Your Opinions On My Ideas?

[plecoperson]

When I get my own place Im planning to set up a new aquarium - ill want it to be a bit of a staement tank so im considering an aqua one cube 550 or 650 tank... theres an option of either 165 or 220l version and depending on what fish i decide on and how much money i have after buying a house! Does anyone have any feedback on Aqua One aquariums and specifically the cube ones?

Im in the planning stages so I know how much to budget for my new setup. I know I'll be having a sand substrate preferably with real plants and bogwood/stones for decoration. Its been a long time since i gave up my last set up and although everything is slowly coming back, theres still an awful lot I dont remember so if any of my questions are really obvious, I apologise in advance!

Now for the fish - I was going to have a couple of bristlenoses as a pleco/catfish is a must because I love them- when I went in my local fish shop there was a beautiful catfish. the person in the shop told me it was a pim pictus but it would appear it wasnt, now ive looked it up. although I like the look of pictus. would either of those size tank be suitable for 2 or so of them?

I considered cichlids of some kind but I think im just going to go for a community set up again because i sort of know where I am with those. Id like gouramis of some kind - perhaps moonlights to provide some size in the tank and some dwarf or honey gouramis. I was also thinking of some black widow tetras and Harlequin Rasboras. I also like albino tiger barbs, and cherry barbs for colour - i know barbs can be tricky in a community aquarium at times. do you think this mix would cause any problems?

Im a bit stuck for other ideas so if anyone can suggest anything that might fit in this motley crew, or suggest alternatives if they dont feel these fish are compatible for whatever reason. I want to make sure I get this right as once its set up, I want to enjoy it as much as possible and mess with it as little as possible aside from upkeep etc. Any feedback is much appreciated!!

 

[hamfist]

NO experience of the aqua one tanks, but if you are looking for a cube tank then bear in mind that these have a smaller footprint, and therefore substrate area, than a "traditional" shaped tank.

I have not kept P.pictus cats, but from the TFF species info it says "Pimelodus pictus is best kept in a group of 3 or more, if kept alone they become shy and will hide but if kept in just pairs they will fight. This fish is a predator and will consume any tankmates under 3".

For me (especially in a cube tank of that size), 3 x adult pictus cats is pushing your stocking levels a bit high. They would also probably eat all your smaller fish. So, all things considered, I think a pair of Bristlenoses would be a better idea for your main bottom feeders.

As for the mix of gourami and barbs, it might work, it might not. Some people have terrible issues with gourami fighting each other, some have peace. Some cannot keep tiger barbs with anything else, some succeed.
For those who do succeed with tiger barbs, they always seem to have a good shoal of them, to keep them focussed on each other rather than the other fish. Cherry barbs would be safer.
Personally, I don't keep gourami any more in community tanks, as they always seem to fight for me.

Your thoughts on raspboras and tetras will I'm sure be fine.

Angelfish is another thought for you, maybe a singleton, or a pair. Keyhole cichlids ? Rams ?

I always find that putting together a community of interesting fish can be fraught with potential problems. Its great in the end, but one has to always bear in mind that you might need to rehome fish that simply don't get on.

Good luck, and have fun !

 

[Liam50]

well i would say that cube fish tanks do have pretty much the same footprint as rectangular ones. aqua one tanks are pretty good i have a AR 980 and i do love it. i don't use the wet/ dry system but thats cause i wanted to run an eheim. if i was you i would go for the 220l get a trio of pictus catfish with a blue acara? or perhaps a GT. but then i always fancy wet pets.

 

[plecoperson]

OK thanks to both of you, definitely given me some food for thought. I have considered angel fish but it seems like they get nipped by most other types of fish that I like - having looked at Cichlids today, I like electric yellow labs a LOT (have seen them in the flesh before as well, not just going off a photograph) and reading up on them they seem fairly easy to keep in a community. Would this work:

A small group of yellow labs, small shoal of albino tiger barbs, cherry barbs and 2 bristlenoses? I guess 3 pictus instead of the BNs would be overstocking it? Also it seems the labs like a different pH/water hardness etc... how much does this limit what they can live with?

Ive been reading up on African cichlids but its quite confusing as to what can go with what... my local fish shops have quite a good range of fish between them, although I wouldnt rely on any of them for advice hence asking here. What other fish could I have with the yellow labs? Obv been looking at the indexes on here but there are a lot of names there so Im more than happy to do the research but need some suggestions of what else could work with the yellow labs. Ive not ruled out community, just looking at my options. thanks again for your replies.

 

[Aphotic Phoenix]

Mixing Yellow Labs (Labidochromis caeruleus) with normal community fish isn't really the best idea. When you read about them being in a "community setup", they are referring to an African cichlid community, not your standard aquarium community.

 

[plecoperson]

ah ok I did consider it might have meant cichlid community. Im having problems finding a resource which will tell me what mostly non - aggressive cichlids I could expect to mix well with the yellow labs -can anyone give me any thoughts?

 

[TATTIESCONE]

ah ok I did consider it might have meant cichlid community. Im having problems finding a resource which will tell me what mostly non - aggressive cichlids I could expect to mix well with the yellow labs -can anyone give me any thoughts?

Hi you could put in demasonis with your yellow labs depending on how available they are,the blue colours with the yellows are quite striking. Ive got johanni(mainganos) with my yellow labs which are also blue in colour, couldnt find any demasonis in my area. I also have the aqua one ar980 which is a really nice tank