Options For Stocking An Amazon Biotope

[m1lky12]

Hi, I've had my 175 liter corner tank set up for about 3 weeks now after finishing my fishless cycle and I decided to go for an Amazon Biotope setup. So far my stocking  consists of;
 
11 Rummynose Tetra
2 Keyhole Cichlids
2 Banjo Catfish
1 Bristlenose Catfish
 
Now at the moment I'm coming to the end of treating the tank for a minor outbreak of whitespot in the tetras and intend to leave the tank to settle for a few weeks before anymore additions are made, but I have a couple of questions that I'd like to hear some opinions on further stocking. My plan was to add these fish in;
 
7/9 Bandit/Panda Cory
7/9 Marbled Hatchetfish - (possibly)
1 Twig Catfish
 
I was wondering whether there were any other centerpiece fish someone could suggest? I know the obvious option would be Angelfish or a dwarf cichlid but I'm looking for an option with lots of colour and would get along with the current and possible future stock.
 
Another question is is there any snail eating fish that come from the Amazon? Once again it would have to be interesting and get on with the fish I have listed but also help control the snail population in my tank and I can't recall a fish from South America that is a known snail eater.
 
Any opinions would be appreciated, just to stress I don't really have much plans to change my current and planned stock just looking for ideas or potential options, thanks.

 

[Noahsfish]

Have you looked at apistogrammas? I'm pretty sure they don't eat snails though..

 

[Wills]

Great to hear of an other Amazon lover on here again!
 
Tank sounds pretty good so far
 
I would go for a small group of the Hatchets and a larger group of the Panda Cories due to them staying a bit smaller. I would skip the Twig Catfish as they are hard to keep in a tank as they have a need for a certain protein or element from their natural habitat that is very hard to replicate in a tank and many often die off young as a result, not a good fish for the aquarium trade IMO...
 
After adding these two groups though I feel you are quite well stocked in this tank - but interestingly its actually your Banjo Cats that take up quite a lot of room... I was tempted to suggest as a replacement for the Twig Catfish going for Whiptail Cats as they are much much hardier and some of the species have a passing similarity to the twigs like Sturisoma Barbatum - but I would actually recommend LDA 010 Red Lizard Whiptails. Maybe based on the adult size on these compared to activity levels there are maybe some other stocking options?
 
For your centre piece fish I would probably call your Keyholes the centre piece but I can see why you want something more colourful - As a bit of a challenge to find how about adding a pair of Krobia Xinguensis Nice calm cichlids that would compliment your Keyholes and add in some nice orange flashes as well, see what you think. The other option could be Apistogramma Panduro - for me pound for pound the most colourful Apisto because of the females getting the bright yellow and black patterns and the males a metalic blue with a red stripe down the end of the tail.
 
I think I would look at doing something like one of these options
 
Option 1 -
 
2 x Keyhole Cichlids
6 x Marbled Hatchetfish
11 x Rummynose Tetra
9 x Panda Cory
2 x Banjo Catfish
1 x Bristlenose Catfish
 
Option 2 -
 
2 x Keyhole Cichlids
2 x Krobia Xinguensis
11 x Rummynose Tetra
12 x Panda Cory
1 x Bristlenose Catfish
3 x LDA 010 Red Lizard Catfish
 
Option 3 -
 
2 x Keyhole Cichlids
3 x Apistogramma Panduro - 1m 2f
11 x Rummynose Tetra
12 x Panda Cory
1 x Bristlenose Catfish
3 x LDA 010 Red Lizard Catfish
 
 
My favoring would be for option 2
 
Hope that helps
 
Wills

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I'd go for option 2.

 

[Ruskull]

I like option 3, but I've always wanted Apistos so I'm a bit biased.

 

[m1lky12]

Thanks for the quick replies guys! 
 
