Stocking advice for 125 gallon SA tank

[colbywebre47]

I have a 125 gallon tank with sand and lots of plants, including swords, java ferns, wendetii, and anubias. The fish I have are a 10 inch ornate bichir, and a 6 inch zebra pike cichlid currently sectioned off until he grows bigger. Im looking to add maybe 2 more fish to my tank. I'm thinking a medium sized pleco like maybe a gold nugget seam pleco, and maybe a geophagus, but im not sure what species. What do you guys think? I think i need a dither for my pike cichlid and a little more movement in my tank, as right now both my fish just hide in the driftwood and plants. Maybe a larger species of tetra? I need something that swims in the upper to medium water column. Maybe a severum, but i DONT want anything that will come close to nipping my pike cichlids fins. Maybe a blue acara? are they peaceful? I'm not worried about my pike cichlid being aggressive, the zebra pike cichlid is known to be one of the more peaceful ones. I need yalls advice.

 

[TClare]

A severum or blue acara should be fine, though the severum would probably eat your plants, and the acara will spend most time near the bottom. Geophagus will also be at the bottom and might dig up plants. You might also consider a small group of Mesonauta (festivums), they swim mostly in the mid to upper regions and don’t cause any problems in my experience. I’m not sure how big tetras would have to be to not be eaten by the pike cichlid.