Which bottom dwellers can work well together?

[rebe]

I'm still brainstorming bottom dwellers for my 280L, and I think it would be cool to have a few species at the bottom. I already have my juvenile bolivian ram cichlid in QT. I am looking for fish that are peaceful and won't eat my hengels rasboras (about an inch in size). While I like the idea of having more than one fish species at the bottom, shrimp and other non-fish bottom dwellers are not out of the picture. I'm very keen to hear your suggestions or ideas!

Set up details:

• 280L tank with a base of 120x40cm (60cm tall).
• Fine play sand for the substrate
• Mangle wood and river stones
• 24-28 °C temperature range for all my current fish (usually at about 26 °C, but can change to a temp within the range of my fish)
• 7.6 pH, 9 GH and 5.5 KH
• Loads of plants to be added soon, including floating plants.

Excuse the bag of filter floss over the filter output

 

[glyn]

If you're going to add plants, can I suggest that you do that first, especially fast-growing stem plants. Get them established for at least a couple of weeks, then add the fish. That way there'll be less disruption, and some bottom dwellers [Octocinclus catfish, for example], will have both shelter and food. Sand is ok as a plant substrate, though adding root tabs will increase your chances of success. Nice wood, by the way!

 

[10 Tanks]

Hello rebe. I currently keep a Corydora and a small Pleco together. They've been in the same 60 gallon tank for about seven years.

10

 

[rebe]

@glyn Thank you for your reply! I agree with your points.
At the moment this is mostly research and planning, I definitely won't be getting any bottom dwellers for at least a month. I've got some seachem root tabs which worked great for me before and are recommended by others too. My plants were due to arrive this week, but I suspect they won't be until the end of next week now because of the holiday.
I'll get the tank planted and then I'll probably give them a week or so and see how they are looking. If the plants are looking healthy then I'll move in the first round of fish, probably my hengels. Those are in my planted 105L. Then if no ammonia or nitrites show up after a while and the plants are still looking good, then I'll add the tetras and ram from my QT. That'll be it for a while. If everything is looking good then I'll start picking the bottom dwellers I want to have. I'll get them and after being in the QT for as long as necessary then I'll add them to the tank.
Though I could probably add all of my current fish once the plants are looking good. 12 hengels rasboras, one bolivian ram cichlid and 19 tetras (18 rosy and 1 accidental pristella.)

and thank you! I'm finally happy with the wood layout, it's some mangle wood I had left over after I'd gotten too much for my 105L. I think it will look awesome with all the plants

 

[GaryE]

You have a bottom dweller with the ram. I would seriously consider a Corydoras species, in a group of 6 to 10 if that is affordable and available where you are.

 

[rebe]

You have a bottom dweller with the ram. I would seriously consider a Corydoras species, in a group of 6 to 10 if that is affordable and available where you are.

I think corydoras are great fish. I think I'll look into the different types and their needs for my next bit of research. Just to double check, when you say 6-10 corys that's a minimum and not a range to stay within? So say, a group of 12+ corydoras would be fine?

 

[Essjay]

With cories it's the more the merrier. The only limit is the size of the tank and the size of your wallet. A group of preferably the same species, not one of this and one of that.