New Fish Or Not?

[BigbruiserAl]

Well was going to add some bolivain rams or apisto to my tank tommrrow when a friend said the tank is cycled so why not add both

Rio 350L tank has been running 3 weeks but the External was cycled before adding to the tank. Tank has 2000LPH flow with stats 0,0 10-20ppm for 3 weeks

Stock in so far:

10 Congo tetra
12 rasbora's
8 Sterbai

Thinking of adding 4 bolivian rams and 4 appisto/ornage all at once or play it safe with just the rams?

The tank is planted and has lots of caves and 5 coconut huts

 

[KittyKat]

The number of fish would be fine, but I would not add Bolivian rams unless the tank is 4 ft long.

 

[kevinjames]

those congos are tiny, you may be in for a shock when you see how big they get.

id add them seperately, more enjoyment that way imo and let them establish territories seperately.

 

[BigbruiserAl]

The number of fish would be fine, but I would not add Bolivian rams unless the tank is 4 ft long.

350L rio's are 4ft tank Got any infor on 4ft tanks & Bolivian never read this in any of their care sheets)

Congo tetra can grow up to 3.5 inches, while a female usually stay around 2.5 inches

establish territories was what i was thinking...adding them all at once and let them decide whos is what

 

[Wills]

Hmmmm it could go a little wrong if I am honest. I just think that a hareem of Apistos and 2 potential pairs of Bolivian Rams could all get a little crammed and a bit stressed at one an other. Maybe a pair of the Rams and a trio of the Apistos and then a pair of angels with them?

Also kind of got to agree with Kevin, never underestimate how chunky Congos get they do get to a substantial size and quite round and bulky but in a tank that size dont worry

Also might be a good idea to add the fish in a few weeks apart - I would go with the Rams first to let them set up their territory and then add the slightly tougher Apistos.

Nice looking tank though When those plants fill out it will look great

Wills

 

[kevinjames]

The number of fish would be fine, but I would not add Bolivian rams unless the tank is 4 ft long.

350L rio's are 4ft tank Got any infor on 4ft tanks & Bolivian never read this in any of their care sheets)

Congo tetra can grow up to 3.5 inches, while a female usually stay around 2.5 inches

establish territories was what i was thinking...adding them all at once and let them decide whos is what

believe me ive kept congos and they get big and chunky. ive had a couple of males get close to 5". of course they will be fine in a rio 350 but when they are all mature you may want to lower the number of them to around 6.

 

[KittyKat]

The number of fish would be fine, but I would not add Bolivian rams unless the tank is 4 ft long.

350L rio's are 4ft tank Got any infor on 4ft tanks & Bolivian never read this in any of their care sheets)

I have only seen them reach their full potential size (which is larger than what most caresheets state) in larger tanks. So, I could not, with a clear conscience, ever keep them in anything smaller than that. If you look around the forum, you will see that my tank size recommendations are usually larger than what most people will be happy to give/use. I do come to them from my personal experience, it is my opinion, and you should accept it as such.

establish territories was what i was thinking...adding them all at once and let them decide whos is what

For moderately peaceful and small species of SA cichlids, I find that the territorial aggression is usually con-specific for the most part (between members of the same species).

Hmmmm it could go a little wrong if I am honest. I just think that a hareem of Apistos and 2 potential pairs of Bolivian Rams could all get a little crammed and a bit stressed at one an other. Maybe a pair of the Rams and a trio of the Apistos and then a pair of angels with them?

I don't think the rams will cause problems, but it is always a possibility.

Also might be a good idea to add the fish in a few weeks apart - I would go with the Rams first to let them set up their territory and then add the slightly tougher Apistos.

That probably would be what I would do as well.

 

[BigbruiserAl]

Thanks i dont have any problems with my conscience putting rams in 4ft tank, thanks for the advice ill stick with the rams today only

 

[KittyKat]

Thanks i dont have any problems with my conscience putting rams in 4ft tank, thanks for the advice ill stick with the rams today only

Yeah, from what I have seen 4 ft is generally ok for them. Looking forward to photos!

 

[Wills]

It wasnt the Rams I was worried about really its the Apistos, if you have a hareem of 1 male 3 females you basically have 4 pairs and then two pairs of breeding rams might take a bit of a battering from a patroling male Apisto

But yeah sounds like a good plan starting with the Rams

Wills

 

[KittyKat]

It wasnt the Rams I was worried about really its the Apistos, if you have a hareem of 1 male 3 females you basically have 4 pairs and then two pairs of breeding rams might take a bit of a battering from a patroling male Apisto

Sorry, must have misread.

 

[BigbruiserAl]

having second thoughts about apisto's.... went into the LFS and he had fully grown Congos in there thats one chunky fish and i have 10 lol.

Went for GBR 4 instead. Put the tank temp a couple of C and see how we go...dam impulse buy i should know better but their soooo pretty