# Stocking Question? 125g 72" new world cichlid tank



## Zathamos (Aug 22, 2014)

Ok, so I will admit right now that I am new to the whole aquarium/fish world. But my girlfriend is pretty much a pro at this, she has had both salt and freshwater tanks, she currently has 2 fresh tanks (29g & 30g). So she is obviously helping me with this so I don't mess anything up. I started getting into this when she set up her 30g and got into picking out the fish with her. Ever since, I have been at it researching and doing my homework different species of fish and what I can keep together. It's all been really fun and exciting .

Any way, onto MY tank. I have a 125 gallon 72-inch tank. Dimensions are 72-L 18-W 20-H. The fish I currently have as juveniles (with current sizes) in a 55 gallon are: 
1x Electric Blue Dempsey (3 inch)
1x Green Terror (4 inch)
1x Firemouth (3 1/2 inch)
1x Gold Spotted Severum (4 inch)
1x Senegal Bichir (6 inch)
2x Pictus Catfish (3 1/2)
Now keep in mind, all of these fish are going into the 125g, which is empty (fish-wise) and prepping for them right now (full of water and gravel) in our living room, and that all of these guys are juveniles that got put in the 55g in pairs of 2 over the span of about a week or two. Nothing has been in the 55g more than 3 weeks, so everyone is new, and I'm trying to get the majority of the cichlids in together early as juveniles. I know anything can happen, but in all the research I've done and people I have talked to, raising them together improves your chances of everything going well.

I want to add more , like everyone always does. Size wise, Terror will be the biggest at 12, blue Dempsey 2nd at 10-12 with the severum close behind. The firemouth I read doesn't get much bigger than 6. The bichir will get up to 12 tops, and the pictus' will grow to be 6-7, but I hardly count them in tank space because they do their own thing and nothing really bothers them. So I am at 40 inches of max sized new world cichlids in a 72 inch, 125 gallon tank. I have heard Ideal conditions is nearly 4 inches per inch of fish (for new world cichlids), but Im unsure of if that goes by gallon or length (125 or 72?). I have also read somewhere that in this sized tank you could fit up to 10 cichlids. While 10 seems extreme because of the size of a few of these, I am only at 4. I was hoping to have some positive feedback on maybe adding 3-4 more cichlids.

It was a tough decision picking between African cichlids and New World cichlids. African are so pretty, but so aggressive that you have to overstock. Yet I found the green terror and blue Dempsey almost more beautiful than any of the Africans I had seen, and I heard they tend to have a lot more personality. But New World means less, much less. Then I had an even harder decision to make once I chose the blue Dempsey and the green terror. From here, do we go aggressive (salvini, texas, midas, convicts, jewels, etc...), or do we do a semi-aggressive/passive tank. This was not an easy decision, all of those are awesome looking cichlids. But I ended up going the less aggressive route, thinking I can get a few more fish than just one or two others, and there will be fewer problems in the tank, I really really like the bichir.

I have my heart set on a Geophagus Altifrons, but am not 100% on Altifrons' with terrors. I am thinking raising together gives me a good shot, but what is everyone's opinion that? Has anyone ever done this?
Here is a list of what I am thinking about for finishing off that stocking of my tank: (not putting all of this in, these are just my finalists you could say)
1x Chocolate cichlid
1x Bristlenose Pleco
1x Rainbow cichlid
1x Geophagus Altifrons
1x Gymnogeophagus Taranae (I may have misspelled the 2nd half)
1x Electric Blue Acara
A 2nd Senegal Bichir
------------------------------------
For some filler fish, what I was considering is:
2-3x Roseline or Bala sharks
3-4x Rainbow Fish (boesemani's, red iran's, turquoise)
2-3x Silver Dollars

Part of me is thinking all metallic with the bala sharks and the silver dollars or should I do all color with the rainbows and the roseline's, or should I mix it up? The filler fish im not entirely sure on but any feedback would be much appreciated.

Of that whole list I am primarily wondering about if the Chocolate is going to be too big for this 125 with 2 other 12 inch cichlids, although I have read chocolates tend to be very peaceful. And again if the Altifrons will be ok in this tank. He will be about 3-4 inches going in and going in within the month, and they get to be 10 inches but how might he be with a terror in the tank. If only maybe a chocolate would take a little away from the terror's (biggest fish in the tank ego). Which he doesn't show signs of now as a juvenile.

I am grateful to everyone who read this and can manage to give me a little feed back or put me in my place and tell me, 'No you cant add anything, not even the bristlenose pleco.' just be nice about it please. I am really on the verge of adding the 3, but I don't want to overwhelm the tank. Main 3 being the chocolate, altifrons, and acara.

