Thoughts on Centerpiece fish

[AlecFish]

I currently have a 75 gallon planted rolling, been going for just about a year now

fauna
- 6 dwarf neon rainbows. Thinking of getting rid of them, but I don't know what would replace them

-13 espei rasbora. Should I get more? super cool fish, love them.

I have a pH of 7.6ish, sort of high ranges between 7.6 and 7.8 so moderately high. gH and kH hover around 7.

I can't keep any of the super delicate, pH sensitive fish. I'd like to stick with the more tolerant type of fish. No huge reason behind it, I just like keeping fish that have some space for error if I mess up during a water change or something

I know a lot of rams, apistos and S/A dwarf cichlids prefer softer, more neutral water. Should I stay away from these guys?

If I get some pair of peaceful cichlid, will they encourage the rest of my fish to school? I've heard varied replies on this topic so I'd like to see what you guys think.

As far as other suggestions go I'm pretty open to anything. The tank is pretty lightly stocked considering its a 75 gallon. So I need more fish!

 

[emerald76]

I have 7.6 ph and my GBR are beautiful.


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[severum mama]

Apisto cacatuoides is a hardy species (more so than GBR IMO) and is quite adaptable to a range of water conditions. 7.6-7.8 would be no problem for this fish. The rest of your fish may or may not school... it really just depends on whether they would perceive the cichlids as enough of a threat to "group up".

 

[azmodan]

I agree that a. cacatuoides is a great option, possibly a. borellii too. Bolivian rams are reasonably hardy and would likely do fine. Angels, keyhole cichlids and even a festivum cichlid might work too, although I've never kept espei rasboras so I'm not sure if they could be potential snacks. And they're not SA but denison barbs, pearl gouramis and kribs are all options too.

 

[severum mama]

Espei rasboras stay smaller than some other species that I have lost to angels and festivum. Festivum can also be tough on plants. Keyholes are a nice choice but are typically very shy.

 

[seove]

Blind Cave Tetra?

 

[Coursair]

Pearl Gouramis are Fav of mine. Lovely fish. Nice temperament.

Apistos are so cute

What about a big bunch of Puppies ... I mean Cories on the bottom ??? Gotta love a nice group of C sterbai or C trilineatus.

Blind Cave fish are fin nippers and are Semi Aggressive. They might work, but they can do damage.


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[AlecFish]

Thanks for the suggestions. Definitely a no go with blind caves, they get huge like 3" and are a bit aggressive.

Are cories fine with pH? I've heard some people not having success with keeping them in the higher pHs.

I really like the apisto cacatuoids and the keyholes! I've done quite a bit of research on them and I'm curious to see which one would better suite me. With male apistos will the size of their mouthes be a problem. I'm keeping 1.25 long espeis and thinking of swapping the rainbows out with cherry barbs which would be around an 1.5. Male apistos have pretty large mouthes and if given the chance do you think they'd be a threat or am I just overthinking this. Also is a pair just fine or would is need a harem of 3 females to one male?

Keyholes on the other hand seem to be more docile and less aggressive. But I'm not sure once the pair starts breeding of they'll become a problem.

Are there really any notable differences between the two?


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[dalto]

I love apistos but In a 75 tank they are not really going to be a good centerpiece fish. Not only are they quite small but they will spend virtually all their time a the bottom of the tank.

Keyholes are great peaceful fish. Even as a pair they would likely just chase offenders out of their territory while spawning. None of mine have ever spawned in a community tank though.

Another option for a 75 would be angelfish.

 

[severum mama]

I've lost fish that were larger than those espeis to angelfish. I probably wouldn't try it in this tank, although you might get lucky.

 

[Brookster123]

Sounds like key holes or bolivian would a good fit.

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[AlecFish]

Sounds like keyholes make a great fit. I'm a little skeptical about the size of the keyholes, but I'm sure they'll be fine.

I'm planning on getting rid of the rainbows and hopefully getting credit from them and put that towards the keyholes. So it'll sort of look like this

Main schooling fish- espei rasbora
Centerpeice- Pair of Keyholes
Bottom feeder- Still searching on this one, cories, ehh maybe? I'd rather not blow $50 on a school and end up having them all die. Are there any community bottom feeders that are pH hardy?

 

[severum mama]

Keyholes are great fish. Once they get used to your tank and start coming out more often (lol, they can be shy), they are really interesting to keep. My experience is that they are pretty slow growers, so just be patient with them. I'm guessing that a pair will be incredibly difficult to find, so you may need to grow out a group of juveniles until a pair forms. This is a peaceful species and I wouldn't anticipate any trouble with the espei.

As far as corys go, paleatus (peppered) are one of the most hardy species imo. Just a thought.

 

[GouramiLover]

My ph is roughly 7.5-7.6 and I keep emerald and Pygmy cories. I have also had sterbai and albinos as well. They do very in my high ph tanks

Plus they are fun to watch especially if you have sand thy dive into the sand, it is hilarious


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[Fishobsessed7]

My ph is 8.4 and I have bronze cories


Fishobsessed7

 

[mikem691]

Cleithracara maronii are awesome. Just don't keep them with hyper fish and they will always be out. Mine are at the front of the tank when ever I'm there.


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[AlecFish]

How readily available are keyholes in pet shops? I've never actually seen them in person

Also, how easy is it to sex them, are there any tell tale signs to tell the difference?

And nice mike! They look great


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[dalto]

Keyholes are one of the more common South American cichlids. It will depends on the specific shop if they are available but I suspect most would be able to get them or you could have some shipped to you.