Need Help With Bottom Feeders & Dwarf Cichlids

[sharz]

Hi.. I have a moderatly planted tank with a fluval u2 and sandy substrate, the tank is 100 liters but measuring from the top of the sand to top of the water makes it about 70 litres so lets call it that.
I have 10 harlequin rasbora's, a pair of appistogramme cacatuoides, a pair of apistogramma agassizi and a bristlenose pleco.
The pairs of dwarf cichlids i have somtimes flare up and have a slight chase every now and then, but ther are plenty of coconut shells and plants for them to rest of claim. Anyway the question i wanted to ask is can I have any bottom feeders in with them? I dont want to push it with the space in the tank or cause any aggresion to bottom feeders due to the cichlids. Any ideas on wat I could get? Or if i even have enough space? Thank youuu..

 

[fluvial]

I wouldn't like to comment on what is possible regarding the size of your tank.
But in my 180 litre I have a pair of Apisto's residing along with 3 x Cory's and
3 x Loaches.
The male Apisto, who chases everything else, ignores the other bottom dwellers completely.
The female has given up trying to intimidate the loaches, they just plain refuse to be pushed around by her.
If one of the Corry's wanders into her territory she chases them out same as everyone else.
But there is no aggression between my Cichlids and the other bottom dwellers at all.

 

[scotty]

think you might even be pushing your luck having two pairs of apistos in the tank

 

[meguro]

isnt the bristlenose a bottom feeder? if u wanted to keep to south american fish perhaps some corydoras but cichlids have a tendency to be rather pushy with them during feeding times and spawning. so perhaps kuhli loaches would be a better option

 

[Wills]

Okay first off you have a 100 liter tank so lets stock for a 100 liters not 70 liters because if you start thinking about water displacement for one thing it gets to the point where you are at such a low stock its just stupid. And besides that all the inch per gallon or cm per liter etc etc is just balls.

Right with the fish, in a 100 liter two pairs is quite a max for what I would consider but it is doable depending on the foot print of the tank, so how long and how wide is the tank? Personally I would have just gone with one of the species but had multiple females for one male rather than two pairs. But like I say it could work long term.

Again depending on the foot print of the bottom of the tank I think it matters greatly before you consider bottom dwellers. If its a two foot tank I would perhaps leave it with just the cichlids and the BN but if its a 3 foot perhaps a few options available.

Wills

 

[sharz]

The length is 2.5 foot, width 1 foot and height is also 1 foot. I used to have some khulie loaches but gave them to a friend as they were fairly boring and I have had them for a long time so wanted abit of a change. I would like some cories but wouldnt want to have them harrased by the dwarf cichlids all the time. Should i just leave it like it is with the bristlenose picking up any left overs on the bottom? So do you think I wud have been better of with just one male in a tank my size?

 

[sharz]

Here's a couple pics of the tank so you guys can see the setup..

I put an xbox game in this pic so u can gauge the size properly.

 

[wooch]

best thing ive found when having multiple apisto species in a tank is breaking line of sight, i have a randomly planted tank with think leaved plants so fish that are runnign scared can dart in the leaves and the bullies can loose interest often not finding eachother for days if you have enough rocks, coconuts and plant pots =)