Central or South? Water Parameters Included

[FIU Panther]

I currently have an empty 125g and 75g that I am fishless cycling using Fritz Ammonium Chloride. I've added filter squeezings from my 125g clown loach tank but it's taking forever to fully cycle.

My question is regarding what cichlids I can keep based on my water parameters and preferred water change schedule.

I'm using south Florida city water
Ph Tap 8.2-8.4 /after 24 hour aeration PH approx 7.2.
KH 3
GH 4
TDS 103 (Tested a bucket of water sitting for 24hours, never calibrated the TDS meter so this is probably useless)

Is this water too soft for Central Americans?

I've been mulling over various stocking options for the tanks which I'll list below in order of preference. I'd be ordering from an online vendor and have been looking at CichlidsoftheAmericans and TUIC.

125g
Parachromis Pair (Yellow Jacket/Red Tiger/Loiselle)
Amphilophous (Citrinellum/Hogaboomarum) Pair or Trimac Pair
Red Head Tapajos Community
Oscar(s) w or w/o others
Suggestions?

75g
Cuban Cichlid Pair
Herichthys Carpintis
Green Terror Pair/Harem
Salvini
Grammodes
Suggestions?

I would like the tanks to serve the fish for life and not require me to be a slave to the water changes. I would like to be able to do a once a week water change to keep them thriving so stocking should reflect that. Active fish are preferred. I had been setting all this up for discus originally, but with a newborn I don't think I'll enjoy the maintenance in growing out discus.

One last question, what do you guys do with all the fry these guys produce. I would like a pair to see breeding behavior/color, but have no interest in growing out fry and finding them homes...

Any suggestions?

 

[Rocksor]

You have soft water with neutral ph. I would choose soft water South American species like the following from your list

Oscars, Red Head Tapajos Geos...

Forget Central Americans, you will be chasing your water parameters too much, especially with the over stocking you propose.

Also, due to biological activity your 7.2 PH will drop within a week because of your KH being rather low

Both tanks need way less stocking if you are only willing to do water changes once a week. Understock the tank, by picking out a focal point fish and only putting dithers as tankmates.

For example, 125g with 1 CHocolate cichlid with 12x colombian tetras as dithers.

 

[duanes]

Agree with the above by Rocksor.
But to help illustrate the point.

Above is the type water many Central American cichlids have evolved to live in.
Take note of Total Hardness (aka GH) and Carbonate Hardness (aka KH)
now compare (below) some collection data for South American Amazonian type.

Of course different fish species may have different tolerance levels to differing water parameters, that may or may not produce acute problems, but over time chronic issues can occur when deviations from the norm exist.
And it may not be the individual fish that are "directly" affected by the water parameter, but the immunity those fish have developed over millennia to certain bacteria.
Take the bacteria that cause HLLE ("hole in the head disease"). These bacteria are most virulent in a pH range of 7 to 8.5, in hard, mineral rich water.
Those species that live in that type water, would naturally have acquired immunity to those bacteria over time, as an adaption to their habitat.
A fish evolved to live in lower pH , soft water, would not need to develop that immunity because those bacteria would not be common in their habitat.
And likewise
Soft water fish will have adapted immunity to different stains, hard water fish may not.

As to fry, .......an example
I have a pair of Andinoacara coerleopunctatus that regularly spawn, every 3 months, in a tank with tetras (consumate fry predators)
They spawned @ 3 months ago, starting with around 100 fry, from that spawn only this one (below) survived (now about 1").

And it is preying on the fry of the latest spawn, now with about a dozen left, brough down from 100 by the tetras.

If fry are simply left in a community tank, things usually regulate themselves

 

[dogofwar]

Are you sure your water in South Florida really has those parameters? Everything that I've read says that it's basically liquid rock (and why African cichlids are farmed there).

That said, you're planning way too many fish in each of those tanks. A single pair of Parachromis or Amphilophus is about what you can keep in a 6' tank. Maybe even divided.

And always keep an extra tank for quarantine, nursing injured fish and otherwise separating fish.

