180 Litre Tank,cardinals,phantoms,what Else?

[nicolaisam]

I have Recently stocked my cycled rio 180 with 20 cardinals and 12 Black phantom tetras and 4 otos
I now want a centerpiece fish or fish

would like it to swim in the Mid/upper of the tank as i have plenty of low mid level fish.

I like Bolivian Rams but think they are mid/lower tank.

Not sure my tank is big enough for Discus.
needs to be piecefull and colourfull
this is a photo of the tank with Tetras and Otos

Any ideas?

 

[fluttermoth]

Yes, rams do hang out lower down in the tank. How about a gourami of some sort? They're more top level swimmers. Don't ask me what species though; I had one gourami (it was a three spot; very aggressive) about 25 years ago and never had another one!

 

[moochy13]

ive never kept cardinals, but having neons id be a bit concerned if they were constantly hanging round the bottom of the tank like yours are in the picture. might be wrong but my neons and tetras are rarely that low down unless they're feeding off scraps. whats the 'current' like ? when i was playing with a powerhead in my tank, i noticed the direction/rate of flow majorly affected which part of the tank fish occupied. when i had a juwel internal like you, i directed the nozzle either straight up at the surface, or against the back wall of the tank.

 

[KittyKat]

+1, the cardinals should be in the middle, if anything towards the top... same with the other tetras, they shouldn't be so low down. Some water parameters please? Is the tank anywhere there the fish may get startled easily?

For a one metre tank, I would recommend a harem of Apistogramma (1m 3f) as centrepiece fish, maybe a group of 1m 3-5f honey gouramis for the top.

 

[BigTom]

I'd probably get some hatchets or similar for the top and then a pair/trio of Apistogramma or other small cichlids as centrepiece fish, to go with thew South American theme.

 

[nicolaisam]

The Cardinals have only just been put in there today.Will leave them a few days to settle.

Temp is 26 deg
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5ppm

Will adjust the position of the Outlet on the Internal filter to see if this helps.

 

[KkAaNnEe]

I seem to find that my neons have always hung out in the middle to lower level, my black neons are more upper tho

 

[Smells a bit fishy]

I have lake tebera rainbowfish, very active and get beautiful colours. And are top swimmers, however a metre lengh tank may be a little small for them

 

[nicolaisam]

+1, the cardinals should be in the middle, if anything towards the top... same with the other tetras, they shouldn't be so low down. Some water parameters please? Is the tank anywhere there the fish may get startled easily?

For a one metre tank, I would recommend a harem of Apistogramma (1m 3f) as centrepiece fish, maybe a group of 1m 3-5f honey gouramis for the top.

They seem to be moving about more today and will swim away from the group.They are now all swimming around and are now mid/lower parts of the tank.

They do seem a little spooked when i turn the lights off,not sure why,any ideas?

Have ordered a Moon light LED kit to go in my tank.

 

[KittyKat]

They do seem a little spooked when i turn the lights off,not sure why,any ideas?

Which part of the house is the tank in? How much light do you have? How long is it on for? Is it on a timer?

Have ordered a Moon light LED kit to go in my tank.

*algae... algae...*

 

[nicolaisam]

They do seem a little spooked when i turn the lights off,not sure why,any ideas?

Which part of the house is the tank in? How much light do you have? How long is it on for? Is it on a timer?

Have ordered a Moon light LED kit to go in my tank.

*algae... algae...*

The tank is in my living room.Its running the Standard Juwel Rio 180 litre lights,think they are 2x45w.

The lights are on for about 8-9hrs per day,i have a timer on order.

I was hoping that the Moonlight kit might stop them getting spooked when the main lights go off.I have a timer orederd for these.

Have removed the Reflectors from the lights,wondering if they are too bright.

 

[KittyKat]

The tank is in my living room.

Do lots of people walk right past it? For example, if it is near a doorway? Do you play loud music in the room, or have the TV on loud? Does anyone often shout in the room?

Its running the Standard Juwel Rio 180 litre lights,think they are 2x45w.

The lights are on for about 8-9hrs per day,i have a timer on order.

I was hoping that the Moonlight kit might stop them getting spooked when the main lights go off.I have a timer orederd for these.

Have removed the Reflectors from the lights,wondering if they are too bright.

At 1.9 wpg of T5 tubes, that is actually quite high lighting. Have you considered using only one of the tubes with a reflector? That should actually fix the problem of the fish spooking, while giving you enough light for plants. With both tubes on, you will probably get algae, at 8-9 hours per day even if you do fertilise, given that the tank is not heavily planted.

 

[nicolaisam]

The tank is in my living room.

Do lots of people walk right past it? For example, if it is near a doorway? Do you play loud music in the room, or have the TV on loud? Does anyone often shout in the room?

Its running the Standard Juwel Rio 180 litre lights,think they are 2x45w.

The lights are on for about 8-9hrs per day,i have a timer on order.

I was hoping that the Moonlight kit might stop them getting spooked when the main lights go off.I have a timer orederd for these.

Have removed the Reflectors from the lights,wondering if they are too bright.

At 1.9 wpg of T5 tubes, that is actually quite high lighting. Have you considered using only one of the tubes with a reflector? That should actually fix the problem of the fish spooking, while giving you enough light for plants. With both tubes on, you will probably get algae, at 8-9 hours per day even if you do fertilise, given that the tank is not heavily planted.

No loud music,no shouting,not very busy either.

Have removed both reflectors,this has lowered the lighting a lot.

They seemed a bit happier today and were using a lot more of the tank,some even took the flakes from the surface.

Have some Frogbit plants coming,hopefully they will shade the tank a bit.

I dont know if its possible to remove one tube from the built in lights on a juwel tank,hopefully someone will know on here.

Will drop the lights down to 7 hrs,have noticed that i am getting a small amount of algae.

Thanks

 

[KittyKat]

Are there not two light switches, one for each tube? That's always been the standard set up on all the tanks I've had, except for my latest display tank (which is a weird German one).. I don't know if it is safe to remove one of the tubes otherwise.. and yes, it really does sound like it's the bright light.

 

[nicolaisam]

There is only one switch

Juwel tanks are German.

Hopefully now the reflectors are removed,i will reduce the hours of light.

Will give them a few more weeks to settle.

Thanks for you help.