Compatibily

[JohnDyer]

I've got a 56 gallon tank, fairly well planted, though I pulled a ton recently. I have 1 small cave, currently housing a Chinese Algae Eater. The filter is 350 GPH, only loaded with bio-foam. Water readings are all within normal ranges, PH is 7.2, temp is 76 F, Nitrates are 10-20.
Stocking is:
6 Neon Tetras (May increase to 8 or 10)
5 Tiger Barbs (May increase to 6)
4 Male Guppies
1 Male Dwarf Gourami
1 Angelfish
1 Buenos Aires Tetra
1 Cherry Barb
1 Chinese Algae Eater (These last 3 are survivors from an older tank)
I can get rid of the CAE, and maybe the Buenos Aires and Cherry Barb too, if my LFS will take them. I'm not going to kill a perfectly healthy fish though. Angelfish aren't recommended with Tiger Barbs or Neon Tetras, but my girlfriend insisted. I'll probably give it away too if I can convince her

Anyways, my question is, are Rams or Cacatuoides compatible with this setup? I read on some sites they need caves, and on others that plants will do. I can buy some slate for caves, but have no idea how to go about building them.
Apistos in general are hard to come by in the Philadelphia area, and are expensive when they do show up, but those colors are nice. German Rams are a bit more colorful than Bolivian, but I hear they are harder to keep.
I'd appreciate any advice you guys can give. Thanks!

 

[To3kn33]

Your water ph is above what is recommended for German blue rams but would be perfect for Bolivians, however you would need to lower your nitrates for them maybe. Is the tank planted? I had the same kind of question as you and I decided I get 3 more angelfish to take my number to 4, best decision ever.

 

[Wills]

Hi I would restructure some of your tank in the mean time before you get anything else.

1 Angelfish - how old is this Angel? If it is quite young and you want to add more I would get 4 or 5 more and wait for them to pair up and decide which to keep.
3 - 5 Apistos (1m ?f) - Any species but always keep 1 male to multiple females you have few bottom feeders now so they would have the floor to them selves.
1 Male Dwarf Gourami
4 Male Guppies
8 Neon Tetras - just be careful with these around Angels if they start to disappear take them out
10 Tiger Barbs - bigger numbers make them less nippy when you get to 10 or more they are rarely an issue.

1 Chinese Algae Eater - I would be cautious with these as they rarely work in community tanks. If you can rehome I would.


I would rehome these as well, and you are right never put a healthy fish down Most stores will take them.
1 Buenos Aires Tetra
1 Cherry Barb
as they both need schools of their own species and if you dont want to commit to a school of each they will have a better chance at life in a school back at a store. You could always try this sites classifieds section or if your in the US the Aquabid site is reasonably good I think.

Wills

 

[JohnDyer]

My tank is planted, yeah. I will probably slowly add in more plants.
The Angelfish is young, around 3 cm in length excluding the tail.
The Barb and Buenos Aires had a school once, but they all died when I went to college and left them to my parents. They're so old I'm not sure if the pet stores will take them.
The fish on Aquabids are quite expensive, at least $20 without shipping. 3-5 is way out of my price range. I was looking for a pair, but that would be hard to guarantee in an online purchase.
Can 56 gallons hold that many fish? It seems a little crowded with my current stocking, but maybe that's just me.

 

[JohnDyer]

How much can a 56 gallon tank hold? Would it be big enough for 6 more tetras, 3 more barbs, and a pair of dwarf cichlids, if I get rid of the 3 older fish?