Stocking an 80g

[MrsSchultz]

I am currently cycling an 80g. I have no idea what to stock it with. What does everyone have in theirs?

 

[Lajos_Detari]

What is your water hardness?

 

[MrsSchultz]

Soft

 

[Lajos_Detari]

Is your tank size 4 feet (length) by 2 feet (width)?

You can consider the following:
1) 1 group of 10 Corydoras to cover the bottom level.

2) 1-2 groups of Tetras(Rosy Tetra, Lemon Tetra, Red Phantom Tetra, etc) or Rasboras (Harlequin, Espei, etc) to cover the middle and top level.
Get at least 10 for each group.

3) Get 2-3 male Apistogrammas (Cacatuiodes, Agassizii, Macmasteri, etc.) as your centrepiece fish. Or 5-6 Checker board Cichlids.













https://youtu.be/pI7Vn-OqTeo

 

[ClownLurch]

Welcome.
Don’t buy any fish until you know you know your water hardness and ph. Then check your preferred fish on the seriouslyfish.com website to see if they suit your water hardness and ph and tank footprint (LxW).
I’d then run em by this place to see if theyd kill or frighten each other or cross breed etc first.
Most generally available fish will have been kept by someone on here and they’ll also have a few tips that may not be easily findable in books or the internet.
Have fun.

 

[Essjay]

Amateur fish keeper

Hey everyone. I'm from South Australia and live on a farm in the middle of nowhere and have to travel an hour to get to my lfs. I currently have a 10g with Neon tetras, white clouds, kuhli loaches, an algae eater and a yoyo loach. I also have a 55g which is my African Cichlid tank but it also...

www.fishforums.net

I would move all the fish from your 10 gallon tank, and increase the numbers of shoaling fish. Neons, white clouds and yoyo loaches need a group of at least 6 each and with 80 gallons to play with you could have a dozen of each and still have room for more fish.

What is the algae eater? It could be anything from a plec to otocinclus to a chinese algae eater.

As you have soft water, I hope you are adding Rift Lake salts to the 55 gallon - unless the African cichlids are river species not from the Rift Lakes.

 

[MrsSchultz]

Is your tank size 4 feet (length) by 2 feet (width)?

You can consider the following:
1) 1 group of 10 Corydoras to cover the bottom level.

2) 1-2 groups of Tetras(Rosy Tetra, Lemon Tetra, Red Phantom Tetra, etc) or Rasboras (Harlequin, Espei, etc) to cover the middle and top level.
Get at least 10 for each group.

3) Get 2-3 male Apistogrammas (Cacatuiodes, Agassizii, Macmasteri, etc.) as your centrepiece fish. Or 5-6 Checker board Cichlids.













https://youtu.be/pI7Vn-OqTeo

This sounds like an amazing looking tank! I will definitely keep this in mind. Thank you.

 

[MrsSchultz]

 

[MrsSchultz]

That's my cichlid tank. There is a Texas and a JD in there growing out for another tank.

 

[MrsSchultz]

Amateur fish keeper

Hey everyone. I'm from South Australia and live on a farm in the middle of nowhere and have to travel an hour to get to my lfs. I currently have a 10g with Neon tetras, white clouds, kuhli loaches, an algae eater and a yoyo loach. I also have a 55g which is my African Cichlid tank but it also...

www.fishforums.net

I would move all the fish from your 10 gallon tank, and increase the numbers of shoaling fish. Neons, white clouds and yoyo loaches need a group of at least 6 each and with 80 gallons to play with you could have a dozen of each and still have room for more fish.

What is the algae eater? It could be anything from a plec to otocinclus to a chinese algae eater.

As you have soft water, I hope you are adding Rift Lake salts to the 55 gallon - unless the African cichlids are river species not from the Rift Lakes.

They're lake Malawi cichlids. What are rift lake salts?

 

[Essjay]

Fish from the Rift Lakes (mainly Malawi and Tanganyika) need hard alkaline water. If tap water is soft it is not good for fish that need hard water so the minerals that make water hard need to be added to the tank. The Rift Lakes have a chemistry a bit different from other hard water lakes/rivers and you can buy ready mixed minerals which make soft tap water similar to the water in Rift Lakes - these are called Rift Lake salts.
This is one example https://seachem.com/cichlid-lake-salt.php

 

[MrsSchultz]

Fish from the Rift Lakes (mainly Malawi and Tanganyika) need hard alkaline water. If tap water is soft it is not good for fish that need hard water so the minerals that make water hard need to be added to the tank. The Rift Lakes have a chemistry a bit different from other hard water lakes/rivers and you can buy ready mixed minerals which make soft tap water similar to the water in Rift Lakes - these are called Rift Lake salts.
This is one example https://seachem.com/cichlid-lake-salt.php

Well there you go.... My poor fish. I'll get some tomorrow. Luckily it's our shopping day. Thank you

 

[MrsSchultz]

Welcome.
Don’t buy any fish until you know you know your water hardness and ph. Then check your preferred fish on the seriouslyfish.com website to see if they suit your water hardness and ph and tank footprint (LxW).
I’d then run em by this place to see if theyd kill or frighten each other or cross breed etc first.
Most generally available fish will have been kept by someone on here and they’ll also have a few tips that may not be easily findable in books or the internet.
Have fun.

Thank you

 

[Essjay]

I suggest you pick up a GH tester while you are shopping if you don't already have one as you'll need to test the water to make sure you've added the right amount of Rift Lake salts. I would use a bucket of water to experiment with before using it in the tank. Then do water changes with hardened water to raise the GH slowly.

 

[MrsSchultz]

Thank you for your advice. So glad I joined this forum. I'm learning so much already.