Hey

[Panchax83]

I'm Terry from Runcorn. Been interested in the hobby and learning as much as I can before I cycle a tank and get started getting fish. Got some ideas of what I want but got my missus interested aswell now so may have to include a Betta in the tank to keep her happy haha. Looking at a sort of predator tank but I'm talking fish under 6" maybe a dwarf pike Cichlids, Striped Panchax, Giant Betta. Any suggestions welcome but they all have to be Soft, acidic water type fish because of the local water supply. Sailfin Tetras come to mind too. Any tank size suggestions? If prefer all fish to max out at 4" to be honest but I've said 6" because I want one fish that I can have more options with.

 

[CaptainBarnicles]

Hello and welcome!

Dwarf pike cichlids are very pretty fish in my opinion but it's not one I would recommend to a beginner. They have very specific requirements that might not be easy to meet. They need a large tank and clean, fast flowing water. They can be aggressive if I'm not mistaken and I'm pretty sure anything you keep with it needs to be either the same size or bigger or it will be snacked on.

I would also discourage keeping a betta in a community tank. They're solitary by nature and wouldn't do well with other fish.

If you like dwarf cichlids, have a look at Apistogramma...there are so many gorgeous varieties to choose from.

 

[emeraldking]

Welcome to TFF...
Well, if you have soft water as you're claiming, those tetras you've mentioned would be okay in there. And not all cichlids will do fine in soft water. So, be aware of that.

 

[Panchax83]

Yeah mainly South American and West African Cichlids generally will do well in soft water but Central Americans and East African Cichlids are better in hard alkaline water. I still can't quite think what I want to get. I'm half tempted to just get a small set up with a male Betta to see how I get on with that to get used to it but then I'd need to get another tank once I wanted to get more as they don't go well in a community. My missus likes the Bettas more than I do and I was hoping I could manage to fit one into a community for that reason but wouldn't want to put stress on the fish. She liked a few others though so I can compromise haha. Wasn't expecting her to get interested in it all when she came with me but glad she is.

I need to think of maybe a West African cichlid that isn't as aggressive as a jewel that would be a predator if given the opportunity and not totally peaceful but peaceful enough that it can fit into a community of similar sized fish. Obviously Jewels wouldn't be the best for a small semi aggressive community, they'd attack everything too often and stress the other fish out.

A Leopard Bush Fish would be a good little tankmate for something but I want something with teeth, a little more predatory and not too aggressive with similar size tankmates, I know the leopard Bush Fish itself, when with big enough tankmates, is peaceful enough too. It's really hard to find what I want.

Glass headstanders look pretty cool too. Probably pretty hard to get hold of though. As dithers I'd probably go for Buenos Aires Tetras but then I was planning on getting live plants so that wouldn't be the best choice so maybe Congo Tetras. What could I get for 100-120 litres or would I need 150 litre (40 gallon breeder) sort of tank? I just can't think what my main centrepiece kind of apex fish would be.

 

[CaptainBarnicles]

It sounds like you're doing your research which is brilliant. If starting with aggressive species is what you're intent on doing you're going to have to take things really slowly in my opinion. There are lots of things that can go horribly wrong and if you're not confident and know exactly what you're doing you could potentially have a blood bath on your hands

Typically, for beginners in the hobby I would recommend starting with peaceful fish so that they can learn and get used to the husbandry and mechanics of maintaining a tank without the worry of the inhabitants killing and eating each other!

We can help you with predatory fish if that's what you want though of course

 

[Panchax83]

Not all predatory fish are too aggressive with the right sized tankmates I hear, unless they're the majority of Cichlid species haha. I wouldn't have piranhas with most things, not a fan of them anyway although I do like other characins. I get what you're saying though i wouldn't want too many out and out predators as they'd see eachother as competition, I think I'd want one fish that was the more predatory one that I could put maybe a few omnivores that are more Opportunist predators like a leopard Bush Fish etc with or certain Tetras. It's balancing the right species and the right set up I guess and yeah I feel like I'm in the right place for advice on species. I may even just go with the leopard Bush Fish as the apex sort of fish so that with the right size tankmates, like large Tetras etc, there shouldn't be a bloodbath lol, maybe a peaceful Cichlids species of no more than 4". In fact that would make you a decent west African set up, A Leopard Bush Fish, Congo Tetras and one or a pair of no more than 4" peaceful Wes African cichlids. Are there any peaceful Weat African Cichlids that can be kept on their own? As I'd like to not have to get a huge tank to start out with as one just got the leopard Bush Fish, Congo Tetras and one 4" West African Cichlid would have to be a decent size as it is I imagine.