3 month tank - stocking...

[bubble bobble]

my tank is about3 months old and i have been slowly adding fish. I have stopped because at the moment, it is very busy, but only on the bottom half of the tank, and I have a tall tank. it's a 40 gallon tall tank and contains the following:

2 cory cats
3 oto cats
2 blue rams
6 endlers livebearers
1 yo yo loach
1 true SAE
3 cherry shrimp
2 japonica (amano?) shrimp

the tank is planted, although not heavily at the moment, things are growing very slow.

i added up the adult length of all these fish combined is about 28" of fish (once theyve grown into adults, right now theyre all juveniles, except possibly the endlers)

I would like to keep a couple more rams, but they seem to hang out in the few inches above the substrate most of the time, are there any dwarf cichlids that live in the middle / top of the water column? I was thinking of finding homes for some of the fish i currently have if neccessary (like the loach) to make room for more top dwelling fish, i just didnt realize how much i had until i stopped and added it all up.

also, are there any low/med light plants that grow tall? i have hornwort, which has been growing like crazy (unlike most of the other plants) but i think i might get rid of it, as for most of it's length it is leggy, until it gets near the surface, where it gets nice and bushy, but within a couple days it will start to form a canopy over the surface of the water, and i have to trim it again. plus, it traps tons of debris & grossness. I do have an echidnorus (label said red melon sword) that has been doing well, it has put out about 5 new big red leaves in the month that ive had it, although the leafs are a bit curled up. the light is a 65watt pc flourescent, on a 40 gal tall tank, with eco-complete substrate, what are some tall plants I could grow in this set up? it is fairly low-tech, i have some flourish that i stopped using after an algae outbreak, and a fizz-tab co2 system, that i could use.

 

[zenkatydid]

i would get rid of the yoyo, as he will only be happy with a school, and possibly the sae who i think would prefer a long rather than tall tank, especially when he grows up, and to make more room for other fish. then, i would add another 2 or 3 cories. i wouldn't add more rams, 2 is a good number.

that is all just my opinion, i'm sure others will chime in

have you looked at rainbows? most species are mid-top dwelling and there are heaps that have gorgeous colours. i don't know of any cichlids that are top-dwellers, but i'm not a cichlid person.

 

[bubble bobble]

i got the yoyo when i had a sudden outbreak of snails. like, hundreds of tiny little snails. he actually hangs out with the cory's most of the time, but even when he's not he is very active and frolicks among the plants in his endless search for snails... but i was thinking of moving him, as the bottom is very busy, which is another reason why i wanted to keep just the 2 corys, they are also very active and seem happy and healthy, they hae both developed new iridescent patches since i got them.

rainbowfish is a good idea, i was thinking about them. from what ive seen, most dwarf cichlids hang out near the bottom, but there has to be some exception...