Possible Setup

Hoping to buy a new tank in the next month or so. It will be 288l.

Just wondering what I can put in it. Was thinking of a mix of a jack dempseys. jewel and convict cichlids.

What kind of mix could I get away with and what type of set up would they require?

Wow that's a mix of tough guys!
Dunno if the trio would work but I'd say JD and convicts should be alright or else JD and jewel(even tho they're African rivers)
but I just have the feeling jewells and convicts wouldn't mix too well.
If so I would have a good bit of bogwood to create shelter and escape routes.
There has to be someone who tried that mix on the forum....anyone?
That would be interesting!
Dimitri

Thanks for the reply Dimitri.

Only reason I suggested that trio was I read it some where else and was looking for stocking levels as they had a much bigger tank

Hi there, I kept convicts and jewels together without any probs until the convicts bred. After a bit of a turf war and the lines were drawn, all was well again.

Jay

Nice one Jay!
Stocking levels?that's gonna be through trials I guess.were you thinking about a pair of JD or a single JD with a few jewels and a few convicts?
As Jay said it's breeding that will bring mayhem with these guys!

I'd be hoping to put in one jd and 3-5 of both the convict and jewels.

How would they get on when breeding?

they are all agressive species...breeding would be a nightmare...
i presume jd would be dominant,and its more then likely that jewels wouldnt show true colours...they could live 2gether but for sure some of your fish wouldnt be happy ! I would leave out the jewels

What kind of mix and stocking levels would people suggest?

I think what you suggested seems doable.the scenario i can imagine is probably what happened in Jay's tank:lot of tensions between the jewels and convicts until some sort of balance?
And with a bit of luck the JD depending on it's size might(if lucky) just mind his own business?
It's very hard to predict behaviours with these kind of fish....

scubadim wrote:

I think what you suggested seems doable.the scenario i can imagine is probably what happened in Jay's tank:lot of tensions between the jewels and convicts until some sort of balance?
And with a bit of luck the JD depending on it's size might(if lucky) just mind his own business?
It's very hard to predict behaviours with these kind of fish....

I'm beginning to learn that these might not be the best mix but I reckon the tank is big enough for each to share

what about firemouths?

Firemouth are gorgeous fish with a big temper:)
at this stage I reckon it'll be all about the layout of the tank:roots,rocks...etc
or else plain bare but I don't think it'll look very natural

scubadim wrote:

Firemouth are gorgeous fish with a big temper:)
at this stage I reckon it'll be all about the layout of the tank:roots,rocks...etc
or else plain bare but I don't think it'll look very natural

What kind of layout would you go for? Any good examples?

Well it just so happens that I had Firemouths in that system also . They too established their own territory in the tank and defended it vigourously. All of the fish you have in mind here are generaly considered aggressive cichlids and as mentioned by Dimitry, are very unpredictable. That said, if you provide them with a big enough tank and create boundaries and territories in the system, they should get on ok. There will be plenty of bickering among the inhabitants so dont be too suprised when you witness posturing and full blown fights, but these fish are tough and can hold their own under most circumstances. Keep an eye on the tank and watch for individuals who are constantly being beaten by the dominant fish and remove them if nesessary. If you do decide to add productive species like convicts to the system I would recommend you get a divider to separate the parents from their tankmates as breeding convicts are insane convicts, especially the males. Unless you want some breeding going on in the tank, consider going for an all male setup which would help keep aggression down. Convicts, Terrors and Jacks are easy to sex but Oscars, Jewels and Firemouths are a difficult to sex until they form pair bonds. This is assuming you intend to get fairly grown specimens. Sexing most of these fish when they are young can be very tricky. Do as much research as you can on the species you are intersted in and go to the LFS armed with good knowledge of them and pick out or order good, alert and active specimens. The fish you are intersted in are long lived and feisty and good stock will last for many a year in the right hands. Hope this helps,

Jay

The likely hood is that I will be getting what ever fish from Dimitri.

My understanding is that the JD will grow bigger then the convicts and jewel. That should be well able to handle itself so. The convict and jewels as I said would be stocked either 3-5 each

The tank would be set up with two ends full of rock with some root in the center

How does that sound? The tank dims are W101 x D41 xH127cm

That seems alright to have rockwork on either ends and roots in d middle.Are you sure about the dimensions/volume?
You said 288litres but with these dimensions it's more like 525litres?....

I got the dims from here

www.cupargardencentre.co.uk/products/Eheim-Classic-100-set.html

I see it's total height including the cabinet:)
still a nice big tank that should big enough for what you want to do!

sorry never noticed that!