Stocking Ideas...

[hsherman1986]

Ok, so I have a 20g tall that needs to be restocked. It currently has 1 otto, 1 GBR, and 1 harley rasbora. All the rest of the tankmates got killed by my own stupidity (i forgot to prime the water in the last water change...I am still kicking myself in the b*** for that one )

I might like to do some sort of cichlid stocking if I can (it is a heavily planted tank, so no plant eaters), or something along those lines.

I need some bottom dwellers in the tank, if I can go with cichlids, could I get a small school of cories as well? Are there even any SA cichlids that I could fit in a 20g other than any type of ram?

What are my other options here, I am stumped...

Oh, and BTW, the ram does not like gouramis or bettas, so they are out of the question. Up to any other suggestions though. Please help, the saving grace of this tank not looking naked is the fact that it is heavily planted.

TIA!!

edit: ooh, I almost forgot...I also have a booming population of mts in this tank, something that would eat the smaller snails and keep the population in check would be nice too.

 

[JDogg]

Ok, so I have a 20g tall that needs to be restocked. It currently has 1 otto, 1 GBR, and 1 harley rasbora. All the rest of the tankmates got killed by my own stupidity (i forgot to prime the water in the last water change...I am still kicking myself in the b*** for that one )

I might like to do some sort of cichlid stocking if I can (it is a heavily planted tank, so no plant eaters), or something along those lines.

I need some bottom dwellers in the tank, if I can go with cichlids, could I get a small school of cories as well? Are there even any SA cichlids that I could fit in a 20g other than any type of ram?

apistos maybe... i would also get a second GBR they do better in pairs IMO

and yes corys should be fine

What are my other options here, I am stumped...

Oh, and BTW, the ram does not like gouramis or bettas, so they are out of the question. Up to any other suggestions though. Please help, the saving grace of this tank not looking naked is the fact that it is heavily planted.
.

school of small tetras...?

 

[bs6749]

I agree with adding another GBR, and I think that I would add another 4 ottos as well.

 

[hsherman1986]

i have been looking for females for my boys for quite sometime now with no avail. I will keep looking though, and eventually i will get some females for the boys

I had 10 ottos spread between 3 of my tanks. The one i have left is the only survivor (no, i did not loose the rest in my stupidity lol), and I am not really interested in buying any more if they are just going to die on me.

I like the sound of some more dwarf cichlids. Any pointers on breeds that will go well with the GBR, or is it just a matter of whats available/personal preference?

I am going to the LFS here in about an hour or so, so that is why I am looking for some ideas

I already have 3 other tropical community tanks (tetras, gouramis, platies, guppies, ect.), so I would really like to go a different route with this one. My main tank (55g) is my semi aggresive (tiger barbs, green tiger barbs, albino tiger barbs, dojo loaches, clown loaches, and a rubberlip pleco). The barbs are really the only fish that make it aggressive lol. I also have a goldfish tank, and three betta/snail/shrimp tanks.

Thanks again for any advice!

 

[JDogg]

i have been looking for females for my boys for quite sometime now with no avail. I will keep looking though, and eventually i will get some females for the boys

I had 10 ottos spread between 3 of my tanks. The one i have left is the only survivor (no, i did not loose the rest in my stupidity lol), and I am not really interested in buying any more if they are just going to die on me.

I like the sound of some more dwarf cichlids. Any pointers on breeds that will go well with the GBR, or is it just a matter of whats available/personal preference?

well i do not know if they are available in your area, but i keep Orange Flash Cockatoo Apisto (Apistogramma cacatuoides
) with my GBR (see sig pic)there is some territorial disputes between male GBR and Alpha male Apisto in my 75 i have never kept them together in a 20 tall not sure if large enough for both species to have own territory...

 

[hsherman1986]

that is a pretty fish. I will look around at my lfs today and see what they have. if i don't see anything i like, i may do another tropical community or something, i dunno.

thanks for the advice guys

 

[coldmachineUK]

I wouldn't recommend apistos in a 20G: they naturally live in large crowds, and I've read in the literature that for a successful setup you need 10-15 to really get the best out of them. Keeping a pair is a possibility, but you could end up with aggression among them and stress: you'd have to try and get hold of a partnered pair. On top of that it would be like keeping one cory or one botia: can be done, but your fish won't be the happiest it could be.

For a 20G tall, I know you've already said you wouldn't like more, but rams are the best sort of cichlid for a tank of that size.

Try the Cichlid Forum (http://www.cichlid-forum.com) for articles inc. cookie cutters for various tank sizes. I'd look at 10G setups b/c the 20G they have is for a 20G long, not tall.

 

[bs6749]

I wouldn't recommend apistos in a 20G: they naturally live in large crowds, and I've read in the literature that for a successful setup you need 10-15 to really get the best out of them. Keeping a pair is a possibility, but you could end up with aggression among them and stress: you'd have to try and get hold of a partnered pair.

I think 3 apistos would be just fine but no more than that. Apistos do not pair, they are harem spawners.

 

[coldmachineUK]

I think 3 apistos would be just fine but no more than that. Apistos do not pair, they are harem spawners.

That definitely explains the recommended 10-15 group size then!

 

[hsherman1986]

yea i am just not sure. I looked at the lfs today, and they didn't have anything along the dwarf side of cichlids, only things like terrors, dempseys, oscars, things like that.

i did kinda think about maybe rainbows, or will they get too big?

what else could I do along the tropical community lines? Would a school of harley rasboras, a school of scissortail rasboras, a small school of cories, and a couple kuhli loaches work? I would keep the otto and the lone harley in there and probably find somewhere else for the ram to go.

edit: could i get away with 2-3 keyhole cichlids? my lfs did have those, i was just looking up info and found they only get up to 4-5". If i went that route, could I still get a few cories, and a couple kuhli loaches?

 

[gheitman]

I wouldn't recommend apistos in a 20G: they naturally live in large crowds, and I've read in the literature that for a successful setup you need 10-15 to really get the best out of them. Keeping a pair is a possibility, but you could end up with aggression among them and stress: you'd have to try and get hold of a partnered pair.

I think 3 apistos would be just fine but no more than that. Apistos do not pair, they are harem spawners.

Many apistos are harem spawners but not all of them. Check up on the various species at http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/results.php?genus=9. Some pairs will do well in tanks as small as 10 gallons but I prefer larger when I possible. I have a pair of Apistogramma baenschi that recently spawned in a 20 gallon long tank.