# Ideas for a 120 gallon



## Katiekat827 (Mar 7, 2017)

Hello all. I need some ideas on what to put in my 120 gallon reef ready freshwater tank, it will have the under tank filtration. It's not setup yet ((building the stand). Anyhow, I now have 2 oscars 3 inches 1 parrot cichlids 2 inches and 5 African cichlids around 2 inches. Plan is to upgrade them to the 120 when the 120 is ready! BUT I would like to add a green terror cichlid to the tank, what other fish can live with my combo? Any ideas? Do's and don'ts?


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## kitten_penang (Mar 26, 2008)

oscars get to about 18 inches, the size of african chilids varies with type of african chilid. your parrot chilid could get up to eight inches or larger if you get the king kong variety, as for your green terror its gonna get up to about 12 inches.when its still young you can keep it in a community tank with other fish, but as they mature the become very belligerent. They need at least 30 gallons of space just for themselves when kept as a single fish but if your planing to keep them long term with your other large similarly aggressive tank mates your probably gonna need a bigger tank. 
your looking at 2 oscars=60 gallons (30 gallons per oscar) , parrot=30 gallon and green terror=30-40 gallon this does not include the 5 african chilids. the gallons per fish a is rule of thumb for the amount of free swimming space these large aggressive fish will need. since you have a sump and depending on how big it is you might still want to do your regular wc as those oscars are damm messy eaters so are the parrots and green terror.


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## beaslbob (Oct 17, 2012)

I would use the undertank filtration as a sump/refugium for live plants to maintain, balance, and stabilize the system.


my .02


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## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

To be completely honest, I would completely overhaul your stock. Oscars and parrots and Africans - pick one and build your tank around them. They are all incompatible with each other, no matter how much space you give them. The fish are all babies now, but they won't be for long. 


"Reality is that which, when you stop believing, doesn't go away"


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## Katiekat827 (Mar 7, 2017)

Working on a sumo filtration, using 40 gallons underneath? And love the live plants ❤ I'm just trying to find a submerged pump


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## Katiekat827 (Mar 7, 2017)

Jaysee, I'm sure you are right in a lot of factors, but I have researched and done my homework and the mix I have I am ok. Although I may need to get rid of one Oscar


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## Katiekat827 (Mar 7, 2017)

I just wanted to know if I can add a green terror? They are amazing


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## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

You can do anything you want to do. Your fish are already going to kill each other - adding a green terror into the mix isn't going to change that. Please excuse my bluntness.

I would love to see where you did your research on the compatibility of those fish.

"Reality is that which, when you stop believing, doesn't go away"


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## Katiekat827 (Mar 7, 2017)

Oscar Fish Tank Mates And there was another site but I can't find the link, I've also searched on YouTube and my local fish store. I researched then purchased, as babies, they're all about 7 months old now.... 120 has rock caves too


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## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

I didn't see anything on that site about mixing in African cichlids, or keeping parrots with the oscars. There's a really good reason for that..... complete incompatibility.

You really ought to go over to monsterfishkeepers and share with them what you are trying to do. Fair warning - they may not be as polite as me.


"Reality is that which, when you stop believing, doesn't go away"


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## sweendog87 (Jun 25, 2017)

Way too many fish for a 120 I would only keep either africans or 1 oscar in it those fish are not compatible and will not be happy the bigger they get oscars need at least 120 to 180 gal by themselves on my opinion but I'm sure u will find that out if you really are researching you will find the right stovk for a 120 but sorry u don't have it atm upgrade tank or downgrade fish and im onky new to dish keeping and I know this dont believe those generated stock lists on the internet everything I looked up on them I found to wrong by asking professionals that have been there and done it if I were you I would be trying to save those fish 

