When to upgrade?

I have had a shy/docile SRT but chases her tank mates (3 juvenile BP's) at times. IF I wanted to add a small (3 inch) EBJD, how long do I have till I absolutely HAVE to get a bigger tank. I am thinking I would like to get one this fall. Also, when I upgrade, what size would be good? I don't want to have to get a bigger tank again, but I also don't want to get a 150 right now..I was thinking more along the lines of a 120.. The spot I'd like to put it is only big enough for a 4 foot long tank. Could I get away with having a 100 gallon?

Any thoughts/suggestions appreciated.
Thanks!

 

if you could type the whole name of the fish that'd be great

 

Fall is just a couple months away already. If you are able to upgrade by then, I would think you would be just fine.

What would the full stock of the tank be?

 

if you could type the whole name of the fish that'd be great

Sorry, SRT is Super Red Texas Cichlid, and BP is Blood parrot cichlid.

 

Fall is just a couple months away already. If you are able to upgrade by then, I would think you would be just fine.

What would the full stock of the tank be?

It would be 1 6" SRT, 3-4 BPs, 1 pleco, 1 4" rainbow shark and 1 Electric Blue Jack Dempsey (juvi.)

 

I wouldn't put those fish in a 4 foot tank whether it was 55 or 550. 4 feet is just not enough room to safely put a red texas in a tank with any other cichlids. Once that texas gets mature and large enough (they get up to 12 inches normally) they will make short work of those parrots. The jack dempsey may have a better shot but those parrots won't. You'd need a 6 foot tank before I would even consider a texas with parrots.

 

I wouldn't put those fish in a 4 foot tank whether it was 55 or 550. 4 feet is just not enough room to safely put a red texas in a tank with any other cichlids. Once that texas gets mature and large enough (they get up to 12 inches normally) they will make short work of those parrots. The jack dempsey may have a better shot but those parrots won't. You'd need a 6 foot tank before I would even consider a texas with parrots.

Well normally yes, but this SRT is not normal..she does chase them sometimes, but she mainly just chases to get them out of her corner..she probably won't get any bigger than she is now (6-7"). She has been with them for about a week now, and all has gone smooth so far. I won't add anything else until I get a bigger tank if that's what I need to do. My LFS guys think the SRT got some sort of ammonia poisoning (or something..) because she isn't your typically behaved SRT. She is shy, spooked easily, has no interest in mating and is scared of other big fish and not very eager for food.

 

well you know your fishes' personalities better than I do. But typically these texas cichlids are some of the more aggressive cichlids you can get. It is typically recommended to only have 1 for a 4 foot tank with no other cichlids. With the amount of cichlids you want, when these fish are full grown, you are going to want a 6 foot tank minimum. Maybe a 5 foot tank

And with the texas only being in there a week it could still be very scared of the new surroundings. But when it gets comfortable the personality could change...quickly.

 

What if I were to get a 120 that's 60 inches long?

 

Definitely better than a 4 foot tank. But you'll want to monitor. The dempsey and the parrots will be fine but you'll need to monitor that texas cichlid. What kind of pleco do you have?

 

Definitely better than a 4 foot tank. But you'll want to monitor. The dempsey and the parrots will be fine but you'll need to monitor that texas cichlid. What kind of pleco do you have?

Just a common Pleco, but eventually I want to change him out for a royal pleco. So if I didn't want to upgrade, and just keep my SRT, if she does become too aggressive, what would you recommend for tank mates at that point?

She is a show fish, and I don't want to take away from that but I wanted something in the tank with her that was also fun to look at. I'm not opposed to removing the BP's if she does become too aggressive for them, but I don't just want a tank for 1 fish. I also have bolivian Rams in there, that just seem to be a little frightened by the bigger fish, but the SRT/BP don't pay any mind to them (I have a smaller tank I could move them to immediately and there's also hiding places in the 55 that the SRT can't get to).
I've had the SRT for a couple of weeks now, just a week ago added 1 BP, and she was chasing like crazy so my LFS suggested adding more to help with that & it seems to..she doesn't continuously chase anymore.

 

I think switching it out for a royal pleco would be fine.

If you removed her I'd consider a 55 gallon minimum for her and a 75 gallon preferred. You could get her some dither fish like large bodied tetras and maybe a large catfish for the bottom like a featherfin syno or a couple of hoplos.

 

I think switching it out for a royal pleco would be fine.

If you removed her I'd consider a 55 gallon minimum for her and a 75 gallon preferred. You could get her some dither fish like large bodied tetras and maybe a large catfish for the bottom like a featherfin syno or a couple of hoplos.

If I removed anything, I would remove the BP's and just have her & the pleco in there. I would like to eventually get a larger tank, but it would be nice if I didn't HAVE to. If I start seeing aggression, I will take the BP's back & possibly get some larger tetras. My LFS has albino congo tetras, they would be a good fit? What about barbs of some sort?

