Stocking Rio 240

Confish · Jun 26, 2011

hi guys n girls ive moved home from uni but im not taking my tank back to uni this time due to size of my next house so it staying at home and my dad wants a peacful community tank so i was wondering what amazing ideas you guys could come up with i was thinking somthing like this

1 big center piece (cichlid)
2 smaller cichlids like rams
shoal of rummy nose tetras or somthing similar or maybe two smaller shoals
corys for the bottom or somthing similar?

what do you guys think?

p.s no internal filter anymore

juggernuts · Jun 27, 2011

I think if your looking for a centre piece cichild getting some little rummy nose may prove a tad awkward if this "BIG" centre piece fish grows a little larger chances are they will become snacks.

Also your looking for an easy peacefull community so yeh the rummy's sound like a great start and possibly the pair of rams but i would try and make sure you probably get two females if your interested in them, because if they begin to spawn they may prove a bit of a pain for other fish in there. This being said I find its one of those things that if you get the right fish and have the right setup they will more than likely be fine.

thats my input any who.... as little help as it is haha

just get them 50 mixed guppys

Confish · Jun 28, 2011

ye that is the problem if it see them as a snack but was hoping there might be a cichlid that would work any ideas of stocking anyone? lol at 50 guppys

Fish Guy · Jun 29, 2011

Angelfish would be fine or Keyholes.

Wills · Jun 29, 2011

Yeah I would swap the Rummynose as it could end up as pretty restrictive. If your after a splash of red I would go for Flame Tetras or Bleeding Hearts, you can get Flame Backed Bleeding Heart Tetras and Bentosi Tetras are nice all with nice red bits on them.

For me a 250ish liter tank I would go for something like

1 Rotkiel Severum
4 Cupid Cichlids
5 Silver Hatchet Fish
8 Bleeding Heart Tetras (or any of the above mentioned ones)
3 Hoplo Catfish or 5 Brochis Catfish or a larger school of a larger growing species of cory

Maybe a Whiptail cat or two could work in here?

Then I would stack it out with branchy wood and get some large Sword plants, Hornwort and other "Severum" proof(ish) plants

Wills

Confish · Jun 29, 2011

Wills said:
Yeah I would swap the Rummynose as it could end up as pretty restrictive. If your after a splash of red I would go for Flame Tetras or Bleeding Hearts, you can get Flame Backed Bleeding Heart Tetras and Bentosi Tetras are nice all with nice red bits on them.

For me a 250ish liter tank I would go for something like

1 Rotkiel Severum
4 Cupid Cichlids
5 Silver Hatchet Fish
8 Bleeding Heart Tetras (or any of the above mentioned ones)
3 Hoplo Catfish or 5 Brochis Catfish or a larger school of a larger growing species of cory

Maybe a Whiptail cat or two could work in here?

Then I would stack it out with branchy wood and get some large Sword plants, Hornwort and other "Severum" proof(ish) plants

Wills

oo this excites me

ye im thinking a sev (wish i could have a red) and we did talk about cupids ages ago would rams work though? dont think i could go with hatchet fish as the gf just said there grim lol o dear but ye i do like the idea of the red tetras would lemon tetras work? i think i just need to find all the different types of shoaling fish then see what the lfs has. ill try and up load a pic of my tank at the moment the only residence that im keeping is my dora striped catfish but he does nothing except for at night

Wills · Jun 29, 2011

Lemons would work great, I have a school in with my cichlids and they are doing great

Always egg scatering etc. With Tetras I would just avoid the torpedo shaped ones but any of the taller or disk shaped ones would work great - though avoid Serpae as they are quite nippy.

Rams could work but make sure you go for Bolivians. I would get a small Rotkiel and large Rams

Stick to the smaller species of Severum like Rotkiel and Severus/ Atapbo (spelling) as the golds, greens (efasticious) do get to big for a 50g. Also if you for a Rotkiel make sure it is a Rotkiel and not one of the orange necks as they get just as big as the other Severums.

Instead of Hatchets maybe pencil fish? But avoid the smaller species, it just gives you something for the surface/ upper levels.

The Raphael should be fine, not sure how predatory they are though?

Wills

Confish · Jun 29, 2011

hey cheers for the replies ye think im gonna have look and see what is available to me for the tetras at lfs's

ah shame as i really want a red severum ye ive seen some one on here selling two sevs that where stars. i like the look of the pencil fish more than the hatchets could i just increase the shoal number of the tetras and not get any top fish?

and ye the catfish is really placid i have a clown pleco and the cat never bothers him lie together ect.

what other bottom dwellers are there what species of corys grow larger?

Wills · Jun 29, 2011

When you say Red Severums do you mean the Supper Red Gold ones or the Red Necks? Because Rotkiels are also called Red Necks (Rotkiel is German for Red Neck!)

You can cut the pencils/hatchets out and up the other school of course just an idea for an extra species in there

Catfish/bottom dweller wise - it depends if you want to keep it American or if you dont mind mixing other species in? If you fancy something a bit different - I think your from up north right? If you can get to Pier Aquatics in Wigan they are good for nice rare catfish - I was there a month or so ago and they had some great mouse catfish in I think they were these http

/www.seriouslyfish.com/profile.php?genus=Nemadoras&species=leporhinus&id=628 or a relative of they were quite a nice steel blue colour but really active, really really active they were swarming up and down the tank as a group it looked great! But a little pricey, probably worth it though

Confish · Jun 29, 2011

ye i meant super red ooo learnt something today then cheers lol ye i do like the idea of two types of shoaling fish so depends on whats available to me, and lol im midlands but i guess thats northern to you.

ah i like the look of that guy and because my dad is claiming it as his tank now aswell im hoping this means the cost aswell lol as i did previously want to make it a snakehead tank

pictus catfish look so nice but i know they grow too large for my tank so ive heard

cheers con