Amazon/south America Tank Suggestions

[Fishy_Dan]

Hello!
 
After a 7 year break from fish keeping (moving house, moving job, getting married, buying a house etc., in other words getting old...) I am back and can't wait to get a new tank set up.
 
There's only really 1 place that I can suitably set up a tank in my house, it'll be in the living room next to the sofa, so it can't be very big and the filter will need to be quiet. I have the following equipment in mind:
 
Juwel Lido 120L tank (61cm x 41 x 58)
+ Cabinet
Fluval 206 external canister filter
 
I think this would fit quite nicely into the room and the added height of the tank take the capacity up to a decent level. I would love to set this tank up with an Amazon theme, I'm thinking sand and as the tank is almost a cube, a large tall piece of wood in the centre to provide a pivot for the fish to swim around. Hopefully being able to swim in a circle will help cover for the relatively short width of the tank.
 
I would have it moderately planted, with tall reed-like plants in the middle and some shorter plants as you move away from the centre. Then some floating plants to fill the corners at the top.
 
Now here's the tricky bit. I would LOVE to have a pair of angelfish, the tank is nice and tall but a bit on the short side for them. Could this stocking work?
 
2 x Angelfish
9 x Harlequin rasboras
+ Some shrimp and small snails
 
That would be my ideal, but I'm open to suggestions on the centerpiece fish. Can anyone recommend other centerpiece cichlids that would be a decent size and take up the upper/ middle levels of the tank?
 
Thanks!

 

[Byron]

I have a few suggestions that may help.  First, on the plants...what sort of light?
 
Wood is certainly an essential hardscape in Amazonian/South American aquascapes, but I would avoid a single large pipece and go for several smaller chunks, with some that stand.  Branches are ideal.  Not only will this open up the visual space, making the tank seem larger, it will provide a more natural environment for the fish.  A single large chunk of wood, especially centred, will make the space seem much smaller visually, but also from the fish's perspective too.
 
Angelfish is not an option here, unless you had a bonded breeding pair, on their own.  Angelfish are shoaling fish that live in smallish groups, and develop an hierarchy among the fish, and since they grow to 6 inches (15 cm) and have a vertical spin fan of 8+ inches (20 cm) and develop territories, they need much more space.
 
Staying with the Amazonian theme, the vertical tanks are ideal for many of the smaller characins, such as tetras and pencilfish, with perhaps a pair of dwarf cichlids, and some substrate fish like corys or one of the smaller pleco like Whiptail (Rineloricaria spp.).  The Asian rasbora species also will be right at home in this type of aquascape.  Branching wood would be ideal for this.  Plants (depending on the light question) can be restricted to floating, or floating plus a sword plant.
 
No mention was made of your source water parameters, and some of the foregoing will be more particular in requiring soft water.
 
Byron.

 

[Zante]

Aren't harlequins asian? They wouldn't fit in a south american tank.
 
You might want to consider the smaller angelfish Pterophyllum leopoldi. I'd still only keep one pair, but being smaller the tank will be less tight for them. They are more aggressive than the larger angels though, so consider them carefully.
 
Alternatively you could go for some of the smaller cichlids, such as rams or apistogramma, and get smaller fish for the mid and top level, such as otocinclus and pigmy corydoras.
 
If it were my tank, though, I'd go for very soft water, low ph and a cloud of Boraras brigittae either in a species tank (40 should start you off nicely and with any luck they'll start breeding) or with a small group of chocolate gourami (which aren't difficult to breed either, if you treat them well). 

 

[Fishy_Dan]

Well, a rethink may be on the cards. I haven't tested my water out of the tap, but looking at the most recent report from my water company it looks like I have very hard water. The average hardness for my area is 250ppm, the average pH is 7.7.
 
Not great for what I was planning!
 
Would a switch to an Asian biotype be more appropriate? Are Gouramis better suited to my water?
 
Thanks for the comments.

 

[Fishy_Dan]

I'll go ahead and get some test kits to see exactly what type of water is coming out of my tap.
 
Can anyone suggest a good test kit that covers all the bases? (pH, gh, kh, ammonia, nitrates etc.)

 

[FishCat_16]

I use the API master kit along.  Their GH and KH as sold together but separate from the master kit.  It's been working well enough for me so far and seems to be a pretty commonly used one.

 

[Byron]

Before spending money on GH/KH kits, check the website of your municipal water authority.  Most post water data, and the GH and KH may be there, or they could tell you.  GH and KH will not alter much in the aquarium, unless it is specifically being targeted.  I won't get into this now, let's see what you have first.
 
Most South American and most SE Asian fish are soft water.  There are a very few exceptions.  Central American fish are moderately hard water species.  While some species require fairly specific parameter water, there are others that have a wider tolerance.
 
And FishCat is right, the API liquid Master Kit is a good investment.  Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH are the most commonly needed tests.  GH/KH won't be needed unless one goes down the road of adjusting parameters, a complex task but sometimes possible.
 
Byron.

 

[Fishy_Dan]

I can find the KH reading, but there's no mention of GH. In my report KH is actually referred to as 'Total Hardness as CaCO3'. It's 250ppm but converting back that makes 14KH.
 
Is there another term that could refer to GH?

The full report says:
 
Total hardness as CaCO3: 250ppm
Degrees German(DH): 14
Degrees French: 25

 

[Byron]

I can find the KH reading, but there's no mention of GH. In my report KH is actually referred to as 'Total Hardness as CaCO3'. It's 250ppm but converting back that makes 14KH.
 
Is there another term that could refer to GH?

The full report says:
 
Total hardness as CaCO3: 250ppm
Degrees German(DH): 14
Degrees French: 25

 
That is the GH, not KH.  So you do indeed have fairly hard water.  The KH will be much the same.

 

[Fishy_Dan]

Given the hardness of my water I think I'll switch to some of the hardier Asian species.
 
A Malaysian slow river theme with sand, tree roots and leaf litter. Tall and floating plants to dim the light.
 
I think I can have 2 pearl gouramis and 10 harlequin rasboras. They seem to be quite hardy. I'll have to think about who could take up the space towards the bottom of the tank.