Thoughts on the fish I am planning to stock in my 90 gallon planted FW tank

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Mippymuppett

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Jun 28, 2015
Messages
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Hi All,

So being new to the world of fish I thought to myself what a wonderful inexpensive hobby. Ummm....so far that has not proved to be true. I never would have thought so much time and effort would go just into the planning before I even buy the substrate or plants let alone the fish!!!

After much thought and consideration I have decided to develop a South American Community planted tank. Being as I am new, I would welcome constructive feedback as to whether or not I am on the right track. I chose to go with a particular region so that my lovely fishes would be more likely to feel at home and thrive...you know right ph, temps, decor.

I love colorful fish. Do you have any ideas on others you might add???

No worries, I will cycle responsibly and add fish as I go along and will not buy all the fish I am listing at once but gradually over time. This is just a rough plan.

Onto the fish and plants:

Fish
2 German Blue Rams (males, females, a pair???)
2 Yellow Dwarf Cichlids (males, females, a pair???)
6 Silver or Marble Hatchetfish
10 Phantom Black Tetras
10 Cardinal Tetras (Maybe...maybe not if the tank is getting too crowded)
10 Fancy Guppies
5 Otocinculus Catfish or 6 Three Lined Corys (thoughts on which? I want them to be cleaners of algae and left over food if possible)

Also, I already have these
2 Black Mollies
2 Silver Sailfin Mollies
2 Creamsicle Mollies
1 Swordtail

Can I add the Mollies to the mix? I know sometimes they live in brackish water but I would prefer to have only 1 large tank at this time.

Plants - Thoughts on where I can find these??? None of my LFS have these? Can I order online?
Java Moss
Brazilian Pennywort
Creeping Red Ludwigia
Black Amazon Sword
***Rocks, Caves, Small polished natural gravel

Thank you very much in advance for all your feedback.

Kind Regards,
Amy
 
Hi Amy.
I have a South American, Amazon, themed tank. The water is soft and the Ph is 7 or just below. I keep mainly Tetras which like those conditions.
You already have Mollies and a Swordtail, which although probably have been tank bred and used to most water conditions, originate from Central America. The water is somewhat harder and likely brackish (slightly salted) although the tank bred Livebearers no longer seem to require salt. They do however thrive in a slightly higher Ph and harder water than South American Tetras.
I know many people who successfully keep both Livebearers and tetras together,so I'm not trying to put you off keeping them both, but you did say that you wanted a South American themed tank to suit your fish. It's just worth a thought before you buy any more fish.
I don't know much about Rams and Cichlids but I think the Cardinals would struggle unless the water is well suited to them. They were the last fish I added to my tank, after a year ensuring it was stable and had the right water conditions. The guppies would fit in just fine.
You wanted colourful and interesting fish and I think if you stayed with the Livebearers you will find plenty of variety.
Finally, I promise, I like the adult size of the fish to suit the size of the tank. You are well lucky to have a 90g tank and Mollies, swordtails and guppies, being generally larger than most Tetras, would seem to be well proportioned.
Don't forget to post pics when you've done! Enjoy your tank.
Steve.


Sent from my iPad using Aquarium Advice
 
The fish list looks fine, but there could potentially be some aggression between the GBR and the Yellow Dwarf cichlids.

I would also choose between either the Mollies or the guppies. They can interbreed and make mutts.

If it were me, I would skip both the guppies and the phantom black tetras and in their place do a school of 6 Boesemani Rainbows

Boesemani_Rainbow.jpg


Some boesemani would be a nice big colorful centerpiece school for a 90g tank.

As for the plants:
Java Moss - Easy beginner plant that will work well in low light.
Red Creeping Ludwigia (Ludwigia repens) - This plant needs a medium light level.
Black Amazon Sword (Echinodorus Parviflorus) - This is also a medium light plant.
Brazilian Pennywort - Another medium light plant.

These can all be bought online from various places. Just shop around a bit and compare prices.

The downside of a 90g aquarium is that it's soo tall. This is problematic when you start looking at plants because you need a very robust lighting system to grow them because the intensity of the light decreases the farther down you go. If you're willing to invest in a more powerful lighting system there are also other things that you will have to look into such as a carbon source (Presurized vs Liquid) and fertilizers.
 
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