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300 gallon tank mates

8K views 50 replies 8 participants last post by  infoleather 
#1 ·
hi all im trying to decided on what to stock in my 300 gallon tank that i will be building soon. the tank will measure 72" long 36" wide and have a water height of 27" for a grand total of around 280 gallons but with sump it will be around 300. i am planing about 4x turnover rate, using PFS and drift wood and some rocks for decoration.

so my initial thoughts are:
a tiger oscar
a few firemouths
a few severums
a few Jack Dempseys
perhaps a few bala sharks

so what do you think of my fish choices? could i keep others? if so what would look cool and work well?

i have been keeping mbanas and peacocks for two years and learned the hard way of what works with them, so i want to do this tank right the first time
 
#3 ·
You have a lot of options with a tank that size, however it is still only a 6ft tank. If your making the tank, have you thought about maybe making it 7 or 8ft long and shortening the width? A tank 3ft wide will be pretty difficult to clean, plus I feel a longer length would be preferred by the fish over the extra width.

As for your mentioned stock, I think it could work well. Nothing overly aggressive in that list, however sine your wanting multiples of the same species you are most likely wanting pairs, correct? I would not have a "few" (meaning 3). I would stick with just pairs otherwise the unpaired fish will most likely have a lot of aggression directed towards it. So maybe something like this...

1x Oscar
4x Firemouths (2 pairs)
2x Severums (1 pair)
2x Jack Dempseys (1 pair)

You could then round out your stock with some sort of schooling fish such as Silver Dollars or Filament Barbs...
 
#4 ·
Since you are going for aren't going for an aggressive tank, and you aren't opposed to mixing from different areas, I'd only do 1 male JD instead of a pair. I'd keep the 1 pair of Severums and 1 pair of FM, with a pair of Rainbow cichlids. And I'd add a harem of Copadichromis Borleyi, fromLake Malawi. It's a relatively peaceful Utaka (open water plankton/invertebrate eater) that grows to about 8 inches. There are a few color varieties available on the market. You could also just do a single male. One of the really great things about this species...it will help eat the small food particles that will be spewed from the Oscar's gills. The fish is also very outgoing and is a mid water swimmer. Even when breeding, they are relative peaceful. They are also pretty fast growing.
 
#5 ·
yea i think pairs would be best im still debating the jack Dempsey. i really like the rainbow and the sajica.

so what do you think of
1 oscar
2 firemouth
2 severum
2 rainbow
2 sajica
1 jack dempsey
5 bala shark

also for the tank size i am kinda confined to that size based on the wall we are putting the tank on i could perhaps add a foot to the length but thaw would be it. im not overly concerned with the cleaning part i have pretty long arms
 
#8 ·
That stock list could potentially work, although when the 4 pairs begin spawning you may run into some problems with aggression. The way you scape the tank will strongly dictate how well everyone gets along. You simply won't know until you try it though, so give it a go and remove fish as needed. I would definitely add a foot to the length as well if possible.

I personally would replace the Bala Sharks with Silver Dollars. The SDs stay smaller and won't contribute as much to your bioload. I also I feel they will fair better with the cichlids. I would then remove the lone male JD and the pair of rainbows in place of a pair of Hypsophrys nicaraguensis.

I'm not really a firm believe in adding a "clean up crew" as they create their own fair share of waste. The majority of your cichlids will sift and eat off the substrate so bottom feeders like catfish are not really needed. The extent of my "clean up crews" is a single Bristle Nose Pleco. That's all I would suggest for your tank as well unless you simply WANT a catfish.
 
#10 ·
ok i think i have my stock list then.

i really like the balas and have not had a tank big enough for them so i would like to try and keep them. what would you think of a raphael cat or two in this tank?

here is a pic of the stump i have for the tank. it is huge measuring about 5 feet long 28 inches tall and 20 inches wide
 
#15 ·
well i have to say thank you for your help i am defiantly looking forward to starting this tank. what do you feed your fish? i will have a build thread going on another forum and if you want i can send you the link to it once i get it going. its just one of the those things that trying to update two different forums is a pain.

also i will have one other inhabitant in the tank that most people scoff at which is a western painted turtle. he did great with my mbanas so i dont foresee any issues with him in this tank
 
#16 ·
I feed my cichlids a variety of pellets consisting of NLS Thera A, Hikari Cichlid Gold, Hikari Sinking Wafers and Hikari Sinking Carnivore Pellets.

