# My 100 Gallon experiment tank - Finally set up



## marinerm10 (Feb 2, 2010)

Hi Everyone,

For the past 12 months or so I have been slowly developing an American set up based around some of my favourite species.

As a keeper I have tried to experiment as much as possible and will be the first to admit that I am not completely experienced. But if something went wrong I was always quick to correct the errors and remove any of the problems.

I have finally managed to get hold of all of my favourite species and a new larger set up.

I transferred the old water from my 75 gallon to a new 100 gallon along with 25 gallons worth of new water.

My stock is, for the size of my set up, not recommended but this is a risk I am willing to take and one that I am also as suggested previously, able to correct if need be.

It will be closely monitored and I will remove anything that becomes either to aggressive or is not completely healthy as a result. For now the entire set up is very peaceful and there is no aggression whatsoever. I guess part of this experiment is to determine whether or not over crowding can be achieved with American Cichlids.

My final stock is as follows and the current sizes are indicated:

*Midas* - Amphilophus Citrinellus 3.5 inch
*Oscar* - Astronotus ocellatus 7 inch
*Texas* - Herichtys Carpintis 5.5 inch
*Jack Dempsey* - Rocio Octofasciata 7 inch male
*Jack Dempsey* - Rocio Octofasciata 5.5 inch female
*Jaguar* - Parachromis Managuense 5 inch

Here are some photos of my set up -



















My final recruit - baby Midas 3.5 inch.










Lively, hyper-active Herichtys Carpintis










Breeding pair of Jacks - successfully bred in there with fellow occupants and strange to say, not much aggression at all. They had their own nest that I created. I put nets around the gaps to stop the fry from swimming out to far and left a gap small enough for the female to leave. It worked very well. I believe that she ended up eating the fry herself though.










My biggest challenge will be to keep the peace with the Midas in there long term but I will have another set up for it by the time it reaches 5 - 6 inch - in case it starts to get to aggressive.

So yes I am breaking the rules but I want to see if I can create a nice balanced set up, i.e no fighting or aggression with those particular species co-existing.

I know it depends on the invididual but Oscars and Jack Dempseys seem to be a perfect balance. They both are not concerned by each other despite being the same size and potential competition for food.

The Carpintis occasionaly chases the Midas for now but nothing to serious. The Jaguar is keeping himself to himself.

My Jack Dempsey pair have their own area and the others don't seem to challenge for it.

I believe that as long as there is no competition in there and they are all invididual specimens with their own colours then it could work out. To any keeper starting out, don't try this unless you want to take the risk like me. Listen to the other members on here who will tell you that on average it won't be possible. It is only on rare occasions, experimenting with the individual fish not the type of fish, that it may work out.

Thanks for looking


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## ClearMud (Nov 6, 2010)

Those are beautiful fish I like your JD the best but that's because those are my favorite fish ever.

nice fish :thumb: 
:fish:


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## marinerm10 (Feb 2, 2010)

Thanks Clearmud. Yeah Jack Dempseys are my favourite Cichlid by far - their behavior, looks and size are perfect. They don't grow to big but don't stay to small. And both males and females look as good as each other in my opinion.


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## irondan (Nov 22, 2007)

great looking tank. i especially like the jd's and tex


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## cichlid_kid96 (Nov 22, 2010)

did ur texas always have spots that size just wondering because i have 4 and mine dont have spot that big yet and there not that dark colored. mine are only about 3" my biggest one is about 4"


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## marinerm10 (Feb 2, 2010)

Cichlid_kid96 - yeah it has always had spots even when it was 3/4 of an inch. Though they were just not as detailed. He is a very dominant cichlid though so he is constantly displaying his colours. How big is yours?

I would say mine developed more facial markings arong the 4" mark and he is approaching 6" now.


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## simo1973 (Jul 22, 2007)

looks like a great set up,
i once had a 5 ft x 2ft x 2ft, and in there i had a 10 inch oscar 6inch green terror a 5 inch red devil and a 4 inch convict.
and very large plec.
that was my fav set up. i fancy doing again some day.
*** got a group of malawi dolphins at the moment , they look nice but lack intrest for me.
some day eh lol.


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## cichlid_kid96 (Nov 22, 2010)

my largest texas is about 4" hes grown alot since i first got him at 2" about 2 months ago if u want to see a pic of him look under post ur ca cichlid pics here. i have one thats constantly in breeding colors hes my second biggest texas


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## marinerm10 (Feb 2, 2010)

They are fast growers - I am amazed. I think it is because nothing phases them they are just so confident.

