Hi everyone! This is my first forum contribution.

After reading this website top to bottom a couple of times I still have questions. I would like to set up an amazon themed tank (125-180 gal)and would like an oscar in it. My husband would like a green terror. I an wondering if this is a good combonation along with some red hook silver dollers(2), a common pleco, and 3 clown loaches.

This is all theoretical as I don't even have the tank yet but I would like to know what I'm doing before I do it.

Is this too many fish?
What size and type of filter do I need?

Thankyou!

Jenn

it can be done as long as your tank is large enough. something with at least a 5' ( preferably 6' ) footprint should be long enough.
even with a large tank it is really imposible to tell how fish will interact with each other. unfortunetly it a trisl and error sort of thing.

when it comes to fitration you should look for a canister filter rated for at twice your tank volume. if you cannot do it with one filter put 2 fukters on the tank.


and welcome to the site

welcome to the site sir!!

First and foremost i would like to discuss about the tank size and number of fishes.. in my opinion this tank (a 180g) is very much sufficient for the population but as we all know u should have a "VERY" good filtration to maintain the tank's environment. unfortunately for the question about the compatibility of green terror and oscar im a little bit in doubt through those other materials i have read that this pair doesn't really work out well unless you have a very very big tank..HOPE this helps u bro;)

well my green terror and oscars are getting along fine so far. mind you my terror is only about 5 inches long and my three oscars in that tank are between 5 and 11 inches long.
so im not talking about some thing ive read im talking about actual experience.

and to house a terror, oscar, 2 sd's and 3 clown loaches(and i didnt forget about the plec just hoping they wont get one) a 180 gallon tank is serious overkill. a 125 should be fine . terrors only grow to about 8 inches and sd'd are not very large at all. clowns do grow to a substancial size but it will take a decade until there big.

thankyou for your very quick replies!

all of your information has been very helpful.

Necro - why are you hoping I will not get a pleco? are they not compatable?

I was also readying that a sump filter would be better for larger tanks... is this true? and if so where do I get one as I've never seen one for sale.

Thanks again!

Jenn

there nothing wrong with common plecos except the size they grow to and the amount of waste they produce. a common or sailfin pleco can grow to 24 inches in length and produce huge amounts of waste. if your serious about a common pleco you will need a minimum 180 gallon tank. without the pleco like i said you can get away with a 125 gallon setup.

as for filtration a sump is by far the best way to go on large aquariums. but even with sump(which is weak in the mechanical fitration department) you will need something to help with the mechanical. usually this entail a canister to help cope.
sumps are usually not bought but built by the hobbyest themselves. they are rather easy to construct and as i said are the best for biological filtration.

personally i have a sump on my 190 imp gallon tank along with 2 aquaclear 110s to handle the mechanical fitration(soon to upgraded to a canister filter).

Agree with all of the above, I have also kept GT's and Oscar's together without any problems. That's not to say you won't have problems though. All fish have individual temperaments, just like us humans, and what works in one tank could be a disaster in another. I would say go for a smaller plec if you want one ( hypocritical here because I have one that will grow big) as they do produce a lot of waste. Good luck with whatever you choose and welcome to OFL.

many years ago i had a breeding pair of green terrors(Aequidens rivulatus) with my oscar ( he was about 12 inces) in a 119 gallon tank. they were very aggressive and almost killed him. maybe it was just bad luck, i don't know.
but it's a very majestic fish.

a breeding pair of any large cichlid has a heightened aggression level. a single specimen is far calmer in general.

off course but the name says it allB) (green terrors)

this is extracted from the description of the green terror(Aequidens rivulatus
) from the animal-world website describing the social behaviour of the fish

Social Behaviors:
"As with all larger South American cichlids, a lot of space is the most importance element to keep aggression lower. The Green Terror is a moderately aggressive cichlid that can be kept with other larger South American cichlids. Depending on personality they can end up relatively peaceful, which often corresponds to having plenty of space as they grow. When they have more room, they use their lateral line to determine the size of the area they live in. If they feel that they will have too little room, once they are adults they will start to attack other fish. So with a bigger tank they have less of a need to “take someone out” so they have room to grow.
The Green Terror is generally aggressive toward those of the same species. It is possible that the female Green Terror is more aggressive than the males. They should be kept singly unless breeding. If breeding, they will become very aggressive and need a very large tank or a tank of their own. Do not house with African Cichlids as they are too small and will be harassed. They can be kept with large Pacus, Plecostomos, Oscars, Silver Dollars, Gars, and other similarly sized fish."

clown loaches grow extremely slow. so if you get a green terror and an oscar, they will quickly outgrow the clown loaches.i also have kept green terrors in a peaceful oscar tank, but i have heard they can be extremely aggressive and more times then less beat up even oscars. so if you do go with a green terror, make sure its on the smaller size.