I will keep you guys posted with photos as I get it fully up and running. The green terror is camera shy and always runs when I pull it out so I don't have one of him yet, but I do have one of all the others in their 55g. I will post pics of them in the 125g as soon as I can. Thanks again for everyone's time.


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## Zathamos (Aug 22, 2014)

Also, the tanks décor will consist of one fake tall bamboo plant in each corner (the bichir loves the plant), and we are not using any stones. We are doing straight wood (other than the 2 plants). I cant remember what this wood is called but it has a ton of branches and look like a root. We also have one mangrove root with some branches we are gonna put in there. But we are trying to keep decorations to a minimum for both territory and visibility. We will have some air bubbles for water flow along with 4 filters. And will be doing 40%-50% water changes every 1-2 weeks. Gravel is real natural river gravel, grain size of about 1/4 inch and smooth.


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## mambee (Apr 13, 2003)

My $.02.

Make sure that the new tank is cycled before you add any fish. Forget stocking rules based on inches/gallon. You have to stock based on the temperament of the fish.

The Green Terror will probably be the most aggressive fish, although I have never kept them. Central American fish are more aggressive than South American fish. I would stick with SA fish and leave the Terror in the 55. From what I've read, Gymnogeophagus need cooler water. If you want to do Altifrons, they like to be kept in groups. Also, they need a sand substrate.

Roseline Barbs will become an expensive snack for the Jack Dempsey or Bichir. Good dither fish are Rainbowfish or Silver Dollars.

My 150 gallon tank is stocked with an Uaru, Angelfish, Geophagus (probably Altifrons), Severums, and Striped Raphael Cats, and I am very happy with this selection. There is zero aggression between species.


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## Zathamos (Aug 22, 2014)

mambee said:


> My $.02.
> 
> Make sure that the new tank is cycled before you add any fish. Forget stocking rules based on inches/gallon. You have to stock based on the temperament of the fish.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the feedback. I was afraid the roselines would end up being too small for this kind of tank. Originally I wanted balas and silver dollars to have some metallic color in here. I think Ill probably go with the mixx and get a couple bala sharks and some rainbows. Unless of course someone tells me bala's in this tank is a bad idea. The rainbows aren't very expensive so losing a few of those over some time wouldn't be the end of the world (tank). I like silver dollars but they get so large Id be concerned about swim space. Bala's get big, but slowly, and once he got too big I could move or trade him. 
I was really hoping to keep the terror and blue Dempsey together as those 2 and my bichir are kinda the stars of my tank. Its good you mentioned that about the Altifrons, I may just get 2 of them then and totally skip the Gymnogeo (who was gonna be small by this tanks standards anyway, and we are keeping the water warmer). We were also planning on using the 55g, we were going to combine our 29 and 30 into the 55 so we would just have 2 big tanks rather than 2 smalls and a huge tank. No worries about those tanks, tetras, small plecos, frogs, snails, one rainbow shark, a gobi, and some other small peaceful fish. It would just be nice to give that rainbow shark more space and cut down on the overall fish maintenance we do. I have heard Terrors can be incredibly aggressive when breeding, but have also read that if kept alone in a cichlid tank, they can actually be reasonably peaceful and act as a calming force in the tank. I am also not planning on putting any totally peaceful fish in here, other than maybe the chocolate, which is huge. I aiming for semi-aggressive with fish that can hold their own but don't go looking for trouble. The severum and geos would be the most peaceful, which is why I worry a little about the Geos, they aren't cheap, they sit at the bottom with the terror, and I am not using sand. (we are using 4 HOB filters and there was no talking my girlfriend into sand). It is laid with only 1/4 inch river pebbles. They are very small, very smooth, and for the most part perfectly round. Its as close to sand as I could get without actually using sand. Would this kind of substrate be ok for the geos?

The tank will be cycling for around 8-10 days before we even think about adding anyone, so no worries there.

So would be number of 6-8 cichlids be ok in this tank??? Realize I will have a green terror, blue Dempsey (I heard the blues are a lot less aggressive than the regular JDs, and smaller), Firemouth, and a Severum now (4). Hopes of adding 2 Geos and a chocolate along with maybe an acara


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## mambee (Apr 13, 2003)

Doing some research, and I erred in calling the Green Terror a CA fish. It actually hails from Ecuador and Peru. Research states that it is highly aggressive, which is what you would expect for fish that have "terror" in their names. Geophagus really need sand to be happy. They spend their days sifting sand. Gravel prevents this behavior or causes them to hurt themselves.

I have sand in my tanks so I pretty much gave up on HOB filters. My Eheim canisters work very well and are not affected by sand.


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