Getting back into the hobby, suggestions?

[Cichlids-r-beasts]

Hey all, it’s been a while! After my Butti died, I got pretty demotivated and went out of the hobby for a bit, now I’m back. I’ve freed up both my 125g and my 90g so now I’m looking for suggestions! Although I’ve got a couple ideas in mind.

125 GALLON OPTIONS:

1. Convict “community”+ livebearers?
This is the simple option, I’ve always loved Convicts so I was thinking of getting 8-10, narrowing down to 1 or 2 pairs and just have a bunch of livebearers to help with activity.

2. Gold Saum pair + livebearers
8-10 Gold Saums and narrow it down to a pair with a bunch of livebearers, thinking of swordtails?

3. Buttikoferi- wet pet
I’m sure some of you on here who’ve known me long enough knew this was coming lol
Although I’d love to get a pair of them in there, I think ultimately they’d be too big for a 125, females hit 12 inches no problem and males can hit 16-18 in ideal conditions.

4. Jaguar cichlid- wet pet
Another one of my favorites, maybe get a couple Jags and just keep my favorite male out of the bunch?


90 GALLON OPTIONS:

1. Labiatus wet pet
The infamous Red devil, I’ve heard they make amazing wet pets so I’d like to see if they live up to the hype. Honestly not sure if a 90 may be too cramped? If so then I can always consider it as an option for the 125 instead.

2. Gold Saum pair (no livebearers)
This all depends on what I put in my 125G, if I go with options 3 or 4, then this is a strong contender for being 1st choice stocking option!

3. Convict pair + livebearers
Yup, you heard it. One lucky Con pair will be living out their lives in a “Mansion” lmao
Seriously though, if I go with either of options 3 or 4, then it’ll come down to the Gold Saum pair or these guys!

I really appreciate y’all taking the time to read this, looking forward to some responses!

 

[Sinister-Kisses]

If you want to consider a red devil/midas, it will need to be in the 125. A 90 will be much too small for an adult male.

And a 125 will be too small for an adult jag IMO, so I'd scrap that idea. Same for a male butti.

And also IMO, a 90 is too small for a pair of gold saums. Solo fish, sure.

Boils down to whether you want a solo fish tank or more activity with multiple. My personal choice would be a midas in the 125 - that's literally what's in MY 125 and they've always been my personal favourite fish.

 

[Cichlids-r-beasts]

If you want to consider a red devil/midas, it will need to be in the 125. A 90 will be much too small for an adult male.

And a 125 will be too small for an adult jag IMO, so I'd scrap that idea. Same for a male butti.

And also IMO, a 90 is too small for a pair of gold saums. Solo fish, sure.

Boils down to whether you want a solo fish tank or more activity with multiple. My personal choice would be a midas in the 125 - that's literally what's in MY 125 and they've always been my personal favourite fish.

Thanks for the suggestions!

Now that I think about it you’re right, it may be a bit too cramped for a Male Jag or a male Butti in the 125, although it would be suitable for their first couple years. I’ll probably just go with the Labiatus in the 125 then, and a convict pair with a bunch of livebearers for the 90.

Appreciate your response!

 

[Man-made Monsters]

Welcome back to the hobby. For the 125 I would either do the Gold Saum pair with swordtails, or a pair of Jags. Not just a single Jag. Every time I tried to dedicate a large tank (125 or 180) to a single specimen I would get bored after 1-2 years and feel the need to add other fish. I also felt like the 15 inch male jag I had was bored being by himself. He wasn’t super aggressive like I know some can be. I added a few other small CA cichlids and that got him more active and still not aggressive. If you stay on top of water changes every 2-3 days and provide caves for the female a jag pair does fine in a 125. Sure it’s better to give them more space but a 125 can work fine. I would do the red devil in the 90 as a wet pet. It can outgrow that tank, but in my friend’s experience a 90 gallon for a single red devil is fine long term. He has kept several this way.

