Tankmate Suggestions

[Waynee13]

Hiya. I currently have a 5x2x2, in this I have 3 severum (2 green, 1 gold), 5 firemouth, 20 keyhole, 2 hoplo cat, 1 acara, 1 male krib and a pictus. I am looking to offload the krib, acara, pictus and half the keyholes. I would love something different but am stuck on what to add to the tank. Any suggestions please. Thanks everybody.

 

[jb12288]

With what you are wanting to off load, you will still be well overstocked. I would get rid of about 16 keyholes, 2 firemouths, the krib, and the pictus. That would leave you 3 severums, 4 keyholes, 3 firemouths, and 2 hoplo cats; after that you would not be able to add anything else.

 

[Waynee13]

I have had this tank set up for well over 18 months now. I have never had any disease or problems even with this amount of fish. To say I'm overstocked when these fish are gone is a bit hard to swallow really. I really appreciate your comment but it is a very big tank with lots of scope for improvement. Thanks though.

 

[jb12288]

150 gallons is large, but all your keyholes alone need 200 gallons of water. Each keyhole should have 20 gallons of water per fish, same with the firemouths and krib (krib is african). Your sevs need at absolute minimum of 55 gallons each (which is hard for me to say, since i believe 75 is minimum) so they need 120-150 gallons for 3. Your acara, assuming it is a blue acara, needs 50 gallons to itself. You would need a very large tank to house every single one of these fish. I am sure someone will come along and back me up on this.

I am not criticizing you at all, just saying you are overstocked atm.

 

[bitteraspects]

if its been running for 18mo, it must be fine.

 

[Waynee13]

Thanks Bitteraspects. I know people may think I'm overstocked but like i say, its been absolutely fine for over a year and a half. If i was having any trouble then i would obviously have to change things. The only reason i want rid of these fish is to make way for one fish that i can use as a feature fish. There is no fighting, had no disease ever, and the fish seem very happy. I do regular 100 litre water changes (weekly) and run an Aquaflow 4 external filter.

 

[stang1]

I have to disagree about Keyholes needing 20G per fish, seems a bit over the top IMO.
As for what fish to add, how about a shoal of Congo tetras?

 

[Waynee13]

Thank you Stang1. At last someone who sort of agrees with me. The keyholes range from fully grown to juvenile. The sevs almost fully grown too. My tank holds roughly 500 litres of water (110ish imp gallons). I have fine layer of sand and gravel. Heavily planted with a few rocks and 2 large pieces of bogwood. I'm not a novice to fish keeping, Been keeping them for over 5 years so I'm not totally unaware of problems that may occur. I would like to keep with cichlids really, congo tetras are nice but not really my thing. Thanks anyway.

 

[bitteraspects]

anything is possible with the right amount of attention. but there is a reason it isnt suggested. it comes down to how much youre willing to put into it.
however, i wouldnt suggest adding anything more to the tank untill you do move some of the stuff around.
and maybe bump the filtration. i dont know what you have currently, but more is always better.

 

[Waynee13]

Thats the reason i want to offload these fish. I;m not going to add til i've taken the fish out. I've got a fish house in my shed with 3 tanks running. I
put a lot of time and effort into my tank. If its needed then I'll buy it or sort it. My last tank was a 48x18x15 which was second hand. My 5ft was brand new, it cost me almost £600 all in all to buy and set up. I'm not the sort of person to treat these beautiful creatures badly, they are my pride and joy.

 

[bitteraspects]

im sure you do. great to hear.

 

[stang1]

How about these:

African Butterfly Cichlid

Tempted to get some myself but haven't got a spare tank yet.

 

[bitteraspects]

generally you dont want to mix old world and new world cichlids. they have different parameter requirements.

 

[Waynee13]

Wow they are beautiful fish. I might be tempted to get a pair of those in the future. There is a good LFS in Scarborough that can get anything you ask for so will be enquiring. The Keyholes are lovely fish but quite boring sometimes.

 

[stang1]

I'm a stickler for trying to keep fish in the correct water parameters and not mixing unsuitable fish but they prefer a lower PH like the Sevs, Keyholes etc.
Waynee!!!! Keyholes can be boring! Go wash your mouth out with soap and water!