 

[FIU Panther]

Are you sure your water in South Florida really has those parameters? Everything that I've read says that it's basically liquid rock (and why African cichlids are farmed there).

That said, you're planning way too many fish in each of those tanks. A single pair of Parachromis or Amphilophus is about what you can keep in a 6' tank. Maybe even divided.

And always keep an extra tank for quarantine, nursing injured fish and otherwise separating fish.

Yes, that's what the water comes back when tested with an API test kit. I'm on city water not a well, the well that the sprinklers use causes rust stains pretty badly so I'm guessing it's extremely hard but I have never tested it.

Sorry about the confusion, I did not mean I'm thinking of putting all those fish together it's just a list of fish I'm interested in. I'd edit the original post, but it no longer lets me. Below is what I meant.

125g
Option 1 Parachromis Pair (Yellow Jacket/Red Tiger/Loiselle)
Opition 2 Amphilophous (Citrinellum/Hogaboomarum) Pair or Trimac Pair
Option 3 Red Head Tapajos Community
Option 4 Oscar(s) w or w/o others


75g
Option 1 Cuban Cichlid Pair
Option 2 Herichthys Carpintis
Option 3 Green Terror Pair/Harem
Option 4 Salvini Pair
Option 5 Grammodes Pair

Thanks for the replies so far!

 

[FIU Panther]

It looks like I need to look into soft water S. Americans, I was hoping I had a little more wiggle room but the water is what it is.

In a 125g, what are possible long term combinations that may work?

Option 1: Albino Oscar + Severum + Silver Dollars + Bottom Dweller (Geo or a Hoplo or a Raphael)?
Option 2: Chocolate Cichlid + Severum + Geophagus?

It seems like the soft water species are a bit more limited compared to what most people keep. It seems like most of the information available leans towards hard water Central Americans.

Below is the water report, but it doesn't show a ton of information.

 

[FIU Panther]

I went on Imperial Tropical and placed a "mock" stocking in the cart for the 125g, it helps visualize it.

I may have to play with the numbers and species when more knowledgeable members chime in, but the idea is something along these lines. A few decent sized colorful/interesting cichlids to make it an interesting tank to sit back and watch.

The other contender in mind is a build around an albino oscar of some sort.

 

[Toiletcar]

Agree with the above by Rocksor.
But to help illustrate the point.
View attachment 1450559
Above is the type water many Central American cichlids have evolved to live in.
Take note of Total Hardness (aka GH) and Carbonate Hardness (aka KH)
now compare (below) some collection data for South American Amazonian type.
View attachment 1450564
Of course different fish species may have different tolerance levels to differing water parameters, that may or may not produce acute problems, but over time chronic issues can occur when deviations from the norm exist.
And it may not be the individual fish that are "directly" affected by the water parameter, but the immunity those fish have developed over millennia to certain bacteria.
Take the bacteria that cause HLLE ("hole in the head disease"). These bacteria are most virulent in a pH range of 7 to 8.5, in hard, mineral rich water.
Those species that live in that type water, would naturally have acquired immunity to those bacteria over time, as an adaption to their habitat.
A fish evolved to live in lower pH , soft water, would not need to develop that immunity because those bacteria would not be common in their habitat.
And likewise
Soft water fish will have adapted immunity to different stains, hard water fish may not.

As to fry, .......an example
I have a pair of Andinoacara coerleopunctatus that regularly spawn, every 3 months, in a tank with tetras (consumate fry predators)
They spawned @ 3 months ago, starting with around 100 fry, from that spawn only this one (below) survived (now about 1").
View attachment 1450565
And it is preying on the fry of the latest spawn, now with about a dozen left, brough down from 100 by the tetras.
View attachment 1450566
If fry are simply left in a community tank, things usually regulate themselves

This is why I have owned only 1 SA cichlid in the last 15 years. It was an Oscar that got HITH. Couldn’t figure out why, because my water parameters were great. My nitrate never got above 10. It was my hard water and high PH. Never had HITH happen to one CA I’ve owned and it’s probably due to ph and hardness.