Blue Ram Help/20 gallon Planted

[Coursair]

I would skip the panda garra, they like different conditions than the rest of your stock list. A Parotocinclus species would work, bigger and hardier than regular otos and don't produce the waste that plecos do.

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Parotocinclus jumbo is the Pitbull Plecos I mentioned. Silly common name. Glad Gillie agrees [emoji106]


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[Nils]

How many normal Oto's could I do, the ones you get from the LFS?

Nils

 

[Sillyfishies]

How many normal Oto's could I do, the ones you get from the LFS?

Nils

I would not recommend otos in a tank that isn't heavily planted and well established. However, they like groups and I think you would do fine with 5.

 

[Nils]

Well, I am eventually planning on making it a very heavily planted tank, but I see your point. I have heard to many stories of people losing ottos because apparently all ottos are wild caught, so I don't think I will do those. For now I'm just going to stick with 10 Cories, 2 GBRs later on and the dither fish. If anyone has any tips or suggestions, feel free to put them up here.

Nils

 

[PNWaquarist]

Definitely add the otos last.

 

[Nils]

Merry Christmas everyone! Hope everyone got awesome presents! I know I did. My mom got me a bigger tank, it is a 16 gallon LED Widescreen from Aqueon. I'm really happy with this tank. The LEDs are good and bright, it came with a heater and filter, but the heater is really small, so I am probably going to get either a bigger one or just take the other one out of my 10 for this new tank. The filter is an Aqeuon 10, but I don't know why they would sell a 10 with a 16 gallon. Probably going to sell the Aqueon 10 on Ebay and then get a filter rated for a 20 or 30. Other then that I am good to go. Could I still do 10 Cories and an Apisto and dither fish? The actual tank is really tank but bigger than a 20 long in height, probably also in length, you have to see it to believe it I guess. Hopefully the 4 gallons don't make such a big difference! Again, Merry Christmas everyone!

Nils

 

[PNWaquarist]

Merry Christmas to you as well. Glad to hear that Santa was kind to you.

This tank sounds like it's too small for 10 corys. If it's the 16 gallon Aqueon bowfront, it's only 18.5" long. In that case, I'd do either a single Apisto and 8 very small dither fish (e.g., Neon or Ember Tetras) OR 6 Pygmy Corys and 8 very small dither fish. If you'd like to do a slightly larger dither fish (e.g., Cardinal or Black Neon Tetra), I'd limit the shoal number to 6 or 7. Also, because this is a relatively tall small tank (16"), get a dither fish that is a mid/upper level dweller (e.g., Cardinal or Black Neon Tetra), rather than a mid/bottom dweller (e.g., Rummynose or Glowlight Tetra). That will prevent overcrowding on the bottom. Also, avoid fish that need lots of lateral swimming space (e.g., Zebra Danio, Bloodfin Tetra).

You have the right idea about the heater. I'd go with a 100 W. I use Marina heaters, but there are other good brands as well. The filters on the kit tanks aren't very good either. I'd suggest an AquaClear 30.

 

[Nils]

Well, it isn't the bow front, it is the LED widescreen, it's pretty long! It's measurements are 28.875L x 10W x 18.25H ; 25lbs. That sounds like a 20 long to me, just much skinnier I think. The standard 20 long is actually just the same size as the 16, just a little bit wider and not as skinny. I'm thinking maybe not as many Cories, maybe 8, but these are not dear and I'm not giving any of my regular sized ones away for dwarfs. So could I still do One male APisto, 8 Cories, and 6 Harlequins?

Nils

 

[Brookster123]

That's a tall tank with a smaller footprint. Sorry to say but that many species on the floor may get tight. I'd do a bunch of harleys. 6 corys and see how it goes. A dwarf gourami may be a better fit.

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[PNWaquarist]

Ok, so that's a little over an inch less wide and two fewer inches deep than a 20 long. You could do 8 regular Corys or an Apisto, but I'm not sure about both. I'll defer to someone with Apisto experience.

Agreed that Harlequins would do nicely in the upper strata. Eight sounds like a good number to me.


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[Nils]

So I could do one Apisto, 6 COries and 8 Harleys? (Love that nickname!)

Nils

 

[tiger terror]

I like idea of 1 apisto&7-9 harlequins..feel like the apisto might feel alittle crowded by the cory's..Could most likely add some amano shrimp.

Getcha sleeves wet fish tank people!

 

[Nils]

I think that the stocking list I have is fine, maybe fill the space with shrimp as you said. Or could I replace the Harley's with one dwarf puffer? He seems a little bit corded and cramped in my 2.5.

Nils

 

[Nils]

Sorry for all of the questions! How about 6 Cories, 1 Apisto, 2 Kuhli Loaches, and 6 Harley's? Could I drop the Harley's for the Kuhli's because my mom once had tears and rasboras and she said they were extremely boring because all they do is swim from one side to the other? Also, what species of apisto would I do?