 

[Cichlids-r-beasts]

Welcome back to the hobby. For the 125 I would either do the Gold Saum pair with swordtails, or a pair of Jags. Not just a single Jag. Every time I tried to dedicate a large tank (125 or 180) to a single specimen I would get bored after 1-2 years and feel the need to add other fish. I also felt like the 15 inch male jag I had was bored being by himself. He wasn’t super aggressive like I know some can be. I added a few other small CA cichlids and that got him more active and still not aggressive. If you stay on top of water changes every 2-3 days and provide caves for the female a jag pair does fine in a 125. Sure it’s better to give them more space but a 125 can work fine. I would do the red devil in the 90 as a wet pet. It can outgrow that tank, but in my friend’s experience a 90 gallon for a single red devil is fine long term. He has kept several this way.

Thanks!

Interesting, conflicting suggestions. I do know that many have kept a single Red devil or other similarly sized cichlids (in the 8-14 inch range) in a 90 gallon, they’d have to be on top of their water changes for sure.

I’d preferably want the fish to be comfortable and not cramped, I think a pair of Jags in a 125 would be cutting it close!

I was also just thinking of a Gold Saum male as a wet pet in the 90 but I’m not sure about the personality on them, love their colors but they don’t seem to be very personable fish ime. I guess I’ll sacrifice the color for a smaller more personable fish.
Thanks for the suggestions! Will wait a bit and see what others think

 

[EricTheRed]

Since you clearly enjoy bruisers with lots of personality, and have a relatively large aquarium available, I think you would enjoy getting two small one inch Red Devils and two equally sized Buttikofferis, place them all in the 125G and watch them grow up and interact together. You can eventually rehome any fish that grow too large or become too aggressive, or keep your favorite individual(s). Sounds like a fishy plan…

 

[Cichlids-r-beasts]

Since you clearly enjoy bruisers with lots of personality, and have a relatively large aquarium available, I think you would enjoy getting two small one inch Red Devils and two equally sized Buttikofferis, place them all in the 125G and watch them grow up and interact together. You can eventually rehome any fish that grow too large or become too aggressive, or keep your favorite individual(s). Sounds like a fishy plan…

I think that would be asking for a war haha. Younger inexperienced me being dumb and making mistakes, would have dumped 3-4 different species in that 125 but I’m way past that stage. I’ll stick to species only tanks or wet pets haha.

Having owned both separately, although I sold the Labiatus before it reached adulthood, so I guess I don’t have an equal experience with both; I think the Labiatus would slowly lose ground and it would eventually come down to a single Buttikoferi from my experience. At similar sizes my female butti had shown more aggression and was much bolder than my male Labiatus.

 

[EricTheRed]

Understood, thanks for letting me know you already have experience with how these two awesome species interact. A more tranquil long term plan I think would be very worthwhile would be to get a female Festae as a wet pet for the 125G. The males get too large but a female would be very comfortable in your 125G and they have a reputation as a beautiful, very intelligent, and outgoing cichlid.

 

[jackywacky]

Flowerhorn in the 90?

 

[newworld]

Welcome back to the hobby. For the 125 I would either do the Gold Saum pair with swordtails, or a pair of Jags. Not just a single Jag. Every time I tried to dedicate a large tank (125 or 180) to a single specimen I would get bored after 1-2 years and feel the need to add other fish. I also felt like the 15 inch male jag I had was bored being by himself. He wasn’t super aggressive like I know some can be. I added a few other small CA cichlids and that got him more active and still not aggressive. If you stay on top of water changes every 2-3 days and provide caves for the female a jag pair does fine in a 125. Sure it’s better to give them more space but a 125 can work fine. I would do the red devil in the 90 as a wet pet. It can outgrow that tank, but in my friend’s experience a 90 gallon for a single red devil is fine long term. He has kept several this way.

I’m w man-made on this one all would work in those tanks, w good water quality and yes a bigger tank is better not necessary…