What do you think of this initial population?

[Zante]

The tank is an 8 footer and will be set up as a dirt riparium, i.e. a riparium with also submerged plants that are rooted in soil. The capcity should be between 900 and 1000 litres.

8 discus (I'm thinking leopard snakeskin, but also wild-looking wouldn't be amiss)
30 rummynose tetras
20 corydoras sterbai
5 bristlenoses

I will see whether to increase these numbers or add different species.

I wouldn't mind a shoal of marbled hatchetfish, but the tank will be open-topped, and I don't want to spend my time picking them up from the floor.

I was thinking about blue rams, but in my previous discus tank the corys were breeding happily and from 12 grew to well over 30 where the number stabilised. I don't know if they'd be able to breed like that with rams around.

What do you think?

 

[NickAu]

5 bristlenoses

You gonna have a lot of baby BN's, my pair produce about 30 babies every 6 to 8 weeks, Luckily my Tetras love live food and BN eggs so do my Bettas, Even the 3 LFS wont take anymore babies and mine are albino.

 

[Zante]

If I find I can't manage them I will (try and) catch them all and keep only one sex, hoping I can successfully sex them. I'm planning the L182 bristlenose in particular, that should keep the demand going for a while longer.

 

[NickAu]

L182 bristlenose

They are nice.

 

[Munroco]

That should look great

 

[StandbySetting]

The only problem I see is that the temperatures required to keep discus healthy (28-32oC) is at the very top end of what the rummy nose tetras will tolerate, personally I'd choose a different species. Same goes for the BN plecos but I have heard of them being kept up to 30oC but it's not something I would do personally. Blue Rams will make good tank mates, they also require warmer water temperatures than most other tropical species.

 

[Zante]

I normally keep discus between 27 and 28 degrees and I've had rummynoses living happily with them. I suspect they might have even bred, because I have now 6 left over from dismantling the tank that should be dead from old age by now, but I have no proof of that, so take it for what it is, a suspicion.

The same goes for the bristlenoses, they spawned a few times before I broke down the tank.

As I said, it's probably because I keep the discus a bit cooler than what they're usually kept at, but in my experience that is better for them, one of my pairs even bred successfully in the community tank.