Need A Centerpiece Fish

[Torchwood~Mindfreak]

Well I have a 37 gallon tall tank that's been set up since last march. It's residents include 5 harlequin rasboras, 5 serpae tetras, 1 platy, 1 zebra danio (She doesn't like other danios I've tried), 4 male guppies and atleast one fry that I've seen, and 2 bulldog plecos. I'll post updated pics soom point soon. My only regret with this tank is not doing a natural scape, I really don't like the fakeness of my tank but I'm afraid it would cost alot to redue it. Anyway I'm pretty sure I still have room in my tank and I just don't like how empty it looks. What are some other fish I could put in here with these guys. Maybe something bulkier and prettier. Any suggestions?

 

[ZoddyZod]

With regards to the zebra danio, in what way didn't the fish 'like' the others that were put in? Danios are schoaling fish and like to be in large groups. If your fish chased the others when they were added, that is perfectly normal behaviour. Zebra danios chase each other pretty much constatnly and set up a heirarchy within the group. Once that is established the ferocity of the chasing should die down......but will still occur frequently. I'd give it another go.

you've got quite a lot of scope there for new fish. Here are a few that might be of interest

Dwarf Gourami - stunning colours. Keep 1 male only. Not sure who it would get on with the guppies though, you'd need to watch closely.
Bolivian Rams - great characters, colour up very nicely once settled in (can look drab in the shops). You could have 2/3 in your tank.
Apistogramma - several different species including the 'cockatoo' and Agassizzi. Either keep 1 male or 1 male + 3+ females

There are a lot of other dwarf cichlids that could work. Have a search for them and see if any are of interest, then post back here and we'll see if suitable.

If your tank is tall enough (15"+ in water height) then possibly an angel

 

[dayzofspeed]

go planted it needn't be expensive as you can get plants that are not overly demanding for example java moss, java fern, anubias all prefer lower light conditions and dont need co2 and all that, check out my tank pics in my signature i have low light, no co2 and just dose liquid fertiliser with my waterchange, i just recently got a snakeskin gourami as a centrepiece and its worked out well as it seems very happy as a single

 

[karin]

How tall is the tank? If it is 18 inches or more you could do a single angel or a single keyhole cichlid but the guppies would be a likely lunch when either of these got bigger. If the guppies are essential then , a trio of dwarf gourami's are a good choice (M and 2 F). The bolivians and apistogramma will stay toward the bottom 1/3 of the tank.

Natural tank ideas? Lots of rock with caves. Wood can be expensive but you could research to see if you have anything around you outside that would work. Live plants are a great idea too.

 

[Torchwood~Mindfreak]

When I say she didn't "like" them I meant when I bought her I bought her with about 4 or 5 other zebras, she would constantly chase them, nip fins, etc and not let them eat. (This was early on in my tank as she is my fish I've had the longest) After they died I got the rasboras and she much prefers shoaling with them. She never gives any problems anymore, and seems perfectly happy she's always with them.

My tank dimensions are 30"W x 12"D x 22"H

Zoddy the fish you listed are beautiful. I've had a male dwarf gourami and he was my favorite fish but last week he and my last female guppy died. Her of dropsy and him I'm not sure but IDK how old he was. I've always thought those bigger pretty fish are more aggressive? I'll look up some info about them

 

[ZoddyZod]

I've always thought those bigger pretty fish are more aggressive? I'll look up some info about them

if by "bigger pretty fish" you mean the angel, then there is a possibility it will munch your guppys (depending on size). Buy a juvenile and you might find that it ignores them as it grows up.

The general rule is if a fish can get another fish in its mouth, it will probably try to eat it, so keep that in mind.

The other fish (dwarf cichlids) are generally very peaceful. They should only become aggressive during breeding. Even then they will make a territory in the tank and just keep the other fish away via chasing.

 

[BIG BAD BARRY]

I have a topic going which is similar and people have suggested some center piece for me as follows:

Rotkeil severum
Keyhole cichlids
Festivum
Apistogramma borellii - Umbrella Apisto. This one is smaller though

 

[ZoddyZod]

I have a topic going which is similar and people have suggested some center piece for me as follows:

Rotkeil severum
Keyhole cichlids
Festivum
Apistogramma borellii - Umbrella Apisto. This one is smaller though

a bigger tank would be required for the severum.

 

[Carlovel1]

What about a Pearl Gourami?

 

[Torchwood~Mindfreak]

Well i've been looking through and the ones that really catch my eye are these.
Apistogramma cacatuoides
Apistogramma rotpunkt
Apistogramma macmasteri
and Mikrogeophagus ramirezi

Does anyone have experience with these fish? And would any of these be a goood fit in my tank?

 

[Gvilleguy]

Based on your current stock listing, is it fair to say your pH is 7.0+? I thought most dwarf cichlids prefer low pH of 6.0, so I'm not sure they can be recommended for this tank. Let us know your pH level.

I have four Bolivian Rams, and they are great centerpiece characters for my community tank. The Bolivians are considered more hardy than the Ramirezi you listed (German Blue Rams), although they are less colorful. If you go with Mikrogeophagus Ramirezi your tank water stats probably need to stay very pristine (low pH, zero ammonia/nitrite, and low nitrates). (you can see Bolivians in the video in my signature)

 

[symon_say]

Not as flashy as those species that have been mentioned, but yesterday i saw a blood red hifin lyrateil swordfish and think that fish looks really good, i gets about 4" and is really peaceful fish.

 

[neo83]

Well i've been looking through and the ones that really catch my eye are these.
Apistogramma cacatuoides
Apistogramma rotpunkt
Apistogramma macmasteri
and Mikrogeophagus ramirezi

Does anyone have experience with these fish? And would any of these be a goood fit in my tank?

Based on your current stock listing, is it fair to say your pH is 7.0+? I thought most dwarf cichlids prefer low pH of 6.0, so I'm not sure they can be recommended for this tank. Let us know your pH level.

I have four Bolivian Rams, and they are great centerpiece characters for my community tank. The Bolivians are considered more hardy than the Ramirezi you listed (German Blue Rams), although they are less colorful. If you go with Mikrogeophagus Ramirezi your tank water stats probably need to stay very pristine (low pH, zero ammonia/nitrite, and low nitrates). (you can see Bolivians in the video in my signature)

GVG makes a very good point about the Bolivian Rams. If you have a pH over 7.0 then Bolivian Ram would be a better alternative than the Mikrogeophagus Ramirez. I have one bolivian myself although not as lucky as GVG.

In terms of the Apistogramma's you mentioned, A. cacatuoids and A. macmasteri are hardier than others. please bear in mind i'm a beginner as well and i'm posting based on what i read and what was advised to me. I have a pair of A. macmasteri myself (mis-sold as A. Viejita) with my Bolivian Ram and my pH is 7.6. The advice i got is they can be acclimatised to higher pH as long as it's not too high and most importantly if the water quality is maintained which means, not missing any water changes and maintaining a stable tank. And also one thing you can be mostly sure of is they'll not breed if you get a pair as they need their natural environment of a low pH of 5-6. But they are great fish.

BTW, forgot to add that if you buy the locally bred fish than the wild caught one's you should most probably be fine as they would have been raised/kept in similar water parameters as yours'.

Good luck

 

[Torchwood~Mindfreak]

My pH is between 7.6 and 7.8 (Right between the cards on the API master test kit lol)

 

[Gvilleguy]

I would carefully research any cichlids with that pH range.