Centrepiece stocking ideas

[Delapool]

Hi all,

I'm thinking of adding a single fish which would be a nice stand out fish. I'm pretty much fully stocked (aqadviser says 93% as well) so I don't think a school is possible but open to anything. This is what I have below, any ideas would be much appreciated. Or if fully stocked.

Tank - 4ft (~150gal) with a reasonable amount of water flow from two canister filters. Water ph is 7.3 and soft. Tank has been running for almost two years.

Fish - bottom is fully stocked with 4 b/n catfish and 4 yo-yo loaches. Also 8 black mollies, 2 white-yellow platys, 9 rosy barbs, 9 harlequin rasboras and 1 lonely cardinal tetra (neons wiped out in bacterial infection). I've already allowed for adding back some tetras and just waiting to make sure tank has no issues. I was thinking a blue colour to the fish but anything really. The rosy barbs are fairly well behaved, never seen any fin nipping.

 

[Old Scales]

How about a mature male Pearl Gourami. They get from 4 to 5" and will hang a lot in the upper part of the tank. The big fish surrounded by the little fish would be a nice contrast.
OS.

 

[Luananeko]

I'd agree with a gourami as the centerpiece... The water flow would be my only concern. They should be ok with it, but some will tend to go into hiding if there's too much flow.

As far as other options go, I'm drawing blanks... If the bottom is full that eliminates any sort of dwarf cichlid as an alternative. They'll tend to go all over, but will prefer the bottom. The slightly alkaline ph is also not ideal for them. Angelfish will be prone to picking on your smaller fish, so they're out as well... I'm not super familiar with Killifish or Badis (well, not enough to feel confident recommending them), but you could check if one of those would fit. They come in a variety of bright colors.

 

[Delapool]

Hi, many thanks for the replies. I'll start checking out fish shops much appreciated.

Water flow is a small concern. I'm planning to add a second wool filter to the larger canister which should slow it down a bit.

Edit: I did think of angel fish but was a bit worried. Nice looking fish though.

 

[josh7]

If the flow gets turned down a little you could go for pearl or honey gouramis, even a single angelfish should work.

 

[Khuligirl93]

I think each angel fish has it's own personality. I have a 5 year old angel fish and she does not harm my smaller White Cloud Mountain minnows, mollies, or neon tetras. I think you would most likely be fine with adding an angel, especially if it is added as a baby and is raised with the other fish.

 

[Stewy]

If you add an angel that is small, nickel sized if you can find, and let it grow up in the tank you would probably not have much of an issue. Well, pending an aggressive adult. The flow could be a problem with the pearl but with the stock you have I would venture to say would look awesome. With your lower level stock you are a little limited but I think either the angel or the pearl would be your best.

 

[Delapool]

Would any type of cichlid work? My experience with these is very low. It sounds like either my ph is not quite suited or I need a group?

Edit- the bottom seems full. The rosy barbs tend to hang out there as well, the mollies and platys up the top and the neons/rasboras in the middle.

 

[josh7]

I don't think any cichlid is going to work out with the gold gourami.

 

[Luananeko]

Would any type of cichlid work? My experience with these is very low. It sounds like either my ph is not quite suited or I need a group?

Edit- the bottom seems full. The rosy barbs tend to hang out there as well, the mollies and platys up the top and the neons/rasboras in the middle.

Your average cichlids are too aggressive to be good community members, but dwarf ones (any apistogramma or Ram) are usually peaceful enough. Angelfish are hit or miss depending on their personality and whether they've been raised with the fish or not. Apistos, Rams, and I believe angelfish as well prefer more acidic ph than you have, but they are adaptable enough they could be ok. Apistos and Rams tend to stay more toward the bottom, but will go all over the tank. Angelfish will usually stay more towards the middle of tank. Angelfish, apistos, and rams are all fine kept singly.

 

[Delapool]

Thanks again.

Just double-checking, I've seen silver dollars recently in at the lfs (it's like one gets something and they all get it). It looked like one of these wouldn't work?

 

[Luananeko]

Thanks again.

Just double-checking, I've seen silver dollars recently in at the lfs (it's like one gets something and they all get it). It looked like one of these wouldn't work?

Silver dollars are schooling fish, and it doesn't sound like you have room for another school.

 

[NYgiantsRP]

In my opinion you could add a few more fish. The rosy barbs stay pretty small, and the rasboras have nearly no bioload. As long as you are doing regular water changes obviously. And don't overfeed. Also, most tank bred fish can adapt to different pH levels as long as they are stable and nothing extreme. I have had all sort of South American cichlids from 6.5-8 pH. Usually only Africans won't be able to adjust.

As long as the yoyos aren't little pestering buggers you could do a couple more bottom dwellers, or just a few more yoyos. The plecos won't bother anything.

How about 2 German blue rams and a festivum. Or 2 apistos and an angel.

 

[Delapool]

Tempting ideas, very tempting Will check out store next week when back from holidays. Thanks all.

 

[BigRedsReefs10]

Look into a couple rainbows. Turquoise get a nice unique body shape as well as some cool color

 

[Delapool]

I'll have to chase them up, I can't do to many more fish but I'm interested to see if they are over my side of Australia. I've never seen them in lfs and don't know if it is some sort of import restriction or I need to search further. Thanks for the suggestion. The tank is a 4ft tall so I have a bit of room in upper levels.

 

[Luananeko]

Rainbowfish are usually schoolers, so you'd end up overstocking if you tried to fit them... They'd need a group of 5 minimum.

 

[BigRedsReefs10]

I keep groups of 1 male and 1-2 females and they do great. U can see great coloration from the males if they have a female or two with them

 

[Delapool]

Ok, thanks - I'll see if I can find them first, I just don't think they are over here. My neighbor was keen to take some mollies but that's a long shot as I've been overruled by the rest if the family