Overstock vs Dithers

In seeing some recent tanks that madness and fish_n_vw have going I have been debating on changing my stock a little bit.

Original stock plan:
Midas x1
Argentea x1
Pearsei x1 (Do not have yet, bocourti also an option)
Silver dollars as dithers x5
Pleco x1

After seeing the other tanks that were overstocked with only cichlids I am wondering if I should ditch the dithers and just go with the cichlids... Thoughts?

Note: when I say "overstocked", I am not using it in the negative way that it can mean, for both fishbox members take wonderful care of of their fish. I am using the term in the sense of having more fish to help spread aggression.

So how many large type cichlids would work out in the 210g with 2 Fx5's on it? I was thinking 5...

Possible ideas to replace the dithers with:
bifasciatus
zonatus

I'm just rambling at this point, your thoughts and recommendations please.

DMD123 wrote:In seeing some recent tanks that madness and fish_n_vw have going I have been debating on changing my stock a little bit.

Original stock plan:
Midas x1
Argentea x1
Pearsei x1
Silver dollars as dithers x5
Pleco x1

After seeing the other tanks that were overstocked with only cichlids I am wondering if I should ditch the dithers and just go with the cichlids... Thoughts?

Note: when I say "overstocked", I am not using it in the negative way that it can mean, for both fishbox members take wonderful care of of their fish. I am using the term in the sense of having more fish to help spread aggression.

So how many large type cichlids would work out in the 210g with 2 Fx5's on it? I was thinking 5... LOTS

Possible ideas to replace the dithers with: YES BOTH
bifasciatus
zonatus

I'm just rambling at this point, your thoughts and recommendations please.

[b]

Well as you know I have a few in my 210. Lets compare inches. I also have 2 canister filters, (1 - Fx5 & Ebay special rated @ 550 gph) plus 1-Aqua clear 110.
I have in there:
RTM @ 9"
RTM @ 8"
RTM @ 4"
Freddies x 2 @ 6"
Freddies x 2 @ 5"
Dovii @ 5"
Carpintis x 2 @ 6"
Red Texas x 2 @ 4"
Cubans x 2 @ 3"
Choco Pleco @ 5"
Blythe loaches x 3 @ 4"
Total inches 74" in Cichlids 17" more in bottom fish. Total 91"

With your current stock plan I would guess you have about 20" in Cichlids, 15" in dithers, & 5" in bottom fish. Total 40"

Im not saying that my tank is perfect, but all my tanks range right around the same. So with that said, ditch the dithers and get yourself 1-Pearsi (cause they get big), 2-Bifa's(one of the more mellow Paratheraps), 1-Zonatus(can be aggressive), 2-Bocourti(also more on the mellow side). All at the same time and all ranging 3-5".

That would put you around 50+" in just Cichlids. (Perfect) The Midas (though mellow) will still be alpha male and all will know it. And just think of all the color in that tank. Midas(orange), Zonatus(blues), Bocourtii(org,grn,yell), Bifa's(reds and blues), Pearsi(yellows and greens and browns), Argentea(beautiful silverish white)

Then add some bottom feeders. (like a hand full of loaches, or a rapheal cat or something that stays small or grows slow).

Thats what I think.

Thanks, madness.

I have been looking at how the dithers get chased and huddle on one side of the tank and I think what a waste. They are cool shaped because 3 of them are the red hooks but they really have no personality. I was hoping they would move around more, but they dont. They are kind of a waste of tankspace.

How about small to medium cichlids? Any suggestions?

I have seen pictures of a yellow Convict variant that looked really nice, also like Cutteri. Owned a Salvini until he mysteriously was beat to death right at the time I got the new Argentea

Any other suggestions?

The cons or con look alikes are nice and all. I even owned several Cutteri (thanks VW) but found that I had know where for them to go. If you could designate a 100gal to just the smaller cichs, that would be cool. Cons, HRP's, Sajica, Cutteri, and many others. But they dont survive with the big boys.

