How many?

[BlackCamaroSS99]

Ok I'm looking into buying a 120 gal tank...currently I have a peacock and soco in the same 40 long tank....the peacock is 4 inches and the soco is an inch and a half....the peacock chases him a little but leaves him alone 90% of the time....

How many other africans can I put in with these guys....I kinda only want two or 3 other fish and I want an oscar but I have a feeling the oscar and 2 or 3 other fish will be way too big for a 120 tank thats 48*24*24....I'd get him as a baby though....would he realize he can't continue to grow and stop growing or will he grow no matter what???

[merlyn2221]

You are talking about two different requirements for water. As I'm sure you know, Ocars, being South American, require more acidic conditions than African cichlids. They also have different diet requirements than Africans. I think this alone would cause too many problems in a tank mainly of Africans (which you already have).
Why not just stick with more Africans? There are so many to choose that would work in a tank of that size. Take a look at this link. It may be helpful.
It has some great information on it.

http://www.cichlidrecipe.com/

[WorldNation]

well, if ya only got those 2, you cna probably fit in anohter 10-13 fish very comfortably.

i personally loooove, Venustus. i got 3 in my 100 gallon tank.

[BlackCamaroSS99]

I used to have an oscar and he did just fine with my other africans but he grew like a freaking tree and I had to get rid of him...I suppose a 15inch fish is gonna take up alot of space though so I guess I'll let that go...maybe when I'm done africans I'll get a lone oscar....

10-13 fish seem like alot...both my soco and peacock love to stay on the bottom half of the tank, although I got my peacock taking color food and mealworms from the top of the water, he'll rarely swim up their...I know africans are bottom dwellers but are their any that utilize more of the tank? I figure I was going to go with about 4 or 5 more...once they grow to full size(4-7inches) I figure I'll need bigger decorations, the soco has a small castle now and rock structure.

I def don't want a tank thats over crowded with decorations though. Do your africans all have their own decoration or do they share? They all want seperate territory right?

[Adam]

Instead of decorations in my tang tank, I have a reef structure of rocks, and everyone has a couple caves. 10-12 fish in a 120 gallon is not a lot at all, I have 17 in my 75 gallon, but they are all relatively small right now. Of course, the length of your tank with that much gallonage (new word :)) could present a problem with territories, but mine is the same length, so maybe not.