Stocking for my 4x3x2

[malfunction]

Hi guys,

I currently have a 4ft tank that houses a colony of convict cichlids that I want to restock. The convicts are being sold in the next couple of weeks and I’m thinking of replacing them with the a soft water community. The fish I’ve been thinking about are:

Centrepiece cichlids:

• Electric blue acara*
• Severum
• T-bar cichlid
• Cupid cichlid
• Heckeli cichlid
• Keyhole cichlid

Top swimmers:

• Pearl gourami (1m 3f)*
• Dwarf gourami (1m 3f)*
• Golden wonder panchax
• Hatchetfish

Middle/dithers:

• 6-8 denisoni barbs*
• 8-10 bleeding heart tetras
• 8-10 black phantom tetras
• 8-10 red phantom tetras
• 6-8 Congo tetras
• 12 cherry barbs

Bottom dwellers/clean up:

• 6 bronze cories*
• 6 peppered cories*
• 6 sterbai cories*
• Whiptail catfish
• 4 Siamese algae eaters*

Ideally, I’d like to have 3-4 individual specimens of the centrepiece cichlids mixed with some of the fish on this list. I’ll only be using male cichlids to avoid any breeding and the fish with an asterisk are those I already have in my 3ft tank (in smaller numbers than listed above), so I’m keen to include them in the new setup. Does anyone have any experience/thoughts on mixing these for my new setup? Are there any compatibility issues I may have missed?

Thanks

P.S. in the next 6 months I’ll be firing up my 8ft tank, so if any of the cichlids/larger fish don’t work, they’ll probably end up there.

 

[Colin_T]

Only keep 1 species of labyrinth fish (Bettas & gouramis) in the same tank because they are highly territorial and fight. Pearl gouramis will bash the dwarfs. Dwarf gouramis also carry some nasty diseases and should be avoided until the breeders fix the problem.

Big male Acarichthys heckeli will bash the small cichlids.

Hatchetfish won't do well in tanks with big boisterous fish like cichlids and gouramis.

Gold panchax probably won't do that well either unless you make sure they get food.

Congo tetras are probably a bit big and boisterous for the phantom tetras.

 

[malfunction]

Only keep 1 species of labyrinth fish (Bettas & gouramis) in the same tank because they are highly territorial and fight. Pearl gouramis will bash the dwarfs. Dwarf gouramis also carry some nasty diseases and should be avoided until the breeders fix the problem.

Big male Acarichthys heckeli will bash the small cichlids.

Hatchetfish won't do well in tanks with big boisterous fish like cichlids and gouramis.

Gold panchax probably won't do that well either unless you make sure they get food.

Congo tetras are probably a bit big and boisterous for the phantom tetras.

Ok, that’s some helpful feedback - thanks for that.

I’ve wanted to keep heckeli for a while, but had a feeling it wouldn’t work with the non-cichlids on my list. Guess I’ll have to save it for my next build.

So in terms of the panchax, do you think it’s a bad fit simply because it isn’t an aggressive feeder and would be outcompeted by the quicker fish? I wondered if it would clash with the gouramis because they both preferred the top level.

In terms of the gouramis, I already have 2 pearls (1m 1f) and 1m dwarf together in my 3ft tank. Although he’s only half the size of the pearls, the dwarf is clearly top of the pecking order, and all three of them are getting on well (only very infrequent displays of aggression - they mostly ignore each other). Is this an indication that they would work out long term? Or would aggression increase once they’re older?

 

[Byron]

In terms of the gouramis, I already have 2 pearls (1m 1f) and 1m dwarf together in my 3ft tank. Although he’s only half the size of the pearls, the dwarf is clearly top of the pecking order, and all three of them are getting on well (only very infrequent displays of aggression - they mostly ignore each other). Is this an indication that they would work out long term? Or would aggression increase once they’re older?

I will respond to this issue, which applies to all fish we keep in aquaria.

Each species of fish has genetic programming that includes normal behaviours for that species. It the fish is healthy, and given the environment it expects, it will normally exhibit behaviours normal to that species. Why some fish do not seem to do this is usually due to an inappropriate environment, though there is always the issue of an individual fish being "different." [The mistake many aquarists make is acquiring fish "x" and hoping the fish behaves contrary to the expected norm for that species. This is never a wise decision (not suggesting you did this, just noting the fact)].

This is why fish often seem "peaceful" in store tanks and we get the mistaken impression that this or that will work. The over-crowded tanks, probable incorrect water parameters, lack of necessary cover in the tank, possible ammonia/nitrate issues, etc, can all impact how a fish responds. Given a new tank at home it can change, sooner or later. Always assume a given fish will be healthy and normal in its behaviours; research its needs, which is what the fish "expects" of its surroundings, and provide accordingly.

As an example from your situation, it is quite possible (but not at all certain) that the fish will revert to being more aggressive once it is in a larger environment. This is quite common.

 

[malfunction]

I will respond to this issue, which applies to all fish we keep in aquaria.

Each species of fish has genetic programming that includes normal behaviours for that species. It the fish is healthy, and given the environment it expects, it will normally exhibit behaviours normal to that species. Why some fish do not seem to do this is usually due to an inappropriate environment, though there is always the issue of an individual fish being "different." [The mistake many aquarists make is acquiring fish "x" and hoping the fish behaves contrary to the expected norm for that species. This is never a wise decision (not suggesting you did this, just noting the fact)].

This is why fish often seem "peaceful" in store tanks and we get the mistaken impression that this or that will work. The over-crowded tanks, probable incorrect water parameters, lack of necessary cover in the tank, possible ammonia/nitrate issues, etc, can all impact how a fish responds. Given a new tank at home it can change, sooner or later. Always assume a given fish will be healthy and normal in its behaviours; research its needs, which is what the fish "expects" of its surroundings, and provide accordingly.

As an example from your situation, it is quite possible (but not at all certain) that the fish will revert to being more aggressive once it is in a larger environment. This is quite common.

Ok, thanks for that. I’m not too concerned about the gouramis as they get on well together in their current tank. I’ll probably trial them together in my 4ft tank - if all goes well, then great as I’m really looking forward to that setup. If there’s too much aggression, then I can always move one of them back to the 3ft before any damage is done.

What’re your thoughts on combining the panchax and gouramis?