Juli/Convicts in a Community?

[spoot]

I'm upgrading my 55 to a 75 and am trying to finish up the stocking. Right now I have:
1 Red Tailed Black Shark
4 Peppered Cories
1 Bristlenose Plec
8 Turquoise Rainbows

My parameters are:
7.6ph
8kh
161.1gh

I would like to add a small group of Masked Julis or Convicts. Think it would work?

[jgentry]

Convicts can be extremely aggressive when breeding and get pretty large. A pair would easily defend half the tank if they breed and could kill some of your other fish. I wouldn't do more then one pair if you add them. There are many other cryptoheros that are smaller and less aggressive that would work better then convicts. You might want to search around see if you like any of the other ones better. A group of nanoluteus would be ideal.

I'm not familiar with tangs so I'll let someone else answer if they would work or not.

[spoot]

Nanos look neat, thanks for that suggestion. Have you had any experience with em? I can't find much online other than what I read at Badmans. Is there any difference between Archocentrus nanoluteus and Cryptoheros nanoluteus? Most everyting seems to treat them as the same, I just find it odd that they would have 2 different scientifics.

I also like Keyholes, found those while doing some more research. Of course half the problem with stocking around her is actually finding what you are looking for.

I think my first choice is still some Julidochromis Transcriptus if I can get some advice from the Lake T keepers. Nano would be #2, and Keyholes #2.5... it would mostly depend on which of those 2 I can find if Julies wouldn't work. I know I can find the Julies, saw them at the Critter and at Bermuda Triangle when I took the trip to Chattanooga.

I'm still a ways off from adding anything though. So I'm just trying to plan ahead and get stuff special ordered if needed. My tank won't get in til Wednesday. Then I won't be able to get around to painting the back til this weekend, and I have to build a stand as well. Will probably have to order some plants from Sweet Aquatics, or pick some up from the LFS here. I won't have it completely set up and ready for stock until probably the first full weekend in June. I'll be moving my deco and substrate over from my 55, and adding some more rocks with it. I've kind of got everything planned out in my head, just a matter of putting it all together.

[spoot]

I might need to move this over to the SA Cichlid forum. The only tang I'm looking at is the Julie. Most everything else I'm finding I like is a SA. Latest discovery is a Smiling Acara... so many options.

I'm mostly looking for a smaller cichlid species between 2.5 and 3.5 inches that I can keep 3 to 4 of in the 75 that can handle my parameters and their tank buddies. Any and all suggestions are welcome.

[jon carman]

With what you have now, you could either do africans or SA, but I wouldn't do both. I have successfully kept both in a 90, but they were haps from malawi and Red top geos and a couple other geos.

There are great fish from either place and I don't think you can go wrong. I would talk to JD, because everytime I ever put more than a pr of new worlds in a tank that size they got real aggressive. He can tell you the milder type of SA to get for that size tank.

[spoot]

I had actually just sent JD a message just before you posted this.

I hadn't planned on mixing the Africans and SAs, I was more curious as to if a couple or so of Masked Julies would fit in with my current stock and parameters. Still curious as to that, although JD's suggestion of nanoluteus has turned me toward those as an alternative.

[jon carman]

Most tangs and malawi would go fine with what you have. I am sure most SA would as well.