cave-dwelling companions for tall angel/community tank

[bubble bobble]

I have a 37(39?) gal tall tank that is fairly densely planted. there are currently 4 cave structures, with room for a couple more if necessary. current inhabitants are:

1 silver/striped angelfish, still growing
4 oto cats
school of 7 endlers (may have to move when the angel gets big enough to snack on them)

and thats it at the moment. I have been trying to decide what to stock for months. I think I am going to add a couple honey gouramis and maybe a spike-tailed paradise fish(will the honey gouramis and the spike tail paradise be ok together?, from what i understand they're 2 of the most peaceful labrynth fish) to fill out the top and middle of the water column, but what I'm having a problem with is figuring out what to stock on the bottom. here's my ideas:

Kribensis - except I have read they will harass the angel, but maybe not in a tall tank with lots of caves? they also get 4" long, so i could probably only have one? or could I have more? the tank is 30" long

apistogramma cacatouides - nice, but expensive, the lfs wants $30-40 each to order one, also don't know how hardy they are for my so-cal water

bolivian rams - although i guess theyre not cave-kinda fish

what would be the best fit? I want to be able to have a few bottom dwelling, cave inhabiting fish that will fit in a 30" long tank, not nip the fins of the angel, and be comfortable in hard, alkaline water.

there will most likely be a small school of some of the smaller cories there too. there is lots of cover.

hopefully someone made it down this far, that was a bit of a ramble...

 

[BrianNY]

Well first off, all of the species you mention prefer soft acidic water. Some are more tolerant than others. Have you considered any loaches?

 

[kennef]

from what i read in your post, you are looking a dwarf cichlid, which i find to be really fun and colorful. But have you thought about catfish such as a small synadontis species or even some upside down cats?

 

[bubble bobble]

actually, those species are pretty tolerant of hard water, which is why I chose them - the Krib prefers hard, alkaline water, the cacatuoides is found in many varying water conditions, the angelfish, having been domesticated for so long it is pretty adaptable, and the bolivian rams like harder water, as opposed to their cousins the blue rams...

I really am looking for something along the lines of a dwarf cichlid, i'm not too into loaches, and most of them will get too big anyways...

still thinking about the krib & the angel in a tall tank, or I may go and buy some cacatuoides, although theyre so expensive, and more delicate....

 

[severum mama]

The Bolivian rams are a pretty safe bet. They are more hardy than many other dwarf cichlids, and they definitely will utilize your caves. Then again, I keep apistogramma steindachneri in hard, alkaline water and they do just fine. You'd have to be really careful IMO while acclimating fish that are shipped to your LFS- it would help to know the perams of the water where they came from so you could judge for yourself whether the differences are just too much to tolerate before you commit to buying them. Maybe you could try using either peat or RO water to slowly bring the pH and hardness down, if you are looking to keep some more delicate species. $30-40 per fish for a. cacatuoides sounds awfully high to me; perhaps you could try Aquabid? I think crazyred got some really great looking stock from one of those sellers, you should try sending her a PM to find out who. 8)