Stocking a 65 gallon freshwater aquarium!

[Jenkins]

Hi all, i am new to this forum, so i apologize if this is in the wrong place....

I just finished cycling my new 65 gallon aquarium, and i am going to the LFS on Saturday to begin purchasing its inhabitants. I am semi- seasoned in this hobby, so i know that i cannot buy all the fish i want at once.

Right now, the only fish i know that i want to have are;
2 pairs of rams
And a paradise fish and rubber lip pleco from my old tank that a friend has Been holding in his tank until today.

Any suggestions for stocking? Any ideas will be thoroughly considered and appreciated!

 

[Rivercats]

Paradise fish often are too aggressive for a community. You can try but be prepared to remove it if trouble starts. If you want German Blue Rams they need to be added about 6 months after the tank has been set up. They do poorly in new tanks and are very sensitive to nitrates so large weekly WC's are a must. Bolivian Rams can be added sooner and are a much hardier fish. And remember you can go get a ton of fish and add them all at once. You have to spread it out over a few weeks depending on how many you want to add. 2 Angelfish, a Honey or Pearl Gourami, a couple schools of tetras like Cardinals, Rummy Nose, Diamond, or Lemons would work well. Rasbora's are an option also. You could do Cory Cats or Yo-Yo Loaches for bottom fish (I keep both in my 220g). Check out whiptail cats, they are a sucker catfish and very unique. If you want larger schooling fish then look into Rainbowfish as with them you have alot of color. You can use the small Threadfin rainbowfish as a top schooling fish with either option.
My suggestion would be go to your LFS, see what they have that you like and write the names down, come home and reseach each fish to see how big they get, are they good community fish, how big a tank do they need, etc. Then make a list of what you think you want for your tank and slowly start collecting a few at a time.

 

[Jenkins]

Thanks for your reply! I realize that paradise fish can be nasty little buggers, but I've kept mine with a few different kinds of fish. As i said, it was in my old tank with the rubber lip, 8 tiger barbs and a GBR, and he never bothered anybody. I think i just got a tame one though, as I've heard of horror stories involving these fish...

I have also kept German blues and Bolivians, and i think im going to do a pair of each, adding the Bolivians first and the Germans sometime later. I like your idea of cories, could i do a school of 8 small ones? (julis, peppereds etc)

 

[Rivercats]

In a 65g you could keep any species but from the 5 species I keep the Julii's are the most active of them all. They just zip around all day keeping busy while most of the other species tend to stay in the more shaded areas and with my 220g being so heavily planted I rarely see them other than feeding time. The Panda's are the second most seen and active of them. You could easily do 8.

 

[Jenkins]

Okay, thanks for the confirmation!

 

[Lt.]

I'm putting 8-10 cories in my 45, 2 species, but not sure which kind. Probably whatever the lfs has in stock.