# Help With Stock List



## craig.smith88 (Jan 8, 2009)

Hi guys i have a 300 litre tank so about 80 gallons, now the fish i love are:
Convicts
Salvini
JD
EBJD
Severum
Cutteri
Neets
Rainbow Cichlid 
Sajica

So i was wondering what is an aceptable stock list can you guys give me some ideas please could i keep:
A pair of convicts
Pair of Cutteri
and JD and EBJD?
and a Salvini?
Or is that two much

cheers


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## Vincent (May 7, 2004)

I think you could get away with one pair of larger/meaner fish or two pairs of smaller/peaceful fish. One pair each of rainbow cichlids with sajica might work well.


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## craig.smith88 (Jan 8, 2009)

no one else got any ideas for stocking for me?


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## CiChLiD LoVeR128 (Mar 22, 2006)

Why not a pair of Salvini! 8) :thumb:

You could keep 1 of each maybe like this but make sure they are all the same sex:

1 Convict
1 Cutteri
1 JD or EBJD or Salvini



> One pair each of rainbow cichlids with sajica might work well.


Agreed! :thumb:



> A pair of convicts
> Pair of Cutteri
> and JD and EBJD?
> and a Salvini?


Are you asking if all of them would work? If so then yes, this is WAY too much. I think personally if you want a pair of any of these cichlids mentioned the pair WILL need the whole tank to themselves except for the Sajica and Rainbows.


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## chrispyweld (Dec 20, 2005)

I would go with a pair of Sajica and a lone severum. All are pretty peaceful and could live well together. You would have a good mix of colors and shapes.

They would peaceful enough o add some larger dithers too. Live bearers would be colorful and active, large enough not to get eaten and give you a steady supply of feeders. If those aren't your bag I would say serpae thus adding another color and some good activity to the tank.

Reds, greens, yellows, and blues, good variety of shapes to.Would look stunning IMHO.


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## Hrafen (Feb 19, 2005)

2 pairs maximum if Cutteri, Rainbows, Sajica, Neets, Cons. One pair of 2 of these. But be careful if mixing Cutteri and Cons. Plus, careful with Neets, they can be really mean.

Or

One pair of Jacks.

Or

One pair of Salvini.

Or one pair of Cutteri, Neets, Sajica, Cons, (not Rainbows) and a lone Jack or Salvini.

Just my view - nothing always works.


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## Tilapia2006 (Feb 10, 2009)

In my experience, I wouldn't mix Rainbows, Sajica, or Severums with any of the other - especially if you desire a pair of any of the others. I'd say a pair of JDs finishes the tank. A dedicated tank to spawning Jacks is really a fantastic experience. That's one option.

But if I were going to do a mix that includes a pair with those choices in that size tank, I'd suggest a pair of Salvini and a Convict or maybe a Cutteri instead of the Convict - either species can stand up well with a spawning pair of Salvini in that size tank. It would be cutting it close to add a Jack to that mix, but it _might_ work.

You could do a mix of 1 Salvini, 1 Jack, 1 Convict (or Cutteri), and maybe add a Synodontis or Pleco to the mix and it would probably work well if you raise them all from juvenile.

Honestly, I'd drop the Neets. I've seen a pair of Neets wreak havoc on JDs and Green Terrors in a 125gal, so barring a species tank for Neets only, I wouldn't mess with them.

Hope that helps. It looks like everyone has great advice, so I think you'll have a stock list that will work in no time.

Cheers

*Edit* - I got to thinking, and a setup I'd love to do with an 80 gal would be a pair of _Parachromis loisellei_ with a trio of 3 male Convicts. Just a thought.



craig.smith88 said:


> Hi guys i have a 300 litre tank so about 80 gallons, now the fish i love are:
> Convicts
> Salvini
> JD
> ...


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## chrispyweld (Dec 20, 2005)

I don't think there is enough space for three territories in a tank that size. we are talking about 4 feet by 18in more than likely. I would stick to two territories maximum. Even with that I would try to set it up so the two caves are at opposite ends.


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## The Warden (Jan 13, 2009)

I asked the exact same question last week mate.

Im getting my juwel rio 300 set up very soon and was looking at firemouths, convicts, Jack Dempsey, Blue acara etc.

After lots of advice *** decided on the following list...

