90 Gallon Cichlid Tank

[SamuraiSushi2]

that looks like a 55 gallon

[CichlidWonder]

nah, it is a 90 gallon. 55 gal are a lot skinnier. thanks for looking

[J3FFR3Y]

hi. I have a 90gl like yours. 1 red and 1 albino oscars, but i just bought the albino 2 days ago, and i don't think they get along because my albino just stays on the left side of the tank and when the red goes near him he gets defensive, but no fighting going on though. and i was giving 2 jack dempsey, will they be good addition to the tank? o and i forgot to mention they are all babies. both oscars are 5" and the jd's are 3". i hope you can help me.

[CichlidWonder]

Ok, everytime you add a new fish to the tank. You always(if you have decor) rearrange everything so that the established cichlid won't be territorial. It is best to always get your cichlids around the same size even though your oscars will outgrow anything in your tank. But I've personally combined smaller cichlids with bigger ones, just make sure to observe them for their behavior. Adding your 2 Jacks should be fine.

[CichlidWonder]

I hope there are caves and such for the smaller cichlids to hide if threatened. When they all mature is when the problem occurs if they are breeding, thats only if you got pairs. Overall, things should be fine hopefully. Just have good filtration and your weekly maintenance and you should be good. Best of luck to you and your tank.

[J3FFR3Y]

thanks for replying. and yes there is lots of hiding places for the jack dempsey. is all the fish i have is okay for the size of the tank(90gl)? and can i add some t-barbs in there, because i heard those grow like 7".

and one last question, will my oscar get along soon?

[CichlidWonder]

Cool. Your oscars will grow 1" per month for the first year, they grow to sizes up to 15". Your jacks will get around 8 to 9". Usually what everybody else says is that a 90gal tank is just right for 2 oscars and nothing more. If you decide to have for fish then you should consider in better filtration. Look at my tank, I have 13 cichlids total and I got a 110gal HOB filter plus an Eheim 100gal canister filter which is fairly good. Oh and your tiger barbs, they don't get 7", they only grow to 3".

[CichlidWonder]

and about your oscars, rearrange your tank so that the red O don't bully anyone else. they only way they will get along in the future is if you have a male and a female. So if you want that and decide to breed them, buy a group of oscars and see which ones pair off.

[J3FFR3Y]

i meant spanner barb (aka t-barb).

[CichlidWonder]

oh ok. first time hearing about them. looks interesting. I don't know any info on them. sorry

[gregski0]

does da power head make much of a diff in da cleaning or no cuz i no it dont really help with fresh water setupsz but still would like 2 no should update disz once their bigger

[CichlidWonder]

Temporarily I'm using the powerhead for additional oxygen and circulation. I bought a canister filter yet to be installed. So I thought it would've been better for o2 and circulation and beneficial bacteria.