Where is your build thread at, MFK?

I actually have kept MANY aquatic turtles over the years as that's actually all I use to keep. I have slowly been downsizing and am down to two aquariums. I am finding I enjoy cichlids more so I have sold off all but one of my turtles, which is a Razorback Musk. I found it hard to create a nice cichlid tank when trying to have a turtle in the tank as well. They are very destructive and require a basking area and UVB as I'm sure you know...
 
#19 ·
I would personally use almost anything from Astheros line over your firemouths - similar size and shapes and temperament, but 5x more beautiful.

As far as Catfish for that thank size, I wouldn't use raphs they will never come out of that wood structure haha. I might consider something like a Oxydoras Niger, (Ripsaw Catfish) They are like these leather armored catfish who are actually gentle brutes. They grow very slowly as long as you don't over feed. They are excellent natural cleaners, and they are actually quite personable, as mine comes up and eats from my hands like a Koi fish in a pond sometimes. You have a mid level stock as far as aggression so you are genuinely setting yourself up for success here and I wish you the best. But by all means with that size I would encourage you to get a fish to two that's out of the norm. You can find firemouth anytime, anywhere. Oscars are a worthy inhabitant just because, well, they are awesome and your fish will likely become a true wet pet always upfront in the glass. The shape and wood look great too, but even with that setup, a breeding pair or 2 can cause some issues.

GL with your build.
 
#20 ·
rotccapt said:
so what would you think about ditching the jack and adding a salvini pair?
It is certainly possible in a tank your size as I have bred both JD and salvini many times with other CA tankmates in tanks that are much smaller then yours. Salvini in 6 ft. 180 gal., 6 ft 125 gal., 4 ft 100 gal. JD many years ago (1970's) in 5 ft. 90 gal and 4 1/2 ft. 60 gal.
IMO, JD have been pumped out by the thousands apon thousands and are often not the aggressive fish they were in the past. Unlike other CA, there has been a steady market for them for a long, long time. JD I have had in more recent years were not very aggressive, not very capable and did not breed nor own territory in my tanks. IMO and IME, a salvini pair is a step up in aggression, even over the JD I have had a long time ago.
A breeding pair can put some pressure on a tank. Never kept salvini with firemouth or severum. IME, these are 2 fishes that did not do well, long term, with very large aggressive CA like Trimac, RD/midas, black belt ect. .........and that's with out any breeding in the tank.

I wouldn't expect, long term, a salvini pair will let another CA/SA breed in the same tank......unless they can really back it up with some force! As a dominant fish they can be quite laid back but IME, even lone males, if someone is willing to fight them, they will go out of there way looking for a scrap. In my tanks, over the course of a few years, they have stopped my convicts from breeding.....fought them until the convicts loose. I no longer house them with any intent on keeping other CA with them, long term. Only sometimes, other young CA growing up, short term. I have kept this species for over 10 years now, and find that mbuna, IME, make much better tankmates for salvini, then other CA.
 
#21 ·
thank you for the information on these guys. when i first started looking at these guys i was considering an oscar or two and a festea and a few others but even though the festea was beautiful most people said it would not work out. well now that i found the salvini i think it looks almost as good as the festea.

so how does this sound?

1 oscar
2 salvini
2 Hypsophrys Nicaraguansis
6 rainbow
2 sajica
5 bala shark
1:4 herm of acei

i am also planning on adding a few rock piles to make a bit more territory in the tank. for the background i am planning a foam/drylock layered rock wall with lots of overhangs and caves
 
#22 ·
rotccapt said:
1 oscar
2 salvini
2 Hypsophrys Nicaraguansis
6 rainbow
2 sajica
5 bala shark
1:4 herm of acei
Well, IME, a rainbow cichlid is definately the most timid and unaggressive CA cichlid I have ever kept. In the past, mine got bullied quite a bit by other CA, especially by firemouths. Nics are not very tough either, though they have done O.K. in my tanks. Males do get quite large, around 10" eventually. Sajica is another CA that is generally seen as a less aggressive CA, though I have no personal experience with them.