Pleco x1
Blue Gouramis x1
Red Tail Black Shark x1
Blue Acara x 1
Firemouth x 1
Convict x 1

I was told that having more fish helps stop all the aggression being directed at one fish. The gouramis is peaceful and not a threat to cichlids, but also sturdy enough to hold his own. The RTB has got enough aggression to stand up to cichlids without being a threat, and the blue acara is pretty chilled anyway.

Hope this helps

Gaz


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## phishes (May 17, 2005)

I guessing a 80g is a 4'' tank? 4'' dosen't leave a lot of space for territories, especally for breeding pairs. I would do 2 breeding pairs. Like cons and JD, or cons and cutteri. Or i'd do something like cichlidlover suggested. Rainbows are more peaceful then the other cichlds also.


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## The Warden (Jan 13, 2009)

Phishes, if his tank is the same as mine it is 300 litre, 65 Imperial Gallon or 80 US Gallon. Thats 4 foot yeh.

What do you think of my stock list above?

Just after some other opinions, thats all.

Cheers

Gaz


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## Tilapia2006 (Feb 10, 2009)

I hope this isn't intrusive, as I know you were inquiring of Phishes opinion, but I thought I'd share mine.

The only part of your stock list that concerns me is the lone Blue Gourami. The Firemouth and Acara won't pose a _huge_ problem, but the Con may find the lone Gourami a nice target. The Gourami being similarly sized, but far less aggressive may lend him to being bullied. A trio of Blues may be better, but if it were me, I'd drop the Blue Gourami idea and go with something else. I had a large single Tinfoil barb that grew up with a tank full of bruisers and did great for many years. Or you might could try a Red-belly Pacu, but he'll outgrow everyone else in the tank and might be pushing the limits.



The Warden said:


> Phishes, if his tank is the same as mine it is 300 litre, 65 Imperial Gallon or 80 US Gallon. Thats 4 foot yeh.
> 
> What do you think of my stock list above?
> 
> ...


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## The Warden (Jan 13, 2009)

Thanks for your reply.

Apologies to craig smith - i have really hyjacked your thread here. But i hope you dont mind as it may help you out?

If i drop the blue gouramis, then the potential stock list will be -

Pleco
Red Tail Black Shark
Blue Acara
Firemouth
Convict

Shall i leave it at that?

Is another Non-Cichlid essential to keep the peace?

Is another cichlid an option? Salvini maybe?

Thanks very much to all,

Gaz


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## Tilapia2006 (Feb 10, 2009)

I don't think you'd have any problem adding the Salvini. With or without it, your stock list sounds good to me, especially if you raise them all together from juveniles. And the adult sizes are all reasonable for a 121cm (48") x 51cm (20") tank - aside from the Pleco, the Acara should end up the largest at 8in. But I would suspect they'd form a decent pecking order and coexist well. Anything can happen since a lot of times individual fish personalities can come into play, but I like it. :thumb:



The Warden said:


> Thanks for your reply.
> 
> Apologies to craig smith - i have really hyjacked your thread here. But i hope you dont mind as it may help you out?
> 
> ...


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## The Warden (Jan 13, 2009)

Thank you for the reply.

So im looking at...

Pleco
RTB Shark
Blue Acara
Salvini
Convict 
Firemouth

My only concern was that *** been told a 48" Long tank is not big enough to form more than 2 or 3 territories. But i will have lots of rocks and plant pots etc for caves.

Should i try to get all males or all females? Is this possible from a young age? Or does it not really matter?

Thanks again

Gaz


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## Tilapia2006 (Feb 10, 2009)

Well, I'm sure some would disagree with me, but in my opinion from my 25 years of experience, I don't think the territories of those selected fish will be an issue at all in that tank since you're not going to have any spawning pairs. If we all tried to give our cichlids the exact territory size they needed, we'd either never have cichlid community tanks or we'd all have enormous tanks. For instance, in the wild a single grown Firemouth can _easily_ control a 5' x 5' territory. Tank dynamics are simply different.

And it's unlikely (but possible) that you'll be able to sex them as juveniles, but again, I don't think this will be a factor. IMO, I would say it's more important for them to be raised together as juveniles, allowing the establishment of a (somewhat) natural pecking order. I think your tank will be fine. A 55gal (48"x12") is a bit more restrictive, but the extra depth (20") of your 80gal should be just fine for those fish.

:thumb:



The Warden said:


> Thank you for the reply.
> 
> So im looking at...
> 
> ...


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## The Warden (Jan 13, 2009)

Thank you very much for your reply.

