New Tank?

[Fraoch]

Well I was thinking about getting another tropical tank, about 150 liters, long with a large surface area. I was thinking about getting it for some cichlids, corys and tetras. I really like blue/gold/bolivian rams and kribs, how many of these would fit in that size of tank? I was thinking maybe a pair of gold rams and a pair of kribs or bolivians, some peppered corydoras and a shoal of tetras?

What kind of tetras would be good in this sort of tank? I would like them to be peaceful and shoal together.
And what other fish would you recommend? i already ahve guppies in another tank and would they be ok in this one too?
thanks

 

[Fraoch]

Bump, just looking for some ideas/advice
maybe panda corys?

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

If you are talking about a 3-3.5 foot long tank, I'd personally say no more than a breeding pair of cichlids per square 12" of floorspace, but bare in mind that cichlids are unpredictable and especially Kribs and my Lionheads...

I had a breeding pair that laid eggs under the Juwel filter box in my Rio240 (4-foot). The parents turned nasty on every other tankmate, including some young female Lionheads, killing some fish outright and one poor Yellowtail that faded away over the space of a week from a massive injury. Even my top dwelling African Butterfly had his spindly pectoral fins chewed on the water surface, the Hypoptopoma catfish (very peaceful little guys, like Otos) were the last to be rescued.

Yet everything I had read suggested the parents would guard the fry well but leave everyone alone that kept their distace from the fry... How "wrong" mine were! Some weeks later, in a this same 240l tank to themselves, the male then turned on the female, ripping her fins to shreads and she was terrified ("treading water" in a tank corner).

I guess the moral of my story is that is you intend to get a potential breeding pair, stick to a single pair of cichlids and observe their temprement when fry arrive. If they are "fair" with tankmates, you may get away with adding another pair of cichlids in the future.

 

[Fraoch]

Oh thats terrible! Everything i read suggested that kribs were peaceful and wouldn't go near other fish.
have you known of gold rams getting aggressive?
thanks f

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

I don't that much about Rams, despite their beauty, as they have a very fragile reputation (German Blue and Electric Blue varieties come to mind) and I did not fancy their chances in moderately hard Southampton tap water (the main reason I chose African and Asian riverine fish was their decent match to my tap water). Bolivian Rams are supposed to be hardier and cope better with harder water (also a more normal temp. of ~25C, as opposed to ~28C of the GBRs).

Generally speaking, I believe Rams are usually relatively peaceful as cichlids go, even as parents (to the extent where preedatory tankmates stand good chances of eating the youngsters).

 

[gunman]

I think you can get a wrong'un in any species, OK, I appreciate some species are more likely to cause problems, but every fish has a different temperament.

I am considering setting my old 160l tank up for malawi's, I know it's a tad small but before I knew what I was doing I ended up with 2 yellow labs in my community tank and I am very keen now to get them out on their own. No chance of being able to buy a larger tank this side of xmas .

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Yeah, but bare in mind Rift Valley cichlids do not follow the rules... Overstocked tanks prevents aggression, as nobody can be "king of the hill" guarding a particular rock covered in algae