Too many choices!

[zenkatydid]

I have a new 4ft (180L) planted tank. Nothing is set up yet.

I'm looking at getting 2 pairs of bolivian rams and 1 or 2 bristlenose catfish.

To go with them, I've looked at panda cories, upsidedown catfish, pictus catfish, saddled hillstream loach, clown loaches, honey gouramis, dwarf cockatoo cichlids.

I have looked at so many fish, and wanted them all so many times that I'm just lost in a spiral!

What should I get? What would go well together? Any others that I haven't listed that you think I'd like, or would go well in my tank?

I am a beginner to tropical tanks, but have maintained goldfish tanks for many years, and have quite a bit of theoretical experience.

 

[Blucat]

how bout for starters:

Angels
Bolivian ram
ALBINO bristlenose pleco
school of assorted corydoras
schooling tetra (try congo, serpae)

if u want to look at another kind of species look up rainbowfish

 

[zenkatydid]

i don't really like tetras or angels. i've looked up rainbowfish and don't mind them - i'll have to remember to take a look at them when i go to the lfs next.

why albino bristlenose?

i'd like the overall feel of the thing to be a handful of larger fish rather than a whole bunch of smaller fish, though i don't mind something smaller, like some cories - as long as they won't get eaten or harrassed.

 

[BrianNY]

Congrats on the new tank. Obviously we can't keep every fish we want in the same aquarium so here's a good tip. Decide on the species that you'd most like to keep. Let us know what that is and we'll give you suggestions for suitable tankmates. This will make things go as stress free as possible for you and your fish.

 

[Jchillin]

I agree with BrianNY. Start with what you want as a main (show fish) and the rest are easier to suggest.

 

[Blucat]

just thought u might want to look at a picture of albino bristlenose, theyre really special

 

[xIHaKIx]

You should get the freshwater puffer fish, they look cool and I seen some one's tank they could get HUGE.

 

[zenkatydid]

i can't get pufferfish here - or, rather, i've never seen them.

as i said in my post, the fish i definitely want are the bolivian rams (and the bristlenose, but they go with almost anything)

i realise i can't have all those fish togetgher though that would be a sight!!

would any of the other kinds of fish i listed go with them? if not, what other kinds?

sorry if i wasn't clear

 

[greenmaji]

first off.. to help the english-system people the tank is ~50 US gallons..

marble or silver hatchetfish.. harlequin or regular rasboras.. maaaaybe cherry barbs..

off the top of my head.. HTH

 

[workfortheman]

From experience, I would suggest AGAINST loaches with Rams. For some reason, my German Blue Rams hate my botia lohachatas, big and small! I'd assume the same with other loaches and Bolivians, and possibly the same with all bottom dwellers?

I would think that the gouramis would be okay, as they stay in the upper regions I believe. The Rams will mostly be lower.

 

[chrism]

hi...

I'm not sure on the pictus cats, i've read you should have at least 6 of them, they're very active and are preditors will gobble up any small fish... i'd be interested to know if other more experienced ppl would recommend them for your size tank? (which is pretty large)

good choice on the rams, theyre great fish, as is the BN if you can get a male & female

If youre not fussed on tetra's what about Harlequin Rasbora? theyre a nice addition imo anyway

 

[Menagerie]

I have a 50 gal tank with close to what you are looking for. Before our big move (not everyone made the adjustment), I had rams, apitos, khuli and yo-yo loaches, BN, rubber lip, two albino BN plecos and white clouds. And a bunch of cories. The tank was stable for a bit over a year. None of the fish had a problem with each other and my bottom dwellers could be seen at all parts of the day (the tank is not a standard 50).
If you want dwarf cichlids and plecos, go for it. Cories will go well in that tank, but clown loaches will eventually outgrow it and all loaches like to be in groups. Pictus cats do get a bit large to be in harmony with the dwarf cichlids--I have never kept them, but that's my take on them. I do not recommend hillstream loaches, as they are cooler water fish.
There are pics of my 50 in my gallery. Right now, the only big difference is no rams or apistos and I have gone with kribs.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

I would disagree on that one. I currently have a Bolivian Ram in with sharks and striped loaches, and a dojo loach. They don't bother each other at all. Also have CAE's, which occasionally the Bolivian will chase, but not often.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

From experience, I would suggest AGAINST loaches with Rams. For some reason, my German Blue Rams hate my botia lohachatas, big and small! I'd assume the same with other loaches and Bolivians, and possibly the same with all bottom dwellers?

I would think that the gouramis would be okay, as they stay in the upper regions I believe. The Rams will mostly be lower.

I would disagree on that one. I currently have a Bolivian Ram in with sharks and striped loaches, and a dojo loach. They don't bother each other at all. Also have CAE's, which occasionally the Bolivian will chase, but not often.

 

[czcz]

Suggest you skip the hillstream loaches as they are wild caught from very fast rivers, and from what I understand of Rams, their current requirements are vastly different. Check out Martin Thoene's profile and info on hillstreams if you havent already. Here's a descriptive pic included in his profile:

 

[DepotFish]

Those fish you named are mostly bottom level fish. You should get a balance of top level swimmers and bottom and middle. Otherwise your tank bottom will be crowded and nobody will be at the top of in the middle. I don't know of how well those fish will get along though, I've seen some websites that list a good mix for certain sized tanks.

 

[zenkatydid]

i thought rams were more mid level fish? if not... i might have to rethink that, because that's too many lower level guys.

and no pictus cats or hillstream loaches. check.

what if i go with:

3 x clown loaches
1 x bristlenose
2 x bolivian rams
6 x panda corys
2 x honey gouramis
+ a school of something mid-top dwelling

would that work?

 

[DepotFish]

I guess rams are considered a all-level swimmer. That combination looks good, they all do well around the same temperature. Whatever you pick I'm sure you'll have a beautiful tank. I can't wait to set up my own huge tank, I'll probably go for bright colours like bettas and fancy guppies.

 

[zenkatydid]

thanks guys

i'm pretty happy with that group. i may swap the gouramis for some more small schooling guys but we'll see.

do you think that's enough algae control? should i chuck in a couple of sucking cats? (that's what they call them here... not sure if there's a better name for them - they're long and skinny and usually golden/tan coloured and are buggers to catch - sucking/suckermouth cats?)