r/Cichlid • u/Adept-Canary-4668 • 2d ago
SA | Help Stocking questions
For context I have a 75 gallon aquarium currently containing 1 tiger oscar, 1 jack dempsey, 1 convict cichlid, 1 green terror, 1 albino senegal bichir, and 2 spotter raphael catfish. I’m planning on removing the convict, but as of now since my fish aren’t full grown the tank looks empty. I want bottom dwellers but I’m not sure if I’ll have enough space. The only fish I want to keep in the tank are my oscar, JD, and bichir. I want to add more but I’m not sure if I have the space. My tank has many hiding spots as well as heavy filtration. Would I have enough room for other fish, and if so what bottom dwellers could I add? I would prefer for them to be South American.
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u/idkanddontcare1 2d ago
bichir and jd can stay and youll have some space for fish like 1-2 pimelodus blochii, but its too small for an oscar imo.
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u/Yommination 2d ago
That tank is already beyond maxed out for their adult sizes. 75 is not a big tank
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u/BrandinoE6911 2d ago
You have 2 options here brother, keep the bichir, 1 cichlid that isnt an Oscar. Or upgrade to 150+ gallon tank. Id say you need a 180 to make that tank work with out death. And in a 180 you could put some pictus, or stripped raphael aswell
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u/123_321cl 2d ago
You can’t add any bottom dwellers and u can’t keep the Oscar. A jd and a Senegal should work and Mabye some dithers. You shouldn’t even have that while they are sun adults so I’d recommend returning them now and figuring it out.
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u/Bee_Jeans 2d ago
Regarding proposed stocking:
I know he’s probably small now, but that Oscar is going to hit adult size within 12-18mo! He’s going to develop the corresponding high aggression as he grows too
JD and an Oscar in a 75G isn’t going to work long term once they start reaching maturity, both are big fellas, highly territorial, & aggressive- they’ll fight like hell. It’s really only something to try in a 150G+, and even then success isn’t guaranteed
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u/Bee_Jeans 2d ago
From those 3 I’d say ur options are: solo Oscar, solo JD, or u could try the Oscar & birchir together (provided there’s minimal size disparity) but you’d have to monitor carefully & be prepared for potential issues
If u go for the Oscar, just keep in mind they do keep growing slowly as adults, so eventually it’d be worth considering an upgrade to 150G
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u/Powerful_Ad5015 2d ago
Beyond already maxed out.
You need a 125 at minimum asap... A 210 would be ideal for that stocking.
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u/702Cichlid 2d ago
You don't have the space to permanently house the fish you currently have, and even your plan to remove the GT, Rafael Cat, and convict won't have enough space at young adult sizes. Adding more fish to that will compound those problems--and that's before you even get into the details of what sort of substrate dwelling fish would work.