With salvini and an mbuna (even one that is considered less aggressive such as acei) I would be much more inclined to consider a little tougher CA like spilirum(or cutteri), JD or even FM rather then rainbows or sajica. Though you never know how something will work out unless you try it. 300 gal. is a good size tank and there is always the possibility that something less aggressive such as rainbows (or Sajica?) will be seen as less of a threat and largely ignored. Though in general, expect CA to focus their attention on other CA, especially of the same sex and similar size.
 
#23 ·
so if i stick with this stock, in what order would you add them to the tank. i will have to add them one species at a time. i would think that the lower aggressive ones first so they can get the feel for the tank before the more aggressive ones take over
 
#24 ·
rotccapt said:
so if i stick with this stock, in what order would you add them to the tank. i will have to add them one species at a time. i would think that the lower aggressive ones first so they can get the feel for the tank before the more aggressive ones take over
Well if you have to add them one at a time, rainbows first and salvinis last. Lot's of space for small juvies though, so generally not so critical the order you stock young juvies in a 300 gal. I suppose if you wanted to give your less aggressive CA some kind of advantage over the salvini, you could wait a couple years and then add the salvini as young juvies.....but they would still be likely to take over the tank with in a year or so.

Bala sharks certainly could be stocked first. I think they are a little feeble, until they have put some size on.
 
#25 ·
rotccapt said:
so how does this sound?

1 oscar
2 salvini
2 Hypsophrys Nicaraguansis
6 rainbow
2 sajica
5 bala shark
1:4 herm of acei
The addition of the Salvini could potentially cause some issues down the road. I had a female that was ruthless and was very aggressive, however again, you won't know until you try it I suppose. As for the Nics, I feel they are actually very underrated as far as aggression goes. My pair dominates my tank and they can be quite pugnacious at times. They rarely go looking for a fight but they certainly won't let anyone bully them. I feel the Sajica will be able to hold their own as well and the Rainbows being the only ones to really watch. Having a group of 6 is a good idea as I have found that they really like the company of their own. I have a group of 2 males and 4 females and they are consonantly at each others sides.

I personally would not add the Africans to the mix but I'm a bit of a purist I suppose. I don't even like mixing CA and SA cichlids... :roll:
 
#26 ·
CjCichlid said:
As for the Nics, I feel they are actually very underrated as far as aggression goes. My pair dominates my tank and they can be quite pugnacious at times. I feel the Sajica will be able to hold their own
Well it's all relative...compared to what? A nic would certainly be a very aggressive fish compared to many fishes kept in aqauriums. But compared to many CA cichlids, I would disagree. Of course with the likes of rainbows, firemouths, and some JD..... no doubt a pair of nics might dominate and seem quite aggressive. And very young fish in a tank for a few months .....really can't draw any conclusions from that. The time frame...many years, not a few months. Bottom line, IMO, a nic is not a very aggressive CA .....not even remotely in the same league, as say, something like a trimac.

As young fish, all sorts of possibilities in terms of pecking orders and fishes able to hold territories. But I have a hard time seeing sajicas being able to 'hold there own' with large adult salvini seeing that in my tanks, very large adult convicts are not able to do so. Neither are mature pairs of jewels. My salvini pairs have held territory against a 13" male dovii and 13 3/4" male Tilapia zilli.....and actually been the aggressors against such opponents, always pushing for more space. When I had pairs of oscars (1 male paired up with 3 different females at various times) with my salvinis in a 180 gal., early on the oscars attempted to claim a space in the middle of the tank. The fight between the male sal and large male oscar lasted only a few hours....I've actually never seen a fish get that damaged as both sides of the oscar were almost completely de-scaled. The oscars packed up and moved to the far left side of the tank and shared less the 1/4 of the tank with 2 pairs of cons.....though after the incident the male sal did have more respect for the oscars then he ever did before.
 
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