Nils

 

[PNWaquarist]

Dwarf Puffers are very territorial and will be uber-aggressive towards your tankmates. Kuhli Loaches need to be kept in groups of 5+, and they're bottom-dwelling fish. Your tank is already full at the bottom.

You might be able to do one Apisto and five Pygmy Corys (not regular-sized) in that tank. The bottom area of your tank is 20% smaller than that of a 20 long, and that makes a big difference, so you'll need to resist the temptation to overcrowd the bottom. You would have space left for one mid/upper shoaling species (such as Harlequins).

You might want to make use of the tank height be incorporating more middle- and top-dwelling fish. For example:

Top: 6 Dwarf Pencilfish or Hatchetfish
Middle: 8 Neon Tetras
Bottom: 1 Aposto OR 6 Corys

 

[Sillyfishies]

Dwarf Puffers are very territorial and will be uber-aggressive towards your tankmates. Kuhli Loaches need to be kept in groups of 5+, and they're bottom-dwelling fish. Your tank is already full at the bottom.

You might be able to do one Apisto and five Pygmy Corys (not regular-sized) in that tank. The bottom area of your tank is 20% smaller than that of a 20 long, and that makes a big difference, so you'll need to resist the temptation to overcrowd the bottom. You would have space left for one mid/upper shoaling species (such as Harlequins).

You might want to make use of the tank height be incorporating more middle- and top-dwelling fish. For example:

Top: 6 Dwarf Pencilfish or Hatchetfish
Middle: 8 Neon Tetras
Bottom: 1 Aposto OR 6 Corys

Very good advice. I would push for apisto OR Corys. However I think a pair of apistos would be ok. You can't just think about the amount of fish, but territory space. I would do a top dwelling, a middle dwelling, and a bottom dwelling.

 

[Nils]

So Apisto's stay more towards the bottom of the tank? I took this into consideration, but thought of them more as middle dwelling. So would 6 Cories and 1 Apisto with some top dwelling fish work out? If you saw the tank, it's actually a lot bigger than it sounds. It's really long, and pretty high. as for the top dwelling fish, could I do some Marbled Hatchets?

 

[Brookster123]

So Apisto's stay more towards the bottom of the tank? I took this into consideration, but thought of them more as middle dwelling. So would 6 Cories and 1 Apisto with some top dwelling fish work out? If you saw the tank, it's actually a lot bigger than it sounds. It's really long, and pretty high. as for the top dwelling fish, could I do some Marbled Hatchets?

If a pair spawns the bottom of that tank will be owned and therefore a war zone with corys in play.. mine are all over the tank. . Up top when I'm on sight but bottom areas 90% of the time..im familiar with the tank.. that's why I reccomended the gourami and not the apistos. It's only going to work well with a good mix of level dwellers.. hatchet fish stay up top so that'd be a good thing.. unfortunately keeping a single male apisto is kind of lame as they really only color up and display with a female present..

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[PNWaquarist]

So Apisto's stay more towards the bottom of the tank? I took this into consideration, but thought of them more as middle dwelling.

This is why it's important to research. You ask a lot of questions here, which is a good thing, but you need to do some reading. Lots of really informative web sites out there:

Seriously Fish — Feeling fishy?

Aquarium Fish: Tropical Freshwater Fish and Saltwater Fish Info

Main Page - The Free Freshwater and Saltwater Aquarium Encyclopedia Anyone Can Edit - The Aquarium Wiki

So would 6 Cories and 1 Apisto with some top dwelling fish work out? If you saw the tank, it's actually a lot bigger than it sounds. It's really long, and pretty high. as for the top dwelling fish, could I do some Marbled Hatchets?

You *might* be able to get six full-sized adult corys and a male apisto to coexist in that tank (mostly because the apisto can't breed). But you have to realize that most corys grow (rather quickly) to 2-3" each and the apisto will be ~3" as an adult. And your tank is only 10" deep. If you're dead-set on doing a single dwarf cichlid AND corys in that tank, you'd be much better off with dwarf corys (Corydoras pygmaeus), which max out at a little over an inch long. They also tend to spend more time in the middle of the tank, which your bottom-dwelling cichlid will appreciate.

Marbled hatchets would probably work, but common (silver) hatchets are reportedly more hardy and supposedly don't jump as much.

unfortunately keeping a single male apisto is kind of lame as they really only color up and display with a female present..

Bolivian Rams seem to retain halfway decent color when kept singly. That might be a nice alternative.

 

[Nils]

Thanks, that helped me a lot! Anyway, I put in tons of research before I actually buy a fish. I look up tons of things, but sometimes these things just aren't answered already on the Internet. Anyway, first I have to play around with the cycling, planting and hardscape and then I will make the decision of what to add with the Cories. Might just do something way off the stocking plan, I really don't know. I'd just like a pretty cool centerpiece fish that is easy to keep and keep alive, know what I'm saying? Ok, here's my question: Would it make sense to put a thin layer of gravel from the 10 and put that under the sand so the sand gets seeded in the 16? Also, should I siphon some of the water from the 10 into the 16?

Nils