40G Breeder Community Stocking Ideas?

[bxtxa]

Hello everyone! This is my first post so forgive me if I posted this in the wrong place. I am finally putting together a 40G breeder I got on sale a few months ago. This is the first tank I have put together that isn't a nano. So I am definitely not well versed in some of these larger breeds of fish. The tank will be heavily planted and contain decorations such as real wood, rocks etc. I'm also 99% sure I will get corydoras as the algae eaters, plus some small schooling/shoaling fish mostly for entertainment.


I was thinking of having a pair of angelfish and a pair of bolivian rams? - I'm not sure if that's a good idea or not. Some people say they get along just fine, some people say it's a terrible idea. But I haven't seen many tanks with that combination, nor many people asking about it. (Especially with the 40 gal breeder) I've read they dwell on totally different parts of the tank, so would they even notice each other especially with the plants and such? I'm also open to other ideas! The happiness and healthiness of the fish is my #1 priority of course.

Will anyone with some experience help me out? Thank you!

 

[Aiken Drum]

I keep angelfish and electric blue rams together and they dont bother each other.

Corys dont eat algae that much. They are bottom feeders, they will eat ground up algae wafers and probably will pick at algae if they otherwise arent getting enough food, but they wont keep algae levels down.

Given what you have said, a pair of angels, a nice group of corys, and a group of tetras would be good. You could add a pair of rams as well and see how it goes. Bolivian rams would probably be your best bet from a water temperature PoV. Electric blue and german blue like the water a little warmer. Some snails as your algae eaters?

 

[jake37]

There are several issues. First a 40B is generally not tall enough for adult male angelfishes. There is a 50B that is the same width and length but taller if you are set on angelfisehs. Second Bolivian rams are best kept as single fishes as they can be aggressive torwards their own species. Some alternative you might consider include Borellli apisto. These are very hearty but smallish dwarf cichlid. In a very well scape aquarium you could keep 3 or 4 females and 2 males; but 1 male with several females is safer; Laetacara araguaiae - these are colourful dwarf cichlid best kept as a pair or single male. They are slightly larger than bolivian rams. I would avoid german blue rams and their colour morph (electric blue rams, gold rams, ...) until you have significantly more experience as they require very clean warm water and are extremely sensitive to changes in temp and water conditions.
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For cory I would recommend sterbai or enques but there are 100's that would work equally well. One concern with cory is they might suffer some fin damage if you have breeding dwarf cichlid. For dither there are many fishes you could consider. I personally like kubotai rasbora (not a south american fish but still very nice; cannot be kept with anglefishes); ember tetra, cardinal tetra, black neon tetra, 100's of options depending on intention. If you actually want the dwarf cichlid to breed successfully I would suggest a different stocking for top and bottom.

 

[BigRedsReefs10]

There are several issues. First a 40B is generally not tall enough for adult male angelfishes. There is a 50B that is the same width and length but taller if you are set on angelfisehs. Second Bolivian rams are best kept as single fishes as they can be aggressive torwards their own species. Some alternative you might consider include Borellli apisto. These are very hearty but smallish dwarf cichlid. In a very well scape aquarium you could keep 3 or 4 females and 2 males; but 1 male with several females is safer; Laetacara araguaiae - these are colourful dwarf cichlid best kept as a pair or single male. They are slightly larger than bolivian rams. I would avoid german blue rams and their colour morph (electric blue rams, gold rams, ...) until you have significantly more experience as they require very clean warm water and are extremely sensitive to changes in temp and water conditions.
-
For cory I would recommend sterbai or enques but there are 100's that would work equally well. One concern with cory is they might suffer some fin damage if you have breeding dwarf cichlid. For dither there are many fishes you could consider. I personally like kubotai rasbora (not a south american fish but still very nice; cannot be kept with anglefishes); ember tetra, cardinal tetra, black neon tetra, 100's of options depending on intention. If you actually want the dwarf cichlid to breed successfully I would suggest a different stocking for top and bottom.

If you go the apisto route keep it to a pair, females will claim an entire 40b (have a pair now in a 40b) and can be extremely aggressive, especially to other female apistos. A pair of rams would also work well, ime any of the ram species are much more peaceful and docile than apistos, though they are harder to sex so it may take more tries to get a male female pair.

 

[jake37]

Apisto is a genus; and there are 100's of species. The aggressiveness and overall behavior depends on the specific species which you did not name.

 

[bxtxa]

Thanks for the responses! As you might can tell I