Large Fish community

Nemo91

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Hello, all
I have a 450l tank and want a large fish community, i have seen a lot of dwarf cichlids i like. But looking to get other options that i might have over looked. post any fish you think might look good in my tank.
 
In a 450ltr, you could have one pair of dwarf cichlids. Maybe 2. Those fish don't like crowding and are not for large communities.

Lake Malawi mbuna would be good, as they thrive in crowds. Large groups of tetras as well.
 
i have a pair of kirbensiss and i do like the double red apistogram. I was advised not to get cichlid like the firemouth as they will be aggressive in my tank. I do like cichlid tho i have tetras and gourami at the moment with 2 African shrimp.
 
It will help to know the tank dimensions (length and width especially). And the source water parameters primarily GH and pH.
 
I would not keep African kribs and South American apistos of any type in the same tank. They occupy the same region of the tank but coming from different continents they don't 'speak' the same language and conflicts can occur just through lack of understanding each other.
 
Also be careful mixing African and South American cichlids. The South Americans like a low PH when many, but not all, African's like a high PH.

So, what is your tank's PH? Knowing this can help a lot as to advising fish.
 
It will help to know the tank dimensions (length and width especially). And the source water parameters primarily GH and pH.
the tank is 151 x 55 x 60 I was going for a large communal tank i don't want fish conflicts.
 
I would not keep African kribs and South American apistos of any type in the same tank. They occupy the same region of the tank but coming from different continents they don't 'speak' the same language and conflicts can occur just through lack of understanding each other.
i was thinking the same thing as i was in Maidenhead aquatics and they said he wouldn’t put cichlids in my tank he said to move them to my 125 and then use the 450l tank for them.

I want a large community in my tank so was looking at Bolivian and electric blue ram as they are from the same area.
 
Water parameters (GH, pH of source water)?
 
The fish you are suggesting are soft water fish, particularly electric blue rams. If your water is hard, or even middling, it isn't good for rams. A pH of 8 is also too high for rams. Bolivian rams have a wider hardness range range than Mikrogephagus ramirezi in all its colour forms, but they won't do well in hard water.

We need a number for GH, and the unit of measurement as there are several units. If you measure it yourself using strips be aware that some brands only measure up to 180 ppm; anything higher still reads as 180.
 
mine says 6 which i have just goggled says its fine, i think im going to stick with killifish and rainbow fish to make it easier for me and i will get a pair of Bolivian ram when the ph drops.
 
mine says 6 which i have just goggled says its fine, i think im going to stick with killifish and rainbow fish to make it easier for me and i will get a pair of Bolivian ram when the ph drops.

There may be some misunderstanding here, I will hopefully explain it.

First, the GH of 6, what unit of measurement is this? The hobby uses two interchangeably, degrees (expressed as 6 dH) and ppm (parts per million, hich happens to be the same as mg/l) expressed as 6 ppm. To switch from one to the other you use 17.9 and multiply dH by 17.9 to get the equivalent ppm, or divide ppm by 17.9 to get the equivalent dH. These two un its are vastly different. For example, 6 ppm would be 107 ppm. But 6 ppm would be less than half of 1 dH.

The second thing to recognize is that different fish species have or can have very different requirements when it comes to GH, even more than pH. This is why we must know the actual GH number. There is no value in members recommending say livebearers if the GH is 6 ppm, or even 6 dH, as both are much too soft. But soft water species would thrive in either.

No reliable website can say a GH of 6 is "fine" unless they reference specific species. You mention some species. Killifish is a large group of small fish, many from soft water and I believe some are from moderately hard water (the killifish experts can help with this if specific species are mentioned). Rainbow fish is also a large grouping, and some of these need very soft water, while others need moderately hard. The Bolivian Ram is a soft water fish that may be able to tolerate moderately hard, but I wouldn't.

On the pH. This is closely connected to the GH and KH. Adjusting the pH depends upon the buffering capacity of the GH and KH, especially the latter. We/you need to know these numbers before you can make any decision. Adding organic matter can cause the pH to lower, but only depending upon the level of the GH and KH.

Adjusting water parameters is believe me an extremely complicated business.
 

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