Im going to give it a go, maybe swapping the salvini for severum.

Thanks again

Gaz


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## Tilapia2006 (Feb 10, 2009)

Eh, I don't know about the Severum in that mix. Maybe. They're very docile cichlids. I had a 17cm (almost 7") Severum in a 55gal with a tankful of Bleeding Heart Tetras, Serpae tetras, Black Neons and an angel, and he never touched one of them. Very docile and would eat from my hand.

A Severum may be okay once it outgrows the rest (can get about 12"). If you want to try one instead of the Salvini, -if it were me- I'd purchase the Severum slightly larger than the others. I was in PetsMart one time and they had the juvi Severums and Cons together - every Severum was crowding in the upper corners while the Cons ruled the tank. The Cons didn't have that power over the few Jacks in the tank. I know a pet store scenario is anecdotal at best, but I have had conversations with others who believe the juvi Severums are targeted by Cons due to the similar banding of juvi Severums.

But I do think it's workable if you get the Severum a little larger than the rest. In fact, it would probably work quite well if you dropped the Con - you could swap him for a Sajica or a Rainbow cichlid. Just another option.

We could always use more opinions. Where's everyone else at?



The Warden said:


> Thank you very much for your reply.
> 
> Im going to give it a go, maybe swapping the salvini for severum.
> 
> ...


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## The Warden (Jan 13, 2009)

I was originally thinking salvini, but then *'fish guy' *suggested severum. I had a read up and liked the idea.

Im not saying that any one person can be right or wrong, just that loads of people say different things.

A bloke at work told me the severum would be TOO AGGRESSIVE for the acara, firemouth and con!

I am almost settled on the severum, will take your advice and get one a little larger if possible.

If anyone else wants to jump in then please offer your opinion!

All replys are welcome

thanks

gaz


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## Tilapia2006 (Feb 10, 2009)

Honestly I think you're going to have a good setup whichever way you go. I have to admit, I am partial to Salvinis.

I've only had three Severum in my experience, and the only thing close to aggression that I saw was in one that was about 5in and for some reason didn't want my equally sized _Vieja melanurus_ to get close to him. He wouldn't pursue the _melanurus_ but would lunge at him when he got too close - but never lunged at the other inhabitants.

A lot has to do with individual fish personality. Sometimes that's underestimated in Cichlids. But I think raising them together from juveniles will get you a nice group of fish that you'll enjoy for years.



The Warden said:


> I was originally thinking salvini, but then *'fish guy' *suggested severum. I had a read up and liked the idea.
> 
> Im not saying that any one person can be right or wrong, just that loads of people say different things.
> 
> ...


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## CiChLiD LoVeR128 (Mar 22, 2006)

> I have to admit, I am partial to Salvinis.


Not as much as me!  :thumb:


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

CiChLiD LoVeR128 said:


> > I have to admit, I am partial to Salvinis.
> 
> 
> Not as much as me!  :thumb:


I don't think anyone is as partial to sals as you are *Cichlidlover*!!!! :lol:


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## Tilapia2006 (Feb 10, 2009)

CiChLiD LoVeR128 said:


> > I have to admit, I am partial to Salvinis.
> 
> 
> Not as much as me!  :thumb:


I concede. 

I see your sig and I must say - Awesome dedication to Salvinis my friend. I feel like they never get the recognition they deserve. I can't wait to see your Salvini website. 
:thumb:


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## CiChLiD LoVeR128 (Mar 22, 2006)

> I don't think anyone is as partial to sals as you are Cichlidlover!!!!


 :lol: Sometimes I feel part Salvini. :lol: :lol:

I am sure theres people out there that are crazy enough like me to have multiple pairs of Salvini and that are just as partial to them as I am. 



> I see your sig and I must say - Awesome dedication to Salvinis my friend. I feel like they never get the recognition they deserve. I can't wait to see your Salvini website.


Thank you! It's sad and true they don't get much recognition because everyone reads the websites about them and get scared off because they are "Nasty". I am having a hard time deciding what to do with the site. I want to make it a Salvini site and I also want to make it a business of breeding cichlids and selling them which I plan to do for a career like Jeff Rapps. So it's rather hard trying to figure it out plus I have school and work on top of it so I really haven't been working on the site very much at all...........  . What I think will happen is I will make the site for my business sell the Salvini fry from that site and make an information page of Salvini on that site but I guess I could always do two sites and link them together 8) .


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