150G Stocking

I have to agree with snowflake I really dont understand why splitting the tank with that extra foot would be worth it - is it for existing fry? Have you asked if you could get like an Arc 35 to go underneath?

Just thinking if its existing fry try and make a deal with your mum to let you raise these and then move them on and then leave the remaining BNs to breed in the big tank and let nature take its course.

Hatchets would be okay but in this instance you need target/dither rather than just dithers (ie fish that show it is safe) so you want stuff like columbian tetras or hemigramoides (spelling) or even silver dollars.

Wills
I dont want to have to divide it either but like i said its the only way i can get my mum to agree to me setting it up. I dont know why but thats what shes decided. Ok would dwarf rainbows work?



I know some may not agree, but if your getting the cichlids when they are still small and you are adding enough decor to the tank, then the bns should all be fine with the other fish, and tbf the cichlids you have selected aren't the true predatory kind and if mixed when young should grow up and co-exist peacefully IMO

btw the Biotodoma wavrini are usually a non aggressive species with temperaments similar to that of Keyholes IME (the link provided has some good info on them)
Thanks for that i might give it a try at mixing some and if it works i could let the rest out. There will be loads of hiding spots so i would think a few would make it.
I might have a look into them see if any of my lfs can get them.
 
Dwarf rainbows would work just wouldnt be american but thats just down to personal preference.

Is the divider for the fry just temporary? Or will it be fixed glass or something? If its just temporary its not going to be such a bad thing because at the end of the day there are going to be times when you have no BN fry and the divider could come out and give your fish more room.

Wills
 
Dwarf rainbows would work just wouldnt be american but thats just down to personal preference.

Is the divider for the fry just temporary? Or will it be fixed glass or something? If its just temporary its not going to be such a bad thing because at the end of the day there are going to be times when you have no BN fry and the divider could come out and give your fish more room.

Wills
It will just be one of the ones you can slip in and slip out. I just wanted it to grow the fry until there big enough and fast enough not to get eaten. I probably wont put every bunch in there anyway or ill get over run so it would just be the odd lot that i would raise in there for when my lfs run out of that last lot i gave them. I might leave the rainbows then i would like to stick with a SA theme.
 
Well ive managed to convince my mum to let me just keep them all together. Im just going to keep the same fish as i was for the 120G but give them the hole 150G. Im pretty sure some will survive because they are having over 100 fry every 3 weeks and if i do ever get asked by my lfs for more i can just whack a divider in and raise that one lot and then take it out again.
 
Good choice Kizno1, glad you convinced your mum
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What your mum doesnt know won't hurt her. You could hide a small tank somewhere surely? I had one under my bed for a little while, it was for my molly fry when i had them a few years back. Took about a year for my mum to find them, after all. Why would she ever venture under a teens bed :p

EDIT: Hah, just seen your last post :p Nevermind...
 
Good choice Kizno1, glad you convinced your mum
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Same cant wait to get it all set up. Just need to make a lid first.

What your mum doesnt know won't hurt her. You could hide a small tank somewhere surely? I had one under my bed for a little while, it was for my molly fry when i had them a few years back. Took about a year for my mum to find them, after all. Why would she ever venture under a teens bed :p

EDIT: Hah, just seen your last post :p Nevermind...

Haha. O well im not to bothered about the getting bn fry anyway. I would like a few but dont want loads.
 
I think the temp divider is a really good choice :) I agree with you not getting any more cichlid or at least large ones but I would still get a few more fish in there like non cichlids like catfish, a knife fish maybe some needle fish etc.

Wills
 
I think the temp divider is a really good choice :) I agree with you not getting any more cichlid or at least large ones but I would still get a few more fish in there like non cichlids like catfish, a knife fish maybe some needle fish etc.

Wills
I was thinking of maybe a couple of whiptails. Do you reckon a nife fish would be ok with the sevs and chocolate cichlids? Ive always liked knife fish but i though they would get to big for the tank.
 
Yeah tons of people keep knives with Sevs and I cant really see an issue with a chocolate a BGKF would work pretty well I think, I started to look into a few different rarer species of knive but most have a few complications attached to them so I would advise the BGKF for this tank.

Whiptails are awesome one of my favorite fish and easily one of THE most underated fish in the hobby. Wildwoods and Wholesale tropicals have some spoonfaced whiptails in at the moment for £30 each plus postage and I have never been so tempted to spend a fortune on fish lol. I have 2 Sturisoma Aurems and a Hemiloricaria parva (I think) in my tank at the moment and they are great the Sturisoma stay more on the glass than the other whiptails which is something to consider when you pick the ones you want and also dont think that all of them will stay small as one of the species Pseudo something gets to about 20 inches! So make sure your prepared haha :D

Wills
 
Fair enough. BGKF get to about 2 foot dont they? wouldnt that have a go at the adult bns?

Ive always loved whiptails but never had the space for them. A lfs i got to has some royals for £8.50. The spoon face ones look weird but nice. If i had the money i would but its going to cost enough already without them. Did you keep yours in the end then? Yeah ill have a look around at what types before i get one i dont want a 20" whiptail. What type would you recommend?
 
Yeah I kept my Sturisoma and to be fair those are the ones I would probably reccomend Sturisoma Aurem - not the most common one but pretty common but I like them because they swim around the sides and decor more than the other species and they are probably the easiest to identify - have a look for them on planet catfish.

Not sure on the BGK size thing I always thought they got to 18 inches in the wild but smaller in tanks?
 
Not sure on the BGK size thing I always thought they got to 18 inches in the wild but smaller in tanks?


I have certainly seen absolutely enormous BGK's in captivity, but these were all in huge tanks. I suspect that they are a species which is highly sensitive to the size of it's environment, and is easily stunted by a smaller tank. Doesn't mean that they can't be happy in a smaller tank, just won't grow so big.
 
Yeah I kept my Sturisoma and to be fair those are the ones I would probably reccomend Sturisoma Aurem - not the most common one but pretty common but I like them because they swim around the sides and decor more than the other species and they are probably the easiest to identify - have a look for them on planet catfish.

Not sure on the BGK size thing I always thought they got to 18 inches in the wild but smaller in tanks?
Ill see if i can get them then. I had a look thorough most of the types of planet catfish the Aurems and Sturisoma festivum both caught me eye.


Not sure on the BGK size thing I always thought they got to 18 inches in the wild but smaller in tanks?


I have certainly seen absolutely enormous BGK's in captivity, but these were all in huge tanks. I suspect that they are a species which is highly sensitive to the size of it's environment, and is easily stunted by a smaller tank. Doesn't mean that they can't be happy in a smaller tank, just won't grow so big.
Ill maybe leave them out then.
 
Glad you got to convince your mom!
I would go with a BGK. They max out at around 18-21''.
Nice mix of cichlids.
For dithers, dwarf rainbows would work. Silverdollars, redhooks, etc.
 

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