 
 

Option 1 -
 
2 x Keyhole Cichlids
6 x Marbled Hatchetfish
11 x Rummynose Tetra
9 x Panda Cory
2 x Banjo Catfish
1 x Bristlenose Catfish
 
Option 2 -
 
2 x Keyhole Cichlids
2 x Krobia Xinguensis
11 x Rummynose Tetra
12 x Panda Cory
1 x Bristlenose Catfish
3 x LDA 010 Red Lizard Catfish
 
Option 3 -
 
2 x Keyhole Cichlids
3 x Apistogramma Panduro - 1m 2f
11 x Rummynose Tetra
12 x Panda Cory
1 x Bristlenose Catfish
3 x LDA 010 Red Lizard Catfish

I've just had a look at all 3 of the fish you put forward Wills and they're all pretty spot on with what I'm looking for.. I want them all now 

 haha the Krobia Xinguensis especially, whether I'd be able to track them down at my LFS is a different matter though! And with the Banjo Catfish it would be hard for me to give both of them up, searched long and hard for them in my LFS after my last one died, and for a fish which spends 90% of it's life buried they're oddly interesting, I also almost came home with a Royal Whiptail last week so may have to look into those again, do they do better as individuals or groups of them? I've heard of people saying both?
 
Personally I'd agree with you and eagles and go with option 2, possibly subbing out the red lizard catfish for my banjos, although those Apistos are gorgeous, from reading a couple of bits on them the females can get quite aggressive apparently and my tank being a corner tank has quite a small footprint which may be an issue with those.
 
Looking forward to my next trip to MA in search of these Krobia Xinguensis!

 

[eaglesaquarium]

No harm in asking if they'd order them for you.  

 

[Wills]

What part of the country are you from? Krobia are a bit rare but not impossible They are being bred by a lot of private keepers so places like Aquarist Classifieds might have some on there.
 
The Royal Whiptail is a great fish I have 2 Sturisoma my self I have 1 Barbatum and 1 Auream both males I think I prefer Barbatum but my Auream is about 4 or 5 years old now so dont want to swap them really. They are a really nice fish and in someways I prefer Whiptails to Plecs because in my experience they are a hell of a lot more active and only create a fraction of the waste.
 
So that said what about a list like this
 
2 x Keyhole Cichlids
2 x Krobia Xinguensis  or   3 x Apistogramma .sp - 1m 2f
11 x Rummynose Tetra
12 x Panda Cory
2 x Banjo Catfish
1 x Sturisoma sp.
1 x Bristlenose Catfish
 
Wills

 

[m1lky12]

I'm down in Dorset, had a quick look on Aquarist Classified but no luck. I'll keep an eye out for them and ask around my LFS for them, I'd imagine they wouldn't be cheap though as I've read they're pretty new to the hobby?
 
And that list looks pretty good to me! A bit gutted that I turned down the Royal Whiptails twice though, that was another fish on my bucketlist but as I said in my original post I was considering my chances with a Twig Catfish but like you said Wills they're very hard fish to keep.
 
But yeah I'll keep looking for the Krobia or Apistos and leave that part of my stocking free until I either crack and get the Hatchetfish with a lesser number of Corys and revert to the original stocking option 1 or manage to stay patient until I find one of the species you've put forward. 

 

[Wills]

Ah okay quite far from anywhere I can recommend - I know Nobody of the goat lives in Southampton which isnt a million miles away and he knows how to source a rare fish or two might be able to help out a bit.
 
I would always go for a Whiptail over a Twig cat.
 
There is a real thrill for me in finding unusual fish - especially when doing a biotope because when you have them it does make you appreciate the tank more and gives a bit more pride in the collection - Krobia are a great character as well I had a pair at one point but rehomed them ages ago quite timid but loads of character especially when food is around
 
Wills

 

[m1lky12]

Southampton's a bit further than I'd be willing to travel but will keep that in mind if I have no luck down my way 

 And I've never really had any kind of unusual uncommon fish before so should be a fun journey trying to track some down and then hopefully keeping them!
 
Thanks for your opinions and advice, it's very much appreciated, and I'll try update this topic if I manage to track any down