s. american cichlid tank mates help
 

I have a 125 gallon tank currently stocked with 2 Oscars, green terror, jack Dempsey, and a Texas cichlid. I was wondering what other fish/cichlid could I put in to reduce some aggression from the Texas.

I doubt this is possible. Reducing the aggression I mean; this fish, Herichthys cyanoguttatus is well known as having a nasty temperament. It would probably be best alone, but I'll leave it for one of our more experienced cichlid aquarists to comment further.

Byron.

What size is the Texas Cichlid now? It is very difficult to suggest tank mates for more aggressive brutes such as this one, because the temperament will vary depending on the fish itself. I would recommend only adding additional fish that will not tolerate being pushed around, such as the veja maculicauda.

He already has 2 Oscars, a Jack Dempsey, and a Green Terror in with this Texas. I would think this is not good?

Perhaps I misunderstood his intent then? I was under the impression he was wanting to shuffle his fish around and get rid of some for different ones for better compatibility for his Texas Cichlid. If I misunderstood then I apologize ;-)

Texas cichlid is about 6-7 inches and the GT and JD aren't too much smaller. Oscars are significantly bigger than the rest so they are not much of a worry in terms of aggression. My intent would be either taking the Texas out to reduce aggression then hopefully add more fish. Or if it was possible to add a couple other fish like firemouths or rainbow sharks to kind of distract the Texas?


thank you all for giving me very helpful insight on the situation. It is greatly appreciated!

Thanks for clarifying what your intentions here are. Oscars I find to be more of "opportunists", meaning they will take a meal when it's available. I would not recommend adding any bite size snacks to the tank if your oscars are considerably large.

The problem with adding any new fish to this environment would be

A: space
B: large and well established aggressive fish

Is the Texas the only fish you are willing to take out to make room for more?

I'd much rather get Texas out since he's bigger and may be easier to find fish the same size of the others to replace it. Is there better combinations if i left the texas in and another one out?

You could add the veja maculicauda that I mentioned earlier, this is of similar size but doesn't come with the nasty attitude. It is an aggressive fish though and will likely bully smaller fish in the aquarium, but with adequate sized tank mates such as the JD and Oscars, he will do fine.

It may be difficult finding one of the appropriate size and I wouldn't recommend adding a juvi to the current tank, as it will not last very long.