Larger Fish For Community Tank

[jspen26]

hey all, i am in the middle of slowly stocking my 3ft 190L(50 gallon i think?)
i plan on having:
8-10 black neons
8-10 cardinals
8-10 glowlight tetras
5 sterbai corys
5 panda corys

im looking for a larger feature fish or pair of fish that will not harm any of the other inhabitants. i like gouramis and rams but have no idea on the temperament.

also ideas for other bottom feeders that go well with the corys. any ideas will be very much appreciated

 

[fluttermoth]

Could you post the dimensions of the tank,and whether your water is hard or soft, please?
 
Have you cycled your tank (and how)? What fish, if any, do you have already?

 

[Zante]

Considering you've got all soft water fish, I'll assume you have a soft water set up.
 
I'd see a pair of keyhole cichlids fit very well in there. They are larger than rams, but are very peaceful, even when spawning, you wouldn't think they're cichlids from their behaviour.
 
Unfortunately I couldn't find any pictures that do them any justice, they are really lovely fish, but at least this one should give you an idea.
 

 

[Byron]

Also assuming your water is on the soft side, or at least not hard as rock, the Bolivian Ram (Mikrogeophagus altispinosus) is a good larger fish for community tanks with the named smaller shoaling fish.  This species does very well as a solitary individual; if you want a pair, make sure they are bonded as like all cichlids the fish won't always accept any mate.
 
I would not consider the common or blue ram, Mikrogeophagus ramirezi, as this species needs warmer water than most of the tetras and panda corys mentioned.  The Bolivian will be fine at "normal" tropical temperatures around 75-76F/24C.  At warmer temps, around 80F, the common ram, cardinal tetra, sterbai cory would be fine together; the glowlight and black neon would be at the upper end of their range which is not always ideal.  The higher the temperature, the harder the fish has to work just to "live".
 
You mentioned gourami...here the Pearl Gourami (Trichopodus leerii) comes to mind.  A group of three, one male and two female, would be fine.  This is a much more peaceful gourami than others in this genus (like the blue, gold, etc, which can get quite feisty and are able to eat small linear tetras).  The Honey Gourami would also be peaceful, though much smaller.
 
Byron.

 

[sawickib]

Love pearl gouramis myself, Ive got 4 and they mind theyre own business at all times, however all the fish are bigger than them but they never fight with eachother. 

 

[jspen26]

thanks for the replies
in relation to all the questions asked
yes its cycled and the water is on the softer side and i already have 5 black neons 5 glowlight tetras and 2 sterbai corys in the tank. not sure on exact dimensions but like 3 ft x 1.5-2ft x1.5-2ft

out of the fish suggested (pearl gourami, keyhole cichlid & bolivian ram) which would be the most peaceful in this setting, i know individual fish have different teperaments but in general.

@byron if i were to get a single bolivian ram would it matter if it were a male or female?

@zante if there were a pair of keyholes would they breed in the community tank? and if so would any survive to adult size?

thanks for all advice

 

[Byron]

thanks for the replies
in relation to all the questions asked
yes its cycled and the water is on the softer side and i already have 5 black neons 5 glowlight tetras and 2 sterbai corys in the tank. not sure on exact dimensions but like 3 ft x 1.5-2ft x1.5-2ft

out of the fish suggested (pearl gourami, keyhole cichlid & bolivian ram) which would be the most peaceful in this setting, i know individual fish have different teperaments but in general.

@byron if i were to get a single bolivian ram would it matter if it were a male or female?

@zante if there were a pair of keyholes would they breed in the community tank? and if so would any survive to adult size?

thanks for all advice

 
As you say, individual fish sometimes behave outside the "norm" for a species, but all three are on the peaceful side.  The Boplivian can be kept singly, male or female; the male is a bit larger and colourful but not to a large degree; when juvenile next to impossible to distinguish male/female, but observing how the individual fish behave in the store tank may clue you in as the males and females will be quite noticeable in behaviours towards each other.
 
I'm not meaning to answer for zante, but if you have male/female of any cichlid and assuming they accept each other (what we term bonding) they will definitely spawn.  Same goes for the Pearls.
 
I see I previously missed your question about additional substrate fish with the two groups of corys.  I would not add much here, except perhaps a small-species loricariid, like a Whiptail Catfish, singly or 2 or 3.  Make sure it is the smaller species Rineloricaria parva, and not one of the larger "Royals."  Very peaceful, and an interesting addition to a community tank.  There is also a "red" variant, sometimes commonly called Red Lizard Whiptail, that is probably derived from R. parva, or a close species, but they get along together fine.  As they mature they become more brown than red, but still a nice contrast.

