stocking list of my 60 gallon

[mar_att1]

ok, after a lot of thought i think i have finally decided what i'm going to fill my tank with. i tried a lot of shops and i have finally seen some small american cichlids!!! could you give me some pointers on whether i'm on track or not?

1. i love gbr/bolivians (depends on what i'll find) so i was thinking on focusing mainly on these (maybe 5 would be enough, depends on the ratio, do pairs do well, or does the ration of 1m and 2f work better?)

2. i also love kribs, they will surely add colour to my tank, and since both kribs and rams are peaceful i was thinking they will do good together since the tank is 60 gal and they would have space (maybe 4 kribs)

3. if the tank has enough room, i would like to introduce another apistogramma but i haven't found any for sale yet, maybe i will order. i particularly like the cacatuoides or the agassizi. would any one recommend them with the others?

4. a school of otocinclus (maybe 5) will look great and it will also serve as a clean up crew lol (if my research is correct). however i read that they can be quite sensitive. i also considered a pleco

5. maybe a small school of tetras (diamond/congo)

6. an apple snail

now, i do realize that the list may be quite long and that a 60 gal may not support such a number of fish. i tried as much as possible to keep the sizes of the fish small in order to keep a large community but i definitely dont want them to be overcrowded. please feel free to criticise my list and to give me some suggestions.

i have one last question, which regards lighting. what type of lighting would you suggest? i was thinking of one named Blue Moon which basically emits soft bluish light. i am not particularly fond of my tank being too bright and i do not have real plants which would need bright light.

would blue light enhance the colours of the fish i listed or does a brighter (yellowish) light do it better?

TIA

 

[Menagerie]

I have a tank that is similar to the one you are considering. My tank is 50 gal with some plants, wood and other areas to hide. Currently there are kribs, a few plecos, khuli loaches, yo-yo loaches and white cloud minnows. I used to have GBR and apistos, but when the kribs spawned, everyone was on high alert. That coupled with water quality issues at the time led to the loss of my GBR and apistos. Some members have had luck with kribs and rams and apistos, but the behaviors I observed did not back that up. Even when the kribs are not breeding, they are a higher energy fish than the other dwarf cichlids. Personally, I would choose between the kribs and rams/apistos; rams and apistos do well together. You could easily put in otos, a dwarf pleco, tetras and a snail with a bunch of rams/apistos. You will want to wait until the tank is well established (couple of months after the cycle is over) to add the otos, as they are sensitive to water quality. The rams and apistos also require stable water parameters and should be added after the tetras and pleco have been in for a few weeks.
As for lights, hopefully someone else will come along and help out.

 

[mar_att1]

thakx a lot menagerie

i had already started reconsidering the kribs based on some threads i have read here. but i did not know that the gbrs had to be introduced after the tank was well established, i was going to put them in first :S

so do the other apistos do well with community fish? i was a bit afraid that they might turn a bit terriorial but if its not a problem, that would be great. if i find some i might consider introducing them.

i was also considering to eventually introduce a fish of a larger size. the most beautiful are obviously discus but needless to say i'm too amateurish for them, this is my first tank. the ones i have considered are angelfish but i would like other suggestions.

as to the tetras, the diamond ones are quite difficult to find. i am getting quite interested in cardinals and neons, but i have read that if introduce angels with neons they will gobble them up :S any ideas/suggestions as to compatibility of angels with tetras?

i still am not decided on whether i would put angels, any ideas on other 'large' fish that would be compatible with my list?

sorry if i am confusing everyone lol but i m still very undecided and i need to be certain on what i am going to put in my tank, i dont want any 'accidents' lol.

thx a lot!!!!

 

[Menagerie]

but i did not know that the gbrs had to be introduced after the tank was well established

It's not a firm rule, but rams and apistos are sensitive to water quality and waiting a week or so while other hardier fish are in the tank, will allow you to see if the tank is stable.

so do the other apistos do well with community fish?

I found them to be as docile as rams and they did well with the plecos, tetras, yo-yo and khuli loaches in my tank.

i have read that if introduce angels with neons they will gobble them up :S any ideas/suggestions as to compatibility of angels with tetras?

Angels will eat whatever they can fit in their mouths. Their natural prey are neons. Keep in mind that angels are cichlids and have a reputation to uphold Although they are beautiful, they can be territorial and nasty during breeding; however, plenty of members keep them successfully with rams and or apistos. Many members enjoy rainbow fish as a "larger" fish in a peaceful community tank. They may not look like much in the LFS, but they can color up beautifully when in a stable environment and with the proper food. Personally, I like a big tank with only small fish

i dont want any 'accidents' lol

That is impossible to avoid, as which each fish, YMMV We’ll try to steer you away from known problems.

BTW~ Belated welcome to AA, mar_att1!

 

[mar_att1]

hey menagerie thanks for the informative post!! and thankx for your warm welcome! This site is being very helpful to me!!

still waiting for my tank to be cycled (impatiently)!!!!

i have another question regarding the rams. Maltese water is quite hard. i have read that rams can first be put in soft water and acclimatized slowly into hard water. i am not really interested in breeding them, but i would like to know whether they would thrive in hard water if they were acclimatized slowly through partial water changes

TIA

 

[Jchillin]

When you say hard, how hard to you mean? I know of a few members who have liquid rock and they have rams doing quite well. They recieved them from local shops who had similar hardness. You can certainly acclimate them but I would caution you to find out what your rams source water parameters are. Some apistos/rams are kept in extremely soft water, even as low as 5.8.