South American themed 50 gallon

[Rach101]

So I got this fifty gallon for my birthday and I am definitly going to make it planted. That being said I have been looking at both South American plants as well as fish.

Plants
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Not really too sure there, Suggestions welcome.

Fish
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Banjo catfish
Smaller community fish
Bolivian Rams
Angel Fish
Smaller Catfish
Etc.

The only definite with the fish for sure is the Smaller Catfish and The banjo catfish.
Any other suggestions?

 

[possum]

a nice school of tetras would be awesome too

 

[Jchillin]

Rach, you need look no further than "myinfo" and some of my pics to get some ideas.

 

[Rach101]

Hey bill, how do Angels do with smaller community fish? I know that they don't mix with neons, but how are they with others?

 

[Jchillin]

The smallest fish I have in the tank are the bristlenose's, one of which is 0.5" total, including feet, legs and tail. The others are the serpae and lampeye tetras. The angels could care less that they are in the tank, they tend to ignore all of their other tankmates unless they roam to close to their spawning area(s).

The trick is to add a sufficient number from the start (tetras). A total of 6 is preferred, that allows them to co-habitat with each.

As far as the other cichlids (Bolivian Rams and German Blue Rams), not everyone agrees that they can occupy the same tank and for the most part, that is true. I wouldn't recommend having both and if you've seen the German Blue Ram thread, you know that GBR's are very hard to keep.

If you haven't already noticed, all of the fish in the tank are South American.

 

[Rach101]

Yes, but I was under the impression that bolivian rams were alot easier to keep then GBR's.

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And I've been looking at alot of threads where people have been keeping angels with Bolivian rams. Perhaps it is the number of such that matters?

 

[JDogg]

Yes, but I was under the impression that bolivian rams were alot easier to keep then GBR's.

---------------
And I've been looking at alot of threads where people have been keeping angels with Bolivian rams. Perhaps it is the number of such that matters?

I keep angels and bolivian rams together with no ill effects

 

[maxwell1295]

The majority of my fish are South American. I have:

German Blue Rams
Bolivian Rams
Neon Tetras
Bloodfin Tetras
Glowlight Tetras
Corydoras catfish
Oto catfish
Rafael catfish

Not all of these fish are in the same tank. The only non-SA fish in my tanks are Mickey Platys (Central America) and Ghost shrimp...

The only problems I've had is with Blue Rams (both aggression and health issues) and with a greedy, bullying Dwarf Gourami who messed with a Bolivian Ram one time too many. He caught a pretty bad beatdown and died a few days later. The Bolivians are seasily the most peaceful fish I have. Just don't provoke them. The Gourami learned that the hard way.

 

[Rach101]

3 Angelfish
1 Banjo Catish
2 Bolivian Rams
5 Emerald cories
4 Otos
6 Marbled hatchets
6 Serpae Tetras

Perhaps a Raphael or Bristlenose catfish.

 

[Friendly]

All the fish I have in my tank are South American.

I got:
12 silver hatchet fish, 3 of them are common silver hatchets.
6 black phantom tetras
7 neon tetras
8 otos
My amano shrimps (which are from Japan) are the only thing in my tank not from South America.

I agree a school tetras would be nice. Hatchets are great but the water quality has to be high or else they will start to die off. I've heard stories that they also die for no apparent reason and are prone to ick.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

The majority of my fish are South American. I have:

German Blue Rams
Bolivian Rams
Neon Tetras
Bloodfin Tetras
Glowlight Tetras
Corydoras catfish
Oto catfish
Rafael catfish

Not all of these fish are in the same tank. The only non-SA fish in my tanks are Mickey Platys (Central America) and Ghost shrimp...

The only problems I've had is with Blue Rams (both aggression and health issues) and with a greedy, bullying Dwarf Gourami who messed with a Bolivian Ram one time too many. He caught a pretty bad beatdown and died a few days later. The Bolivians are seasily the most peaceful fish I have. Just don't provoke them. The Gourami learned that the hard way.

As for my Bolivians, they are pretty mellow. Never seen any beat-downs. When someone came too close to their spawning grounds, they just tried to spook them off. If that didn't work, then they would push them away til they switched directions. No real aggression so far. But that could always change I guess.