I have an adult male cutteri I will just give you. I like the direction your going...... and thanks for the props. I like the suggestion from madness. Bocourti are very nice, pearsei too. The bifas are super cool and the zonatus can be aggresive.... I am partial to all fish in the parachromis family though... I think a fred or loisellei could fit in there somewhere. There much smaller and not as aggresive as the other three. Also something to consider, keeping smaller fish is a lot of fun, I have my meeki that you saw with some big guys and they have lived with big guys for years, my aureus are really peaceful and I think my bocourti is exceptionally mellow and that's why its in there with them. By yellow convict do you mean the nanos?

madness wrote:The cons or con look alikes are nice and all. I even owned several Cutteri (thanks VW) but found that I had know where for them to go. If you could designate a 100gal to just the smaller cichs, that would be cool. Cons, HRP's, Sajica, Cutteri, and many others. But they dont survive with the big boys.

Btw, I waseent stepping on toes as a response to your comment. Actually dident even see it. So some people have had success and others have not in keeping the smaller guys with the bigger guys. I find that introducing the smaller guys first and letting them establish themselves for a few months before adding the big guys has made a big diffrence in them getting on alright in with the big guys. Although this is irritating because you have a really big tank with just a few little fish in it. But the results are houseing smaller fish with larger ones. My meekii live with my managuenses (f), freddy (m), loisellei (m), and large black belt for a time in my 125. There were no problems ever. And his was a pretty rough tank. But I put the meekii in first and let them find a spot, kept them n there about 6 weeks and then added all the others all at once. So the meekiii were allready comfy and knew were to defend and there two mouths vs one has helped a lot as well I think. Then the bigger guys worry about eachother because they don't want to go deal with those comfy fish , while they are acclimating.. I have had success. You could try I but I don't think you want to wait untill the smaller fish are acclimated. Any way good luck. And keep us up to speed I'm excited to see this tank come together.

Right now the Midas has no issues with the small Argentea and there is a huge size difference. He's big enough not to be eaten and smart enough to get out of the way when the Midas wants to eat. So I have no issue introducing the smaller types of cichlids with him. But long term I could see issues as my other fish get larger how would they handle the smaller cichlids. I can already tell the Argentea is going to be a little butthead, made himself right at home when it came to chasing the silver dollars and he bit me the other day when I put bloodworms in the tank. So Im sure he will have issues later. (He is still finicky, wont touch pellets)

So my thoughts on my stock are still in the air. I had some freddy ( gave to me as loisellei), in fact had got 4 of them, lost 2 due to getting inside a decor piece and hurting themselves and had to put the other 2 down due to them having seizures. Also had an RTM which I really liked but was a bit too aggressive. So I would not rule out a freddy or loisellei in the new mix.

For some reason I want something yellow in the tank thus the yellow convict: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Would also consider the thorichthys pasionis yellow meeki, or one of the really yellow freddy.

fish_n_vw, thanks for the offer on the Cutteri, I may take you up on it... but I'm not sure yet.

Yup, those are nanoluteus. There very small growing, and that may be a good thing, using a structure of stones you could construct an area in the tank to small for larger fish to go. The nano, using instinct will allwyas hang near the structure and retreat quickly when they feel threatend. I would do this only with a matched pair or a solo fish (haveing an unmatched pair or two solo fish would cause disputes over the "safe spot" and one would be driven out into preditory waters). And be prepared to not see it all the time as any fast movement will trigger it to dart into the "safe place". I plan to do this one day with breeding dovii and neets. I also plan to do this fairly soon with my mannys and a pair of convicts.

I have always liked convicts esp. a good looking little male with distinct stripes and a little hump head. I found the perfect one and it got beat to death by the fene's and freddies that I had at the time. There is also I guy up in the Seattle area (posts on craigslist often, breeds flowerhorns) that has marbled males with little hump heads that I have thought about picking one up from him.

I am seriously considering getting rid of the silver dollars at this point. I know for sure I am keeping my Midas and Argentea. I would like the Pearsei in the mix just because of temperment and shear size, would also consider a bocourti but I think it might be a little more aggressive than the Pearsei . I would possibly add a bifa and zonatus to that list or something else larger (would consider an albino oscar) and maybe a small group of yellow meeki.

I still have plenty of time to decide since I still have the 120g as a backup. Soon I will also have a 29g available also for any emergency issues.