Hit A Brick Wall With My Stocking Plan....

[Zoepop]

Hi, planning what to put in my tank but not sure where to go...starting to think i should start again and go for Africal Cichlids but all planted up now and I already have my 10 pristella tetra and snails in the tank!

here is my setup so far...

Tank (LxDxH): 120 x 50 x 40 cm (240.0L)
Filters: Hagen Fluval 405

I already have in there...
10 x Pristella Tetra (Pristella maxillaris)
2 x Zebra Apple Snail (Asolene spixi)
3 x Apple Snail (Pomacea bridgesii)

On order coming mid next week...
10 x Julii Cory (Corydoras julii)
10 x Cherry Shrimp (Neocaridina heteropoda)


my problem is what else can I put in there? was really wanting some rams or other cichlids but my ph is 7.4 so not sure that would be suitable, looked into changing my ph but it does look a little like that will be tricky to keep it constant so if possible I was going to try to work around it.

My tank has been running for two weeks now (set up using some of that bacteria in a bottle and also washed out filters from a mature tank) and my last water test yesterday had
Ammonia 0
Nitrate 5
Nitrite 0
pH 7.4

My husband would like a couple of 'feature fish' a little larger with a bit of personality but not sure what would go well?
Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance

Zoepop

 

[anwhyte]

I kept a couple of Kribensis under similar conditions (very attractive & relatively peaceful cichilds), also quite cheap & easy to find in the shops.

 

[Ben M]

personally, i wouldn't put any cichlids with the corys, (which will most probably be trilineatus), as i'm trying to get rid of my kribensis because they are bullying them. also, the kribs will eat the shrimp. for a centre piece, why don't you get a shoal of larger tetras, such as serpae tetra(which aren't actually that big, but look great) http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/35121-serpae-tetra/ or congo tetra http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/41714-congo-tetra/. they look great in a large shoal.

 

[Zoepop]

(which will most probably be trilineatus),

I bought them from here
http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220590777590&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT
what do you think they are

Really fancied a couple of bigger fish but those congo tetra are beautiful

What about a single severum do you think that would work? or do they need to be in pairs?

 

[Ben M]

they look like trilineatus to me. they are a lovely fish, and you may possibly breed them. C. julii are quite rare, you can tell the difference because the trilineatus have squiggly lines on the head, and the julii have dots on their head. but when i got my corys (which were labelled C.julii) they turned out to be C.copei.

severums have been known to eat small fish, and i very much doubt that the shrimp would survive.

i can't really think of a couple of bigger fish that you could get that would be suitable for your tank. the congo tetras are quite big, and would look great. i'm not sure if rainbow fish would be an option. i've never kept them myself, so i don't know how they'd be with the shrimp.

just thought, the congo tetras may eat the shrimp as well. are the shrimp a must? i think that amano shrimp would be ok, but they cannot breed in freshwater, so you wouldn't get any babies.

cheers

 

[Zoepop]

thanks for the ID

I can farm out the shrimp that wouldn't be a problem it's the fish I'm really after

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

How about a pair of Agassizii cichlids? They look gorgeous and don't have the same reputation as kribs for being bully at breeding time (if that happens sucessfully outside iedal water conditions).

Your stocking looks like there is nothing top dwelling, so how about
Celebes Halfbeak (gorgeous male plus hareem locally)
A small non-gresive killi, like the Clown Killifish
Pseudomugil Furcatus, the Forktailed Rainbowfish
A group of Hatchets

From those I listed, I believe Furcatus would be the most hardy and in many ways prettier and easiest to look after. I loved them in a LFS, but they don't fit in with my Zaire biotope idea of semi-predatory fish!

 

[Ben M]

hi, a lot of people who keep corys wouldn't put any cichlids in with them, but i've never had any experience with apisto's, so i don't know. i wouldn't get the hatchets if i were you. mine just sat at the top of the tank, and every so often one jumped out when i was cleaning the tank, and killed itself.

cheers

 

[meguro]

angelfish and bolivian rams will be fine in pH 7.4. actually pretty much any water parameters (bar extremes) as long as theyre acclimatised sufficiently

quite a number of cichlids can co-habit with corydoras

 

[Zoepop]

Your stocking looks like there is nothing top dwelling, so how about
Celebes Halfbeak (gorgeous male plus hareem locally)
A small non-gresive killi, like the Clown Killifish
Pseudomugil Furcatus, the Forktailed Rainbowfish
A group of Hatchets

most of those look great apart from the Hatchets which I have to admit really don't appeal! especially the thought of them flying out of the tank!

I'll have a look to see if any of those are at my LFS.

I have looked at the Bolivian rams too but wasn't 100% if they'd be ok at my higher pH oh and is the Bolivian ram different to the balloon ram?

Thanks

 

[Ben M]

hi, i think i'm right in saying that the fish will most probably be tank bred, so the pH won't matter as long as they are correctly acclimatised.

cheers

 

[Zoepop]

hi, i think i'm right in saying that the fish will most probably be tank bred, so the pH won't matter as long as they are correctly acclimatised.

cheers

Thanks

 

[drobbyb]

hi, i think i'm right in saying that the fish will most probably be tank bred, so the pH won't matter as long as they are correctly acclimatised.

cheers

Agree here. Captive bred fish really don't mind their pH being outside of their native waters. Just be sure to acclimate slowly using the "drip" method (Use a piece of airline, knotted at one end loosely. You put the free end into your tank and the knotted end into a bucket and start the siphon. Adjust the flow rate by loosening the knot so that you have a few drops per second. Empty the fish bag into the bucket. Check back frequently. When you have a nice amount of water in the bucket, remove a cup full every so often until you have nothing but pure tank water in the bucket. This should take a few hours if done correctly. If you don't have a few hours, you can speed up the drip rate, but you take a risk of your fish not being completely acclimated. This is still better than just dumping them into the tank.)

 

[Zoepop]

Should I be doing this for every new fish i add to the tank or just ones that may usually have a different pH requirements? I've just been floating for 30mins, adding some tank water and floating for another 30 then popping them in the tank.

Agree here. Captive bred fish really don't mind their pH being outside of their native waters. Just be sure to acclimate slowly using the "drip" method (Use a piece of airline, knotted at one end loosely. You put the free end into your tank and the knotted end into a bucket and start the siphon. Adjust the flow rate by loosening the knot so that you have a few drops per second. Empty the fish bag into the bucket. Check back frequently. When you have a nice amount of water in the bucket, remove a cup full every so often until you have nothing but pure tank water in the bucket. This should take a few hours if done correctly. If you don't have a few hours, you can speed up the drip rate, but you take a risk of your fish not being completely acclimated. This is still better than just dumping them into the tank.)

 

[Zoepop]

ok what about this lot...


Already in or on order...
10 x False Julii Cory (Corydoras trilineatus)
10 x Pristella Tetra (Pristella maxillaris)
1 x Apple Snail (Pomacea bridgesii)
3 x Zebra Apple Snail (Asolene spixi)
5 x Ramshorn Snail (Planorbidae)
10 x Red Cherry Shrimp (Neocaridina heteropoda)


Proposed
1 x Siamese Algae Eater (Crossocheilus siamensis)
1 x Black Ghost Knife Fish (Apteronotus albifrons)
6 x Forktail Rainbowfish (Pseudomugil furcatus)
2 x Bolivian Ram (Mikrogeophagus altispinosus)


I know the Black Ghost is a bit of an oddball to throw into the mix but saw one at the LFS and they are really beautiful, I'm aware as well that it may eventually need a larger tank but if I'm forced to buy a bigger tank a couple of years down the line I'll welcome the excuse

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Z