Small CA tank

Q&A About Central American Cichlids

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bacon
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Apr 06, 2011 2:00 am

Small CA tank

Post by bacon »

Hello Pam, I have a 95.5 ga tank, 63"x14"x25". The filters are two Fluval 405 external canisters. Water ph is 7. I've set up a central american bio-tope with sand/gravel mix, river stones, some Val and Anubis plants and bogwood roots forming caves. I do 50% weekly water changes. I'm interested in keeping small central american species(around six inches). My current stock is;
2- firemouths, m 4"/f 3" (bonded but no spawning yet)
3- rainbow cichlids, 1m 2"/ 2 fm 1.5"
4- green swordtails , 2m 3.5"/ 2 fm 3"

I just purchased online a breeding pair of Sajicas, 3-4". Do you think I will be successful with this mix, and am I overcrowded once they max out in size? I've had no aggression problems yet, but I hav'nt received the Sajicas yet. All my research has said these fish should co-exist peacefully. What are your thoughts?

I also have two Herichyths Deppi at 2-2.5",unknown sex, in a 16 ga tank. What's their max size? ( I've read anywhere from 5" to 10") I have not found much information on them, but have read they are not as aggressive as other Herichtyhs sp. Could they be placed in the 95 ga.? I know they will out grow their current tank and I will probably trade them to the lfs if they don't work out. Thanks in advance for your input.
Pam Chin
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Re: Small CA tank

Post by Pam Chin »

Hi Bacon,

That sounds like a nice tank! Its really hard to say what will happen when you add the pair of Sajica's to the mix. Most of these young centrals are sexually mature at 12- 16 months old. Long before they reach their larger sizes. The best scenario would be if the sajica's claim a corner of the tank, and then that leaves more area for your other fish. To help insure that happens, you may want to make some caves, or add some flower pots or the popular spawning caves to the ends of your tank. The last thing you want is for them to pick a cave right in the middle of the tank, where they won't let fish by and the rest of your fish are stuck in the ends of the tank. Make sure you do a major water change and rearrange your caves when you add the pair to the tank. Keep an eye on it for a few days and make sure no one is getting trashed.

Good luck, with those sajica' they are fun to work with! Looks like you have some other nice stuff coming up to, I love the firemouths and the Herotilapia multispinosa. I think the deppi are going to get larger, 8 "+ but are billed as peaceful. You might want to try some nicaraguensis or neets would be fun, as well as anything herichthys or thorichthys

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