See Any Immediate Problems With These Fish?

[notscaredtodance]

29 gallon tank. It's not cycled yet. But when it is-

1 severum cichlid.
2 german blue rams
2 angels
4 cories (just a mix of whatever i think is cute, i hear they will school with eachother regardless of markings)

I feel like this might be pushing a little, and if it is, i'd rather not get the 2 angels, and get a few rummynose tetras, rather than not have the severum. I plan on getting the severum at about 3 inches, and the angels i'd get about nickel/quarter size.

 

[Gvilleguy]

Have you kept GBRs before? I have not, but everything I have read says you have to have a mature, pristine water situation.

Mature = months of the tank running with fish
Pristine = soft, acidic trending water; very low nitrates

From what I have read, some people just throw GBRs into new tanks with less than ideal conditions, and they do just fine. But I saw more stories of the fish not living for long unless you meet certain conditions.

Here is one source you can check:

German Blue Ram

And to quote the part about tank conditions:

"The German blue ram is not a suitable fish for newly set up aquariums; wait until the aquarium have been inhabited for quite a while and contains a thriving population of beneficial bacteria. You must also carry out frequent water changes and install adequate filtration. Wild German blue rams are typically found in areas with slow-flowing water, so vigorous water movements are not recommended in the aquarium.

Try to resemble the natural environment of the German blue ram in the aquarium, e.g. by using soft acidic water with a pH-value of 5. In the wild, the German blue ram is used to a water temperature of 25.5-29.5 ºC (78-85 ºF). Aquarium kept specimens will normally do fine up to 80 °F (27 °C) and they can usually adapt to a pH-value from 5.0 to 7.0. Some aquarists have even managed to keep German blue rams in moderately hard water. If you find it hard to keep the water in your aquarium acidic, add peat moss."

 

[ZoddyZod]

the Severum will grow too large for the tank. They can reach 12"

http/badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile22.html

and make sure you have a MINIMUM of 15" of water (not including gravel, etc) if you want angels. Their fins can grow very long and they need plenty of vertical room to move.

 

[PDSimon]

Yeah there is a problem with all of those

severums get much too big and therefore would cause massive problems
german blue rams aren't suited because of what gvilleguy was saing
the angels might not fit as stated above
I think cories need 5+ numbers

have you tried aq-advisor to get a basic outline ?

 

[Curiosity101]

Great advice so far.

But to add to it, please stick to one type of cory as they really do prefer their own species and wont neccessarily shoal with other types, also why only 4? In a 29gal I'd be aiming for at least a group of 6.
Particularly if you want GBRs I suggest keeping the temp of the tank at 27C min and at this sort of temperature you shouldn't really have peppered, bronze, albino or pygmy corys (which prefer significantly cooler temperatures).
Sterbai are particularly suitable to the warmer temps and IMO are actually some of the prettiest corys

 

[Gvilleguy]

Woah! Simon - I've been on this forum for months and that's the first time I've seen someone recommend the aq-advisor site. I've never heard of it before - that is a NICE calculator! Wish I had seen it sooner. According to my stats, I'm at 327% filtration capacity, and 70% stocked. I didn't know I was in that good a shape at this stage. Thanks for sharing.

 

[arobinson1984]

Hi,

Agree with everything stated so far,

As I mentioned in your ammonia thread, a 29gal is unfortuanately nowhere near big enough for a severum, you would need a tank double that size.

GBR's are notoriously delicate, require pristine conditions and also pretty precise conditions regarding temperature, max nitrate levels and PH. They need warmer temps of between 28-32 celcius which is too warm for many fish, a low PH of ideally between 5.5-6.5 although they can adapt to PH upto around 7. Also nitrates need to be kept low (max 30ppm) as these fish are delicate and respond negatively to high nitrates. If you want some rams, you would be much better off going for bolivian rams instead, they would be much more suited.

Angels grow tall, they require a tank which is more focused on height rather than length (or both of course) as they often reach 8-9" in height so they require a bare minimum of 15-16" of actual water depth so after taking substrate into account then the tank would need to be a minimum of 18" high.

Cories as mentioned would be fine, but ideally should be kept in groups of 5/6+ also as mentioned they should ideally e kept with the same species. I currently have 7 sterbai cories in my 33gal and they are stunning.



Andy

Woah! Simon - I've been on this forum for months and that's the first time I've seen someone recommend the aq-advisor site. I've never heard of it before - that is a NICE calculator! Wish I had seen it sooner. According to my stats, I'm at 327% filtration capacity, and 70% stocked. I didn't know I was in that good a shape at this stage. Thanks for sharing.

Just becareful when using that site, as simon mentioned it only gives a very basic outline and still lacks alot of specific conditions etc which could affect possible tank stocking. I much rather go from either personal experience or from experience of members I trust.


Andy

 

[notscaredtodance]

So I guess you're going to tell me to stick with mollies/platies/guppies/swords.

I'm also not a huge fan of most tetras. Lemons, rummynose, and hatchets I could be happy with. I just don't want ordinary looking fish, likea serpae or a columbian red-blue.

My tank is 18 inches with a sand substrate, and I read about not having more than 2 cm of sand or it can trap food and decay and be very toxic, so its still 17 inches of water for the pair of angels. I realize it's still slightly cramped.