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk


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## kitten_penang (Mar 26, 2008)

tbh ive kept a single climbing perch, 5 king kong blood parrots an albino oscar and a 24k golden crossback arowana as tank mates in a bare tank and they do their own thing most of the time. they don't mess around or try to bite, maim or kill one another. the blood parrots do show aggression (non contact kissing like behavior that doesn't result in any torn fins or bite marks. just plain display of aggression towards those that come too near to their breeding space when they are getting ready to breed. they will just stick with their chosen mate at that time and claim a side of their tank where they lay eggs. if they aren't in breeding mode they will sometimes swim beside the aro or sometimes below it just for fun. the perch, oscar nor the arowana couldn't be less then bothered by the blood parrots antiques in the tank.
so im just saying ive kept an oscar and parrots in the same tank with a fish that cost a bomb without worries. not sure what african chilids you want to keep but they could become food for the green terror or even harassed by the others and they could just keep hiding in their caves which can be a stressful time for them.green terrors have been kept with oscars though as tank mates .so i dont see much of a problem if you just keep a single green terror in the tank, with the 2 oscars and a maybe 6 blood parrrots but minus out the african chilids. the rest of your stock can hold their own in the large tank without fear of being bullied by one another imo


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## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

Nice post kitten - just want to point out though that there is a pretty wide range of deformity within the parrot species. Some of them can barely eat, so it's not like you can just throw any fish in a tank with bruisers like oscars and GTs. Some may be able to defend themselves, while others won't be so able.

Just to further illustrate the incompatibility of the Africans and NW cichlids - the foods are quite different. Feeding Africans (most - don't know which specific species you have) the high protein diet you would feed the NW cichlids will cause digestive issues. Most Africans need a much lower protein concentration, since they consume a significant amount of plant based foods.


"Reality is that which, when you stop believing, doesn't go away"


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## Agent13 (Apr 23, 2013)

Those Africans if nothing else need another tank due to vastly different water requirements. African cichlids come from super high salt content fresh water lakes . As much as that makes no sense at first . Now which African cichlids and which lake they come from is extremely important info in order to give you proper advice on their duet .. yes improper diet means death far easier then South American cichlids . If you have mbuna they are herbivores but can deal with some crustaceans lightly in their diet .. but they can't share a diet and or tank with South American cichlids for long term health . In fact many lake Malawi cichlids can't handle foods that SA cichlids can .


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## kitten_penang (Mar 26, 2008)

another trick to having different species of predators living in the same tank would be to feed them a well enough varied diet to meet their needs and keep em full without giving them the need to compete with one another for food of a single kind thus lessening the percentage even more of any one species of those fish to feel like the other is a threat (during the non breeding season that is) if you have mating pairs.yes hybrids do tend to have their flaws but as always when your selecting fish you do not buy those with deformities. the way i plan my tank is to have my fishes be given a very varied diet which is mostly live ghost shrimps, live feeders, floating pellets specially made for the parrotfish and monster pellets that tend to sink after a while for the oscar. all of them are from the tetra range. as you can see each fish have a specific food in their diet that they prefer. the ghost shrimp and live feeders are merely snacks for them and the aro. the aro also gets live frog, meal worms and the occasional centipede. with this much variation in food items they do not show any signs of aggression or even competitiveness during feeding time.


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## Katiekat827 (Mar 7, 2017)

Thank you kitten! That was the answers I was hoping for. I do like the blood parrots and have never had a problem with them. I have more than one setup so the African cichlids can go in my other tank 90 gallons. And your right with the feeding, I notice my fish get aggressive when hungry, and then once their fed their happy again. Thanks for the food ideas too, I'll try them out


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## Agent13 (Apr 23, 2013)

Just make sure not to feed those suggested things till the Africans are out . If they lake Malawi fish especially mbuna many of those food will cause Malawi bloat and kill them pretty fast .


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## kitten_penang (Mar 26, 2008)

Katiekat827 said:


> Thank you kitten! That was the answers I was hoping for. I do like the blood parrots and have never had a problem with them. I have more than one setup so the African cichlids can go in my other tank 90 gallons. And your right with the feeding, I notice my fish get aggressive when hungry, and then once their fed their happy again. Thanks for the food ideas too, I'll try them out



your very welcome  also remember the other important things that were said by the others as they have their points as well. i hope once the africans are moved out.everything will be balanced and peaceful in the main tank with the varied diet plan.


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