 

I think congos would probably be fine. And if your texas stays peaceful you could probably get away with the texas and dempsey in a 4 foot tank. But with a texas it's going to be very unpredictable. If you wanted to keep the parrots you definitely need somehting larger than 4 feet.

Are you considering 2 tanks or just 1?

 

I think congos would probably be fine. And if your texas stays peaceful you could probably get away with the texas and dempsey in a 4 foot tank. But with a texas it's going to be very unpredictable. If you wanted to keep the parrots you definitely need somehting larger than 4 feet.

Are you considering 2 tanks or just 1?

Just 1 preferably. I do like the BP, but i'm more attached to the SRT. I'm assuming I would need a larger tank if I wanted to do the EBJD and the SRT? The EBJD at my LFS is about 3 inches long right now. I would like to get to the point where my 55 is OK until I voluntarily go bigger, so if I could get to that point i'd be happy..as long as my fish are happy

 

I think you are going to want at an absolute minimum a 75 for a texas and a dempsey. I have a feeling you would need to upgrade further after that though. If it were a typical texas I would say probably a 120 5 foot minimum.

 

I think you are going to want at an absolute minimum a 75 for a texas and a dempsey. I have a feeling you would need to upgrade further after that though. If it were a typical texas I would say probably a 120 5 foot minimum.

Ok, and if I just kept the SRT, tetras and pleco/bottom feeder..I could stick with a 55 if I had to?

 

Probably. I would think though if your SRT gets to be about 8 inches you may want to start considering a 75/90 gallon though. In the long run she'd probably be happier.

 

Probably. I would think though if your SRT gets to be about 8 inches you may want to start considering a 75/90 gallon though. In the long run she'd probably be happier.

Sounds good. I was told she won't get any bigger, but who knows! Would she be able to be with any barbs? my LFS has tiger barbs and a couple of other large barbs..

 

I would think tiger barbs would be ok. though if her fins are very long then you probably want to avoid them. large tetras like diamonds, lemons, black phantoms, skirts, and even congos would probably be ok. Though if you want them as dithers I'd stay away from congos. Texas cichlids can get up to 12 inches. Though since it's a female I wouldn't expect it to get that large. Though 8 inches is very probable I'd say.

 

I would think tiger barbs would be ok. though if her fins are very long then you probably want to avoid them. large tetras like diamonds, lemons, black phantoms, skirts, and even congos would probably be ok. Though if you want them as dithers I'd stay away from congos.

If it was your tank and you were adding a dither with SRT, what would you use? I'd like a nice grouping of them..

 

probably diamond or lemon tetras. But those are my personal favorite schooling fish. You could also consider praecox rainbows. They are pretty and would make a good dither. The good thing about texas cichlids is they have a wide range of temps that are acceptable so you really don't have many limitations for dithers other than they need to be fast and large enough not to get eaten.

 

Awesome! Well those are some I'll have to look for when I need to take the BPs back. Thanks for your advice!

 

Oh one more thing..what is the ideal tank set up for a SRT? Like decor, plants, substrate etc..

 

That I don't know. But seriouslyfish should have some good info. Search for texas cichlid

 

That I don't know. But seriouslyfishm should have some good info. Search for texas cichlid

Is a 400 GPH filter sufficient for my tank?

 

Is it a canister or hob

 

is it a canister or hob

hob

 

I would try to get another filter that is about 150 to 200 GPH. It's always good to have about 10 times the tank volume in filtration GPH

 

Do you have a canister or HOB? I'm debating on weather or not to spend the money on a canister, I've read good & bad things about them..and I've read that HOB filters are fine for my size tank & you really don't NEED a canister till you get above 75 gallons

 

I have 2 canisters on my 75. I prefer canisters but there are definite benefits to having 2 filters one being a canister abs the other being a hob

 

can I tag you in another thread I just started? Trying to figure out if my bolivian ram has ich.. maybe you can see what you think

 

Sure but I probably can't help as much with diseases as I can with stocking

 

Sure but I probably can't help as much with diseases as I can with stocking

Ok, anyone you know of on here that's familiar with Ich?

 

cindil

 

ok I'll try them..thanks again!

cindil

 

probably diamond or lemon tetras. But those are my personal favorite schooling fish. You could also consider praecox rainbows. They are pretty and would make a good dither. The good thing about texas cichlids is they have a wide range of temps that are acceptable so you really don't have many limitations for dithers other than they need to be fast and large enough not to get eaten.

If I wanted to add a crayfish to this tank, would I have to worry about it getting eaten by the SRT?

 

Yes. When the cray fish molts the cichlid would probably kill it...if not before

 

Yes. When the cray fish molts the cichlid would probably kill it...if not before

Okie dokie! No crayfish then!! haha Thanks!