 

[Zante]

thanks for the replies
in relation to all the questions asked
yes its cycled and the water is on the softer side and i already have 5 black neons 5 glowlight tetras and 2 sterbai corys in the tank. not sure on exact dimensions but like 3 ft x 1.5-2ft x1.5-2ft

out of the fish suggested (pearl gourami, keyhole cichlid & bolivian ram) which would be the most peaceful in this setting, i know individual fish have different teperaments but in general.

@byron if i were to get a single bolivian ram would it matter if it were a male or female?

@zante if there were a pair of keyholes would they breed in the community tank? and if so would any survive to adult size?

thanks for all advice

 
 
Byron's response is correct, if you have a pair of cichlids and they are happy in the tank they will spawn. Whether they will actually raise fry to adult size depends on too many things to say. I've had keyholes, blue rams, discus and apistogrammas in my community tank over the years, and the ones to successfully spawn and raise their young were the discus, with me doing absolutely nothing to help them along.
 
In my opinion of the three you listed the most peaceful will be the keyholes. They're almost embarrassingly timid. Obviously that is barring exceptions to the rule. You might get a psycho on your hands, but that's the case whatever fish you get.
 
I'd also consider getting a few more sterbai corys. At least eight more.

 

[jspen26]

thanks for the help byron and zante.

what about kuhli loaches for the bottom?
and zante what stopped your rams and keyholes from succesfully raising fry? was it just the other tankmates eating them or something else? and would it be okay to have a single male keyhole

 

[Zante]

It was mostly the other tankmates I think. Maybe discus being larger were more intimidating and the tank was well fed, so the predators had less of an incentive. Quite a few little discus were eaten though.
 
You should be fine with a single keyhole, but I still would advocate for getting a pair. You'd loose out on a lot of interaction and the fish would be a lot happier as a pair. Cichlids are social fish, and fare a lot better when they have company.

 

[NickAu]

 
what about kuhli loaches for the bottom?

I have 18 I think ( only way to be sure of the exact number is to pull the tank down ) In a 2 foot tank with a Betta and a bunch of shrimp. They are great little fish. They also need lots of places to hide, Over 90% of the bottom of my tank is covered by Annubias tied to rocks and bog wood the more cover they have the more confident they are the more you see them, I also think they should be the only bottom dwelling fish because they are shy and things like corys might be a bit too active for them but thats just my opinion.
 
I started with 6 and they bred in my tank so I must be doing something right.

 

[jspen26]

 

 
what about kuhli loaches for the bottom?

I have 18 I think ( only way to be sure of the exact number is to pull the tank down ) In a 2 foot tank with a Betta and a bunch of shrimp. They are great little fish. They also need lots of places to hide, Over 90% of the bottom of my tank is covered by Annubias tied to rocks and bog wood the more cover they have the more confident they are the more you see them, I also think they should be the only bottom dwelling fish because they are shy and things like corys might be a bit too active for them but thats just my opinion.
 
I started with 6 and they bred in my tank so I must be doing something right.
 

yeah i think you are right about the corys, i might just stick to my corys in this tank. thanks for your input

It was mostly the other tankmates I think. Maybe discus being larger were more intimidating and the tank was well fed, so the predators had less of an incentive. Quite a few little discus were eaten though.
 
You should be fine with a single keyhole, but I still would advocate for getting a pair. You'd loose out on a lot of interaction and the fish would be a lot happier as a pair. Cichlids are social fish, and fare a lot better when they have company.

i would love to get a pair, im just worried about potentially being overrun with their fry as i dont think my tetras would be able to control the population and i only have the 1 tank to keep them in

 
I started with 6 and they bred in my tank so I must be doing something right

did they have any special requirements to breed or did you just keep the water good and let them do their thing?

 

[NickAu]

I just feed them change the water and gave them lots of hiding spaces, My LFS guy calls it "accidental breeding",  I say accidental my foot the little boogers bred because they wanted to.
 
 
See the coconut shell? Thats where they all live. This also gives you an idea of how densely planted my 2 footer is

 
Yes that is a baby BN you see on the shell..
 
 

 

[jspen26]

that looks like a great tank. never seen a baby bn before either! is the 18 from one spawn or multiple spawnings?

 

[NickAu]

 
is the 18 from one spawn or multiple spawnings?

No idea.
 

 
never seen a baby bn before either!

I have a male and female and they spawned.

My Bnpleco's Are Breeding.
 
I would love it if my Clown Loaches bred accidentally too.
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/437257-my-new-project-for-a-local-charity/page-6