 

[SeymourFRESH]

get some corydoras, or some type of apistogramma cichlids if you choose not to go with the bolivians or the blues

they've got some neat looking ones on liveaquaria.net

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=1664

 

[Jaybird]

I have both GBR and bolivians but the most aggressive fish in the tank is a male sailfin molly. When that sailfin is pushing around for food, the only fish that don't move much are the bolivians. Everyone else scatters. They just move a little out of the way and keep doing what they want.

I have not seen any aggression between the GBRs or the bolivians. Well, nothing more than normal.

 

[maxwell1295]

I was shocked to see that happen. It happened right in front of my eyes as I was feeding them. The male Dwarf was a bigtime bully at feeding time. he was a pig. He took shrimp pellets from the cories, chased the otos away from algae discs, and basically harassed any of the fish who tried to eat anything, including his own female mate. Every fish except the Platys...he never bothered them. That one day when he tried to bully the Bolivian, was the first time he fought back....I had never seen him do that before. They went at it for about 10 secs and that was it. The Dwarf was missing 2 chunks from his forehead and 1 below his left eye. And it happened FAST! Isolation and Melafix didn't help....he died a few days later. He was a completely healthy and beautiful fish, probably from eating so well. Being the tank bully didn't pay off in that case. To this day, the Bolivian is easily the most peaceful fish in that tank.

 

[Rach101]

I agree a school tetras would be nice. Hatchets are great but the water quality has to be high or else they will start to die off. I've heard stories that they also die for no apparent reason and are prone to ick.

I am really good about doing water changes every three days, as well as inspecting my fish for symptoms such as Ick.

some type of apistogramma cichlids

Yeah they are gorgeous but I am pretty set on the bolivian rams


Also, with the fish I mentioned above, are any of them notorious for picking off inverts such as shrimp or snails? -- Or eating plants aswell


Another thing-- I was thinking about putting a mesh top(( Mesh like fish net mesh )) over the holes in my tank so that the hatchets can't jump out. Good or bad idea?

---Raphael Catfish is out-- Bristlenose added to stocking list

 

[Friendly]

I am really good about doing water changes every three days, as well as inspecting my fish for symptoms such as Ick.

Yeah as long as you keep your tank well maintained you shouldn't have any problems. I check each individual hatchet everyday to see if they're doing ok. They're very sensitive fish and I worry about them all the time lol.

Another thing-- I was thinking about putting a mesh top(( Mesh like fish net mesh )) over the holes in my tank so that the hatchets can't jump out. Good or bad idea?

Yes, that is a very good idea. I had a hatchet jump out when I was feeding them. The hatchet jumped out through a small 1/2" wide opening where I put food in. Luckily he bounced off my hand and went back into the tank. Also it's a good idea to count them everyday to make sure that none have jumped out.

 

[severum mama]

That's a good idea Rach. I've heard of hatchets jumping out of pretty small openings, so if you're using a HOB filter it would probably be wise.

You're going to love the Bolivian rams when you get them. They really have tons of personality and really cute faces too. They will probably look sort of drab in the LFS, but will color up nicely after they get used to your tank. IME they hide a lot less than GBRs so you should see them quite a bit after a while.

As for plant recommendations, it all depends on what kind of lighting you will have. Are you planning on keeping the stock light strip or upgrading?

 

[Rach101]

Well... We have to get a new light fixture etc. all together. So really I have no clue, but I am trying to get the best lighting I can, because I don't want to be limited at all due to lighting requirements of what kind of plants I get. Know of good lighting to use?

 

[severum mama]

Well, it is certainly possible to grow low light plants without spending a ton on lighting, and it's much easier than medium or high light plants. Remember that once you get over 1.5-2 wpg, you will need to supplement with CO2 and ferts, and that can get pretty expensive and is definitely more complicated. I'm guessing your tank is 3 feet long, is that right? If you want to try a medium light setup, I got a light like this for my 20 gallon and it's really cool, I think this one would fit your tank:
http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=29603;category_id=1875;pcid1=1843;pcid2=
The moonlight is nice and will let you watch your pleco at night. The included bulb is a 50/50 though, so you will have to replace it to get the full benefit of the light, as plants can't utilize the actinic light. That strip would give you just under 2 wpg, so you would probably need to use CO2 and ferts. Then again, my only nice looking planted tank is my 29 gallon low light, so you'll be better off talking to someone in the planted tank forum who actually knows what they're doing lol.

 

[Rach101]

My brothers girlfriend is building me a DIY C02 thinger. ^^; And we are planning on getting a canister filter.