The sterbai are really pretty. I'll definitely be happy with those instead of julli/pandas. I heard from a few sources that 4 was enough to make them feel secure, thats why that was my number. But I can definitely do 6.

If I absolutely can't have the severum, I still really want the GBRs. They're my "must have" fish. So I'd be willing to wait a few months after I add the angels/cories and get those.

My water parameters are: pH: 6.8 temp: 78F KH: 4. And ammonia/nitrite/nitrite are all out of wack right now, so I won't even list them. And I guess the pH could change too, by the time the cycle is done.

I've got one side of the tank a little more aggitated than the other. An AquaClear hob 50 is on it, with an airstone bubbler on the same side. I heard corys like playing in the bubbles, only reason I got it. The water is agitated on that half of the tank, but smooth on the other half.

Angels, GBR, and Sevrums all like that type of water movement, which was why I set it up like that. But since I can't get a severum at all, at least it still would work for angels and gbrs.

Any other slightly acidic, slow moving water, slightly warmer temp fish that would work with these? I was thinking honey gouramis, but Im not wild about them.

 

[Rainbow67]

So I guess you're going to tell me to stick with mollies/platies/guppies/swords.

Fish keeping is a hobby, but it is also an aquired skill that generally gets better with experience.

Even the best of us here will have tales of mistakes made and lost fish.....especially when we started our first tank.

One of the mistakes I think you are making is trying to keep fish which aren't the easiest to keep. and would be especially difficult for the newbie.
I would think both Rams and Angel fish too difficult and fussy of water conditions for a newbie to handle properly.

My strong advice to you is pick some hardy fish which are less fussy about particular water conditions.
However good intentioned you are or how disciplined you intend to be, you WILL make mistakes, and you most likely WILL have a few early casualties along the way, however choosing to keep Rams and Angel Fish as your first fish is probably over ambitious.
When you have become a capable fish keeper, and you will know this when you losing fish becomes a rare event, then perhaps you can "graduate" to the harder to keep species.

Don't run before you can walk!

 

[Gvilleguy]

So I guess you're going to tell me to stick with mollies/platies/guppies/swords.

If I absolutely can't have the severum, I still really want the GBRs. They're my "must have" fish. So I'd be willing to wait a few months after I add the angels/cories and get those.

My water parameters are: pH: 6.8 temp: 78F KH: 4. And ammonia/nitrite/nitrite are all out of wack right now, so I won't even list them. And I guess the pH could change too, by the time the cycle is done.

At least you're doing your research by asking the fish forum members for advice. I would have made a lot more mistakes if I had not checked here first.

I also plan to try either GBRs or Bolivian Rams (I think I have the right water quality), but I'm letting my tank get older first. I cycled for 2 months and have had fish for another 1 1/2 months. So the current fish I have (glofish, zebras, neons) are helping me mature the tank until I can get my 'centerpiece' fish!

Another type you might want to research are the Apistogramma dwarf cichlids. They are very interesting looking fish, IMO. But I'm only beginning my research on those, and there are MANY types of them. It's kind of confusing at first.

Regarding your water quality - my pH was hanging around 6.8 when I added fish, but as the tank gets older the pH has dropped to 6.0 - so it's a good idea to let your water quality get established before trying more difficult fish. My danios and neons are not having trouble adjusting to the changes.

 

[waterdrop]

Woah! Simon - I've been on this forum for months and that's the first time I've seen someone recommend the aq-advisor site. I've never heard of it before - that is a NICE calculator! Wish I had seen it sooner. According to my stats, I'm at 327% filtration capacity, and 70% stocked. I didn't know I was in that good a shape at this stage. Thanks for sharing.

I would agree with arobinson to just be careful about any calculator type site. I believe this particular one is done by one of our members and is sincere and one of the best ones around but I've seen other members here still warn that you need to be careful about it. Calculator sites tend, for one thing, to ignore the advice to stock lightly for the first year or two so that you can truly learn the "feel" of a successfully running tank. Overstocking is a serious thing. Experienced aquarists do do it but it can be tricky - there can be a dependency on there being other tanks around and other equipment if needed and of the problems of power outages and other such problems are not well thought out.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[mark4785]

Contrary to what was said above, German Blue Rams spawn in acidic to neutral water but don't in alkaline water. They are able to live and thrive in the alkaline water without any issues but they will not spawn.

Nitrates for GBR's should stay around 10-15 ppm in my opinion and a 1-2 month old aquarium would suite them so long as there is absolutely no risk of fluctuating ammonia and nitrite levels.

 

[Gvilleguy]

I'd love to try a pair of GBRs in my tank. Thanks for the information, Mark. How many GBRs do you have?

 

[BethK]

if you don't have the suited tank for GBR's, then have a look at apistogrammas, they are in the dwarf cichlid family too

Apisto Cacatuoides

Apisto agassizi

Apisto hongsloil

If you wanted a diff type of cory, why not try c aeneus black

 

[mark4785]

I'd love to try a pair of GBRs in my tank. Thanks for the information, Mark. How many GBRs do you have?

One female and one male. I'd love to lower the PH level so they spawn but I'm not experienced enough to do it safely due to lack of knowledge and experience.