community fish, and have never had the opportunity to get one. The Blue Acara should be the centerpiece fish in my setup, everything else is secondary. I would really like something else to spread the aggression out a little, and make a wider variety. Something that wouldn't be likely to hurt the Acara, but could stand up for itself against some semi-aggressive convicts.

My purposed stocking plan at this point looks something like;
x1 Blue Acara (preferably male)
x3-4 Black Convicts
{x1-2 South/Central Cichlid (open to suggestions)
and/or
{x1-3 Gold Gouramis? (I read somewhere that they were compatible with Convicts, but I'm skeptical) 
x1-2 Smaller clean-up fish - RL/BN pleco possibly?

I know that I might need to split up the pair of convicts (remove the male) in order to have a more peaceful tank. I would really appreciate an opinion on that. Also, I would like to get another middle-sized South/Central American Cichlid. I would also like to be able to grow some plants. I know Acaras are very hard on plants, but I'm wondering if there are plants that I could pot that would work well in the tank.

Thank you kindly in advance for tips and suggestions! I appreciate the expertise of the members of Cichlid-forums very much!


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## Fish on Fire (Dec 13, 2012)

Well we can't really help without knowing how big your tank is so . . . How big is the tank?


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## CrownJewel (Oct 18, 2010)

Fish on Fire said:


> Well we can't really help without knowing how big your tank is so . . . How big is the tank?


I'm sorry, I was almost sure I included that detail somewhere. The tank is a 55 gallon tank. The substrate is medium size brown gravel, with some finer white gravel. I may add sand if you guys recommend it.


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## Fish on Fire (Dec 13, 2012)

Might I suggest replacing the cons with he much more colorful and less destructive/aggressive Honduran Redpoint? Same fish but a lot nicer and will allow you to get away with more stock. You can add a firemouth to the mix, just make sure that you either go all male or all females as cons will try to breed with anything; they're like the Snookies/Jersey Shore of the fish wold.

You can also add a school of dithers that can't get eaten such as buenos aires tetras.


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## CrownJewel (Oct 18, 2010)

So, if I keep Convicts, all my fish have to be the same gender? That's interesting. I wouldn't mind an all-male tank, if that would cause huge aggression issues. Those Hundorian Red Point Cichlids are pretty. I'm not sure if my LFS will order them for me, and I don't think I've seen them at Petsmart unless they go under a more common name. I would love to get a Firemouth. I always liked the way the males look. I am also wondering, would Black Widows/Skirt Tetra be suitable as dither fish? I've always wanted a shoal of them, and they get about the same size as BA Tetra.

I guess my purposed stocking plan at this point looks something like this;
x1 male Blue Acara
x1 male Firemouth
x4 Black Convicts/OR/Hundorian Red Points (depending on what I can find)
x8 Black Skirt Tetra

This is a great start to getting a good stocking plan set up. I am still very open to suggestions.


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## Fish on Fire (Dec 13, 2012)

CrownJewel said:


> So, if I keep Convicts, all my fish have to be the same gender? That's interesting. I wouldn't mind an all-male tank, if that would cause huge aggression issues. Those Hundorian Red Point Cichlids are pretty. I'm not sure if my LFS will order them for me, and I don't think I've seen them at Petsmart unless they go under a more common name. I would love to get a Firemouth. I always liked the way the males look. I am also wondering, would Black Widows/Skirt Tetra be suitable as dither fish? I've always wanted a shoal of them, and they get about the same size as BA Tetra.
> 
> I guess my purposed stocking plan at this point looks something like this;
> x1 male Blue Acara
> ...


Yeah, they should work. Good luck man. Just make sure you have enough line of sight breakers in the tank to help some fish escape any extra aggression. The cons will dominate the tank, btw.


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## CrownJewel (Oct 18, 2010)

Sounds great! Thank you very much for your help. I'll see if I can find some HRP Cichlids to swap out with the convicts, but if not I'll keep an extra close eye on aggression.


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## albertstien3329 (Dec 29, 2012)

Right now I have the stock Aqueon 48", t8 that is 10,000K. I like having the light on to view my tiger oscar. I feel it is too bright for the oscar's liking. The fish's color seems washed out whenever the light is on. Any suggestions for bulbs? Keep in mind I will be using the same light strip as I'm not looking to upgrade my fixture.

Thanks!


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## CrownJewel (Oct 18, 2010)

albertstien3329 said:


> Right now I have the stock Aqueon 48", t8 that is 10,000K. I like having the light on to view my tiger oscar. I feel it is too bright for the oscar's liking. The fish's color seems washed out whenever the light is on. Any suggestions for bulbs? Keep in mind I will be using the same light strip as I'm not looking to upgrade my fixture.
> 
> Thanks!


Right now I am not really concerned about growing plants in the tank since it is a cichlid tank, so I am using 8000k bulbs, which are my personal favorite non-plant bulbs. The 8000k bulbs do give off an almost purple tone, but it is hardly noticeable unless you have the bulb showing. You may also look at 5600k, which gives you a nice full spectrum, and is probably the best for growing plants. Easy on the eyes as well. My local walmart has a huge supply of T8 48" bulbs for fairly good prices. You might start there.

Update, my fish are doing great. I've made arrangements with my pet store, and I'm taking the Jewel Cichlids there this morning. I already picked up a shoal of Black Widows, and a female firemouth. So far, it's been going fine, so we'll see.

Thanks again for the advice.


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