Stocking ideas(75 gal & 45 gal)

[SocalCichlid]

Hello all! This is my first post so I apologize if I did something wrong. Anyways, I picked up 2 aquariums with stands and one fluval 406 a few weeks back to get myself back in the hobby and I wanted some stocking idea from you all. I have a 75gal tall [48×12×30] and a 45 gal [48×12×18] and was wondering what you guys think would be best. I've always likes American Cichlids but I know I'm limited with the 75gal especially since it's only 12" wide. I was thinking of having just one male Red Devil Cichlid and a pleco or a red devil/Oscar pair and a pleco or some sort of large central American cichlid like a Jack Dempsey, green terror, Texas cichlid etc. OR make the 75 gal a community assorted African cichlid tank. How do you guys think I should go about stocking my 75 gal? Also, would my fluval 406 be sufficient on it's own?

And as for the 45 gal, I was thinking of keeping some smaller American cichlids like a pair of firemouths and pink convicts with some other assorted fish. Or should I go planted and have some peaceful colorful fish like Cory's, tetras, discus, angelfish etc. Ill also be needing filtration and tips on a planted tank as I've never had a planted setup before.

Looking forward to hearing everyone's opinions!! Thank you!

 

[Noroomforshoe]

If you are going to try discus, you need the bigger tank for that.

You could do Angels cories tetras in the 45. There are also many new rainbow fish you might be interested in, or loaches, and others. What is the Ph of your tank/water sorce?

 

[SocalCichlid]

I'm just getting ideas. The tanks aren't set up yet. I still need to clean the 45 out and move them to their permanent spots inside then start the new tank cycling process.

 

[ProudPapa]

One of the local stores has a display tank with mostly rainbows and Congo tetras. It looks pretty good. I'm considering that stocking for the 65 gallon I got for Christmas. (Along with a good-sized school of corys, of course. Gotta have corys.)

 

[Molasses]

I faced the same decisions as you did this past year lol. This year I've set up a 75 gallon and 55g.

For the 75g, how about something like a Severum? It's big and beautiful enough to be a centerpiece cichlid, and it's peaceful enough to be kept with some dither fish like rainbowfish and barbs or another cichlid or two of decent nature. Lots of options with it.

For the 45g, if you're looking for a SA cichlid the Electric Blue Acara is beautiful and fits perfectly. Can also be put with many other schooling fish and all fit well in a 45.

Not knowledgeable on Africans but they definitely work in a 75g. The rest of your options sound great though. Not sure about the red devil with the oscar, I could see that not working when they're adults. The discus would also need to be in the 75 if you did them. If you like the look of them though, check out the Severums like I mentioned above.

Good luck with your tanks, keep us updated!

 

[Corydork]

I like the idea of a 75 y’all cichlid tank, you could probably have a few peacock cichlids in there.

As for the 45 gallon, you may enjoy it planted with 10 cories, a few halfbeaks and some Rasboras.