When I put mine in he was dwarfed by his tank-mates they were so much bigger than him and he just bided his time and is now very dominant.

Mine is only around 9 months old so in 12 months time he could be quite a big guy.


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## cichlid_kid96 (Nov 22, 2010)

yes i cant wait for mine to get big hope i end up with a breeding pair i think it would be so cool to watch them breed


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## cichlid_kid96 (Nov 22, 2010)

marinerm10 is ur texas a cyanogattatus or a carpintis mine are cyanogattatus.


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## marinerm10 (Feb 2, 2010)

Mine is a Carpintis - male


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## cichlid_kid96 (Nov 22, 2010)

thats probably why mine look different lol :lol:


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## cichlid_kid96 (Nov 22, 2010)

i should have read the whole post before i asked i just noticed u mentioned it was a carpintis


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## marinerm10 (Feb 2, 2010)

Yeah there is quite a difference between the two visually to me.

Both excellent Cichlids though - got any pics of yours?


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## cichlid_kid96 (Nov 22, 2010)

hers one pic

http://i1224.photobucket.com/albums/ee3 ... 065687.jpg


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## cichlid_kid96 (Nov 22, 2010)




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## cichlid_kid96 (Nov 22, 2010)

the top photo i believe is male bottom i believe is female


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## marinerm10 (Feb 2, 2010)

Nice - I saw your thread on those two. They look nice.

Ever owned Carpintis before? I was wondering if there was much difference in their temperament.


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## cichlid_kid96 (Nov 22, 2010)

no *** never owned a carpintis i actually have never seen them in any of the lfs's around here lol mine are pretty nice to my tankmates but *** heard people say they can be pretty mean. they do chase sometimes.


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## marinerm10 (Feb 2, 2010)

I found mine in a tank with your type of Texas at my lfs - there was just one Carpintis in there. The guy at the store said it came in by mistake as they didnt order it - so I was lucky! He was bullying everything lol.


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## cichlid_kid96 (Nov 22, 2010)

thats some good luck lol so u probably payed the price of a cyanogattatus. i love my texas though lol my biggest one turned all black he got a lil beat up by my convicts because they are breeding


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## marinerm10 (Feb 2, 2010)

I paid around Ã‚Â£6.49 so that is around $10. To me it seemed cheap.

I am still really amazed by its growth rate. You know how when other Cichlids take a couple of years to grow big and you don't really notice it until you look at old photos of them and think, wow look how big he/she has become...........

Well my Carpintis just shot to 5 inch in a matter of 4 months from half an inch. Stunning growth.

At the moment he seems to think he owns the aquarium. He's hit 5.5 inch. If he gets to 9" I will be very happy.


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## xXGrEeNxTeRrOrXx (Jan 25, 2006)

> Midas - Amphilophus Citrinellus 3.5 inch
> Oscar - Astronotus ocellatus 7 inch
> Texas - Herichtys Carpintis 5.5 inch
> Jack Dempsey - Rocio Octofasciata 7 inch male
> ...


None of these fish are adults.... I would be expecting some serious aggression in 2-3 months. By then, the Jag will be roughly 7-8 inches and sexually mature, the midas will be about 6-7 inches and "snapping", and the oscar will probably be close to 10 inches and he'll just be in the way too much lol.

What exactly is it you hope to derive from said experiment?


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## marinerm10 (Feb 2, 2010)

I am going to see if I can get them all to co-exist. If there are squabbles over territory then thats fine but like I said as soon as there are any issues in there some will come out.


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## xXGrEeNxTeRrOrXx (Jan 25, 2006)

marinerm10 said:


> I am going to see if I can get them all to co-exist.


For how long? Forever just isn't going to happen, I can tell you that right now. 100 gallons just isn't enough room. It will be difficult to maintain water quality after a year or so.

Some of those fish in your stock can get huge. I have seen some big big oscars... 16 inches, same with Jags... and Midas are just plain psyco... I hate to be the nay-sayer here, but I just don't think this is going to be a long term situation.


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## marinerm10 (Feb 2, 2010)

*xXGrEeNxTeRrOrXx* - I understand your concerns and I do realise that some of them will get nasty or to big for the tank and once that happens I will remove them. I might only be left with two or three in there in the end.


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## xXGrEeNxTeRrOrXx (Jan 25, 2006)

Understood. Keep us updated. I'd like to know how the JD's breeding goes.


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## marinerm10 (Feb 2, 2010)

I can't see them breeding again in this set up - they wont ever feel comfortable in there.


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