martynmarion

I have a 75 gal. tank that I am making into an african cichlid tank. I currently have 6, working my way up to 10-15, possibly to overstock to eliminate some of the aggression that I am sure will occur as these fellows mature. A buddy is moving and wants to get rid of his 4" long rainbow shark. What are the chances that I can put him into this tank, which is filled with fake plants, one piece of driftwood, and numerous rocks for caves? Thanks.

Cody

well what type of african cichlids are they. assuming that there adult sizes are with in 4 to 5 inchs you wouldnt be over stocked but you would have nice set up for cichlids, if yo ugot ten fishest thats adult sizes were 5 inches that only 50 inches of fish and that give you 25 gallons to spear. but with cichlids i would say ten to 15 is the limt. beucase they can be a bit more messy and agressive liek you already know. i think a rainbow shark would do fine in there. as long as there are some nice hiding places. a 75 gallon is a big tank and should give enough room for the fish to live seperate lives. i would watch it at first they might fight alittle bit just to astabilish some dominance in the tank just try to make sure no one gets hurt. but i would give you the ok

Allie

I had a red tailed shark in with mine 2 years ago...but the africans were to young & the rts kept chasing them to the point of being stressed out. I think a rts would be fine with full grown Africans. Plus the color contrast looks nice.

martynmarion

all of my africans are 'supposed' to reach 4-5" maximum. I thought 15 or less would stock it well, as I am doing water changes weekly of 10-20%. I just didn't know if the shark would fit in, but I guess I can give it a try and just watch closely. All of the current cichlids are 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 inches with the shark noticeably bigger. Allie: do you think this will work if I add another 3 or 4 cichlids before I add the shark? This would give the shark 9 or 10 cichlids to chase and hopefully spread out the aggression.

Cody

iknow the ? is for allie but i would get all the cichlids in there first and let them get astabilshed so when the shark goes in there it doesnt get made if new arivals goes on its turf