# 135G 6ft tank-stocking possibilities



## Ives (Sep 18, 2006)

Hey there, finally getting a 6 ft tank, YES!

Anyways I have a 5-6" Red Devil that I have grown out in a 55 along with a pair of JD's, male 8" Femme 5". Miraculously he's made (I think it's a male) but you can see that at times he is beginning to stand up for himself. The RD has been with the JD's for about 3 months with no real issues until recently due to a recent spawn. Will this pairing work in the 135 as a setup and if not what would possible work with the RD in the 135. The Tank should be u and running sometime next week.

I do not want to devout the 135 to just the RD. I can leave te JD's in the 55 and put something else with the RD in the 135. Opinions please.


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## conoholic (Nov 12, 2005)

depending the the red devil size, u may beable to put another tank mate in or may not dunno. the pair of JD should be fine in the 55 alone tho. but if u were to put another tank mate with the RD add in the oppisite gender of what he or she is.


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## Ives (Sep 18, 2006)

yeah I know the JD's will work in the 55, they've in there like 2 years. I was thinking if the JD's would work with the RD in the 135 or if not what would be a good match for a tank mate or two. Believe me I know that the tempermant will mean a world of difference once completely mature but what ha a chance of working?


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## MetalHead06351 (Oct 3, 2007)

not very good, the spawning would add aggression to the tank, when the rd comes over to check out the eggs or eat them, theres gonna be a fight the jd's can't win.


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## Big Vine (Feb 26, 2007)

I agree with MetalHead...I think housing the RD and a spawning pair of JD's in a 135 gal. tank is just asking for trouble. Would almost certainly result in severely beaten-up and/or dead fish. Not a pretty scenario.

If you're intent on keeping the RD, then I'd say definitely keep it in the 6 ft. tank, and keep the jacks in a separate tank (such as that 55 gal.)...or maybe even give them a tank upgrade as well. 

Best of luck, and congrats on the 6-footer...can't wait to join the club, lol. 
BV


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## Ives (Sep 18, 2006)

k, so I'll leave the JD's in the 55 as it's been established for some time now. What about ideas to go in the 135 with the RD. I was thinking possibly some type of Vieja. Regani's are readily available to me. I can also get blackbelts pretty easily. Whaddaya think.


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## Ives (Sep 18, 2006)

well finally pick up the 135. Cleaned it out good yesterday and put it in the basement. Not sure when I'll get it up & running as I need to buy some filtration for it and I'm thinking about creating a 3D BG for it.

Here's the newly purchased item, the tank of course. I can't keep the lil one out of pictures, what a ham.









The hood is a little warped and I could probably use a new one but it will do for now. I think I am gonna go with some type of Vieja to go with the RD and possibly something else. Still thinking. I'm gonna use sand for substrate and some large pieces of driftwood I already have.


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## Ives (Sep 18, 2006)

I was also thinking about getting some sort of cat fish, what might work.


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## mr.fuji (Aug 30, 2007)

Try a 4-line cat, they are tough as nails


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## Big Vine (Feb 26, 2007)

Glad you got the tank in one piece! 

You mentioned wanting to know about RD cichlid tankmates in a 135 gal...
Does anyone have any cichlid tankmate suggestions for our friend here? :-?

BV


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## Ives (Sep 18, 2006)

Thanx BV, it's cool I kinda gave up on getting any suggestions. I figure I'll just give it a go and try my own mix. I have been looking at different profiles and info that might work. I'll eventually post when I get it all started and make a final decision.


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## MetalHead06351 (Oct 3, 2007)

its hard to suggest anything that would work with an rd in a 135, it could very well claim the whole thing as its own and kill anything in with it.


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## gnuisance (Oct 10, 2007)

heres my suggestion:
part ways with either the JDs or the RD and put whichever ones you keep in the 55g. Then get yourself a sweet pair of something interesting (cichlasoma grammodes is what I was thinking) for your new tank.


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## Ives (Sep 18, 2006)

well the JD's will stay in the 55 as originally intended. I was thinking some other fish like Grammodes, but would definitely have to order online as I haven't seen anything along them lines in my area. I do want to try the RD in the 135 though. I'll probably try it with some vieja species as I stated earlier and be prepared to make changes if necessary.


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## RickieH (Jun 16, 2004)

I once had four flowerhorn cichlids with two red devils in a 6 foot 125 gallon. Once the dominant male flowerhorn at about 12 inches wanted to spawn , I had to remove the red devils.

You may also want to try one of the guapotes with a red devil preferably putting them in the same tank at the same time at a similiar size. When they start to pair off you will have to take the pair out or they will likely kill their tankmates.

I've also kept a single tiger loach with 4 red devils at one time (Loach needs a hiding place) and three botia modesta's ((but not with the tiger loach) with their multihole cave. I've also had an Ancistrus cat with RD's who would hide under a slate in the daytime.


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## Nathan43 (Jul 9, 2007)

I have tried many tankmates with my rd, but I had good luck with a pair of oscars as tankmates but they were each and inch or two bigger.
I am sure many others would disagree with this but thats my personal experience. :?


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## Ives (Sep 18, 2006)

Well I finally moved and got the 135 setup. Right now the RD's in there with a small pair of Convicts (male about 2" and F about 1"- they have actually already spawned once). Also in the tank are 2 mad barbs which I learned will get way too large (25"+) but for now they'll be in there. I've had them about a yr and there in between 8-9" each. Still thinking about adding a Vieja or some other large dude.

Here the tank, I did get an aquaterra BG, this one doesn't hide the filtration very well but I did jimmy it to hide the intake tubes and heater. I am running a 405 and 304 fluvals. I will be getting another 405 in the next week or s and the 304 will go back on the JD's 55. There are 2 differnt lights in there right now i think I prefer the right side but feel free to comment.










The JD will have the 55 to himself although there is a small female con (1") in there that I didn't notice went in with him. I'll leave her in there for now and probably eventually move her. Here's the 55, the filters are temporary as the 304 will go in this and I will be able to hide everything fairly well. I used flourite as substrate to give a different look to the tank. I paid very little for it as my fav pet store is going out of business. On a sad not the JD is by himself because I lost the femme in the move. Not sure what happened but she is gone.










Feel free to comment on either tank and make any suggest for mates.


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## Ives (Sep 18, 2006)

well, went out & picked up a Blackbelt. Lets see how it works. Still looking to add one more guy. If the RD is too much then I'll get rid of her/him & plan with the BB in mind. Fingers are crossed. I did see a nice looking Mota with some size. What are the chances of him being successful in the tank.


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## Ives (Sep 18, 2006)

Ok, I bought the Mota an had to move the BB as the RD was hammering her. She just wasn't big enough yet. The Mota is about 7" and has let the RD know not to mess with him. The Mota is very nice looking but always hiding. Hopefully he'll warm up and be out an about. I'm thinking about trying the male JD in the tank instead of searching for another tankmate. Any thoughts? What do you guys think about adding a pike instead. I saw an orange pike that caught my eye.


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