Looking To Re Stock My Tank

[stephen.h89]

i am looking to re stock my 180 ltr tank as it didnt sell, i want either new world or tanganikan cichlids, basically my question is what would be better suited to my tank size, and if it was your tank how would u stock it?

 

[Wills]

I would probs do a pair of Festivums with a trio of Cupid cichlids and a pair of Laetacara Dorsiger or a pair of Bolivian Rams with a few panda cories and some flame tetras

Wills

 

[stephen.h89]

ok, that is quit a small stock list in comparison to community fish, can u not keep as many cichlids together then?

 

[Verminator89]

Firemouth Cichlids, get a pair They are magnificent fish, stay to a reasonable size and are very easy to breed Perhaps have a shoal of smaller fish such as some tetras, maybe rasboras? In a simple set up with a few branch like roots coming vertically down into the tank with slate scattered here and there. On a sandy substrate thats not to deep, perhaps with a small clump of vallis here and there, perhaps some anubias on the wood in places. Thats what i would do if i had an empty tank to start afresh with.

 

[Verminator89]

ok, that is quit a small stock list in comparison to community fish, can u not keep as many cichlids together then?

The bigger the fish are the less of them you can keep in a tank. In a tank such as this you could keep maybe 30/40 tetras, or 1 or 2 pairs of breeding cichlids. Depending on the max size of the cichlids and taking into account their temperament you may only be able to keep 1 pair. It all depends on what fish you want with regards to your tank size how many you can stock.

I have a Rio 180 and i used to keep 1 pair german blue rams, i had 2 clown loach, 2 flying fox, 10 rummynose, 5 dwarf chain loach, 1 bristlenose plec and an opaline gourami. In the same tank now i just have my Jack Dempsey cichlids because their big, boistrous and he ate all my tetras

 

[Wills]

ok, that is quit a small stock list in comparison to community fish, can u not keep as many cichlids together then?

Quite a small list? The festivums get to about 6 inches and stay around mid water then the cupids get between 3-4 inches depending on gender and dominance in the group and then the laetacaras or rams which ever you chose get to a stocky 2.5-3 inches so thats 7 mid/large cichlids for the tank and then adding in cories and tetras I would say 8 of each of them and I would consider that a pretty well stocked 180 liter tank even for a community set up..... How many fish did you want to have?

 

[stephen.h89]

Firemouth Cichlids, get a pair They are magnificent fish, stay to a reasonable size and are very easy to breed Perhaps have a shoal of smaller fish such as some tetras, maybe rasboras? In a simple set up with a few branch like roots coming vertically down into the tank with slate scattered here and there. On a sandy substrate thats not to deep, perhaps with a small clump of vallis here and there, perhaps some anubias on the wood in places. Thats what i would do if i had an empty tank to start afresh with.

i have a pair of firemouths in one of my other tanks, they are in with 9 gouramis 2 clown loches 2 silver sharks 1 albino cory and 1 aquatic frog, but they keep attacking my louches, so i was hoping some1 would give an example of what i could put with the firemouths.

 

[stephen.h89]

Quite a small list? The festivums get to about 6 inches and stay around mid water then the cupids get between 3-4 inches depending on gender and dominance in the group and then the laetacaras or rams which ever you chose get to a stocky 2.5-3 inches so thats 7 mid/large cichlids for the tank and then adding in cories and tetras I would say 8 of each of them and I would consider that a pretty well stocked 180 liter tank even for a community set up..... How many fish did you want to have?
[/quote]

sorry i thought u meant a pair of Festivums with a trio of Cupid cichlids and a pair of Laetacara Dorsiger so 7 fish in total or a pair of Bolivian Rams with a few panda cories and some flame tetras

 

[Curiosity101]

Here is a rough list of possibilities I came up with for my 120l ...
Dwarf Flag Cichlid - Laetacara curviceps
Sajica/T-Bar Cichlid - Archocentrus sajica
Rainbow Cichlid - Herotilapia multispinosa
Keyhole Cichlid - Cleithracara maronii
Seven-Stripe Cichlid - Archocentrus septemfasciatus
Cutter's Cichlid - Archocentrus sp. 'cutteri'
Rio Miua Apisto - Apistogramma sp. 'Miua'
Honduran Red Point - Cryptoheros sp. 'honduran red point'
Nijsseni's Dwarf Cichlid - Apistogramma nijsseni

Not all of the above are common, and they can't all be kept together. I put the list together with the theory of buying a m/f pair (or male and a few females) of only one species and then building tank mates around them as the centerpiece.

I'm sure Wills will be able to strike off any that don't look suitable but I reckon they should all be ok in the 180 so long as you plan the rest of the tank around them.

I also found these gorgeous things when browsing a cichlid site the other day, Geophagus "tapajos orange head", not so sure you'd be able to do a pair as I don't know much about them. But I reckon (down to what I have read), a male/female pair would be fine.

 

[Verminator89]

I also found these gorgeous things when browsing a cichlid site the other day, Geophagus "tapajos orange head", not so sure you'd be able to do a pair as I don't know much about them. But I reckon (down to what I have read), a male/female pair would be fine.

Oh wow i want them! They're stunning!

 

[Wills]

What size are all those other fish in as you have a few foot long fish in there like the clowns and the sharks if they are in this 180 at present with 9 gouramis and other fish you are quite over stocked. But if you are re juggling you should end up with a nice tank - that list of cichlids that curiosity suggested is a good list but some of them are particularly aggressive and would limit your choices so see what you like and we can work around that.

Just one more thing to add those Geophagus would not be suitable for this tank they get to an average of 6 inches and are very stocky fish quite tall and a big bull male will make 8 inches - they are also not best kept as a pair and do better in groups of 4-6 or more - the cupid cichlids I suggested are an alternative to these for the smaller tank like these as are the bolivian rams. Ideally redheads want at least a 270 liter tank for a small group of them but then again others wont put them in anything smaller than a 120 gallon tank - the other option is Guinacara but after having one in my 240 and seeing just how big they are I would hesitate to suggest these for a 180liter tank.

The stock list I gave you I felt was a decent balance of all sorts behaviour and levels of activity that fish of south america can offer - the festivums would be out in the upper/mid water all the time while the cupids would spend their time sifting the substrate for food while the laetacara would dwell around the decor and in their caves breeding etc but due to the combinations of sizes and territory requirements I could see it working it also helps that none of these species are particularly aggressive - if you went for something like a pair of honduran red points you might get away with them and 1 FM but not 100% on how that would fair in there but then obvs with other fish like catfish and schoolers and then again if you got a breeding pair of sajica you would just have that pair because a breeding male sajicca is one of THE most aggressive fish you will ever come across they have been known to take out fish much bigger than them in a community set up but a lone male would work with perhaps one or two of equal sized fish in that set up as well.

Wills

 

[Curiosity101]

that list of cichlids that curiosity suggested is a good list but some of them are particularly aggressive and would limit your choices so see what you like and we can work around that.

Yep, just to add to the OP. I came up with that list a possible list for having a breeding pair (and nothing else) in the tank. So although some are peaceful and work happily with tank mates, plenty aren't. So it is purely a list of cichlids that you could potentially fit in that sized tank... it's by no means a suggested stocklist like Wills gave

 

[meguro]

if its 4ft long melanotaenia rainbowfish. if its less than 4ft long pseudomugil rainbowfish and/or m. praecox

 

[stephen.h89]

thanx for all the advice, i wil do some resarch on the species advised

 

[ChilliPepper]

Have a look at my stock list in my signature/profile for my 50g. OK, it's a 190L not a 180L, but not a whole lotta difference. Ignore the Geo (he will be going in my large tank eventually) as Wills said they will need a bigger tank long term.

I really, really recommend Praecox Rainbowfish, they are fantastic. I have 12 in my tank and they add such colour and activity to it. They also encourage the shyer dwarf cichlids out and make them more confident.

How about a school of the Rainbows (can't have any larger Bows in a 3ft tank, but could go for the smaller Rainbows like Threadfin or Blue Eyes instead), a couple of Bolivian Rams and some bottom feeders like a small Plec, Corydoras, Khuli loaches.

Or you could get a pair of mid-size cichlids, with some dithers?