5 X 2 X 2 Community Setup

[kevinjames]

i am going to be ordering a new aquarium next week. it will be 5 foot by 2 foot by 2 foot and approx 500 litres. i know a lot of people will use this space to specialise and go with a certain biotype/species but i like the idea of a large community of semi peaceful fish. i currently have a 240litre and a 200litre and will be keeping the 200litre aswell. i have a range of fish already and im unsure which ones to put in the 500litre. id like to list the different fish for your opinions of where i should put them. some of them HAVE to go in the 500litre because of their size!!! filtration on this new tank wont be a problem as it will have a fluval fx5 and aqua one 1050. please add any suggestions also to what you think i could add to my large community setup i am putting together. the list of fish i already have is as follows:

1 sailfin plec
2 blood parrot cichlids
5 denisonnii barbs
6 congo tetra
15 rummynose tetra
2 german blue rams
2 bolivian rams
2 keyhole cichlids
2 silver angels
2 bristlenose plecs
1 polkadot loach
5 sterbai cory
6 assorted corys (albino, swartzi, matae

thank you

 

[kizno1]

1 sailfin plec - need to go in the new tank as they can get 18" plus
2 blood parrot cichlids - need to go in the new tank and get quite big and nippy
5 denisonnii barbs - get 15cm and really like room to swim so i would put them in the new tank
6 congo tetra - could go in either
15 rummynose tetra - i would keep them in the small tank because the parrots are likely to eat them when fully grown.
2 german blue rams - need to be kept at higher temps
2 bolivian rams - could go in either
2 keyhole cichlids - could go in either
2 silver angels - They will do best in the big tank but the parrots might be a little pushy
2 bristlenose plecs - could go in either but the common might push them around a little
1 polkadot loach - need to be in groups
5 sterbai cory
6 assorted corys-need to have atleast 4 of each.

I would be tempted to get rid of the parrots and common blec because they will be the 2 that could cause problems.
I would up the temp in the 200l to 28-30c and keep the
4 GBR (2 pairs)
20 rummynose tetra
15 sterbai corys


and then in the 500l have
2 keyhole cichlids
4 bolivian rams (2 pairs)
4 angelfish
8 pokadot loaches
6 of each of the assorted corys
2 BNs
8 denisonnii barbs
8 congo tetra

And then maybe a bigger pair of cichlids as a centre piece maybe some type of acara like port or twin spot or you could just up the numbers of the fish already in there.

 

[kevinjames]

im going to be keeping the parrots and the sailfin as they are the main reason im getting a bigger tank. as for the introduction of acara, would they mix well with the parrots?

 

[kizno1]

It might but parrots can be a bit unpredictable and often quite nasty. You might have to get some of the fish rehomed because not all are going to work out with the parrots.

 

[kevinjames]

It might but parrots can be a bit unpredictable and often quite nasty. You might have to get some of the fish rehomed because not all are going to work out with the parrots.

these parrots do seem quite well behaved, they get on well with my angels and keyholes. even when spawning recently they didnt get out of hand. i was thinking a pair of severums as well.

 

[kizno1]

I think 1 sev should be fine but if you get a pair and they breed i think there will be some problems between them and the parrots. Or maybe a pair of rokeil severums might work. But then its not going to be much of a community tank.

 

[kevinjames]

ok so apart from the sailfin, would i be ok to add a couple of l numbers to this? any other suggestion?

 

[james_fish]

I reckon up the shoal of your Polka-Dot loaches. I have some of these dudes, and im sure yours will appreciate some mates of the same species
Nice fish.

Just a thought, James.