South American Cichlids • 75 Gallon Stocking Ideas

[ncm13579]

Btw don't just blow off the Petcos and Petsmarts; they can vary greatly in quality and selection from store to store. Also, where in Jersey are you? There is a very good store in North Jersey and might be worth the trip for you. PM me if you want the name and I also have an online suggestion for you.

I just had the greatest experience with the local petco. Just got some tetras. One died within a week and I went to replace it and ended up having to return it because it got sick. Tested my water and it wasnt caused by me. And I live in point pleasant, NJ btw. If you have any local suggestions that would be fantastic.

[ncm13579]

So I used aqadvisor (don't know if it is actually reliable) and it told me that the following, based on tank size and filter, puts the stocking level at 84%:
- 2 keyhole cichlids
- 4 bolivian rams
- 10 black phantom tetras
- 10 bleeding heart tetras
- 6 kuhli loaches
- 6 upside down catfish
I was just playing around with the numbers to see what I could fit in the 75 gallon permanently. This seems a little excessive doesn't it? Or would something like this actually work longterm in a 75 g?

[fishboy75]

Honestly, it all depends on a couple things. Your filtration and also your willingness to do water changes. I have a very overstocked tank right now. I'm currently doing 80% water changes twice a week and its a 265 gallon tank. I like to keep nitrates 20 or less. I dont even test every week now; I can just see i need a water change after 3 or 4 days. More of a concern to me would be visual. Do they look cramped or does it look like the fish have enough room to swim and not have to avoid bumping into each other. Basically, does it look natural? So thats probably a few too many. And I know you're just playing around but if you're interested in the Upside down cats you could keep a single one. I had 4 in a 180 and they didn't seem to enjoy each others company much. They had different spots they hung out and would chase each other away.

[ncm13579]

Honestly, it all depends on a couple things. Your filtration and also your willingness to do water changes. I have a very overstocked tank right now. I'm currently doing 80% water changes twice a week and its a 265 gallon tank. I like to keep nitrates 20 or less. I dont even test every week now; I can just see i need a water change after 3 or 4 days. More of a concern to me would be visual. Do they look cramped or does it look like the fish have enough room to swim and not have to avoid bumping into each other. Basically, does it look natural? So thats probably a few too many. And I know you're just playing around but if you're interested in the Upside down cats you could keep a single one. I had 4 in a 180 and they didn't seem to enjoy each others company much. They had different spots they hung out and would chase each other away.

We are looking at the eheim 2217 canister filter for the 75 g. I also played around a little more to reduce the load in the tank and came up with this
- 2 keyhole cichlids
- 4 bolivian rams
- 3 upside down catfish (I read from a couple other people that they are better in groups so I have to do more research)
- 5-7 bleeding heart tetras
- 5-7 black phantom tetras (I'm hoping both types will school together)
- 4 zebra loaches (they're a little smaller than kuhli loaches)
If that is still too much, I might just keep out the catfish all together. I want this to be an active community tank with lots of life and some color without overloading the tank. This is also assuming that I can actually find these fish to purchase. I have a few stocking options now so it all depends on what is available. This whole project has been delayed because of the pandemic and I am still waiting for a stand so I can start cycling the tank. Hopefully by the time everything else is set up, some of the fish stores will restock their inventory,.

[fishboy75]

I'm a big fan of Eheim for its simplicity and durability. I have a 2213 that is about 30 years old and still in use. I just broke it out of storage earlier this year after almost 20 years when I setup some quarantine tanks and it still works great. For any of my tanks that are 40 or larger I always use 2 filters, even if its not necessarily needed. That way I don't worry if one should fail for some reason and that I don't affect the biological bacteria too much when I clean one filter. So if you're able to throw even a smaller hang on the back filter or another canister even better. If the 2217 is all you're going to use then I would recommend you stock a little more lightly than the proposed stock list above. Again, testing the Nitrate weekly should give you an idea of when and how much water you will need to change. If nitrates are staying under 20 for more than a week at a time you may be able to add more fish.

As far as the tetras schooling together, I would guess not. Sometimes when you have individual, different tetras they may shoal together a little. But from my past experience when I had larger groups of different types of tetras in the same tank, they stayed mainly with their own group. If they were frightened during a water change or from a larger fish then sometimes they would group together temporarily but that was about it.

Its possible the Upside down cats I had were all male and thats why they didn't particularly care for each other. There was never any physical damage, just a chase away when one got too close so you could definitely try 3. They arent going to physically hurt each other, I just didn't get the feeling they enjoyed or needed each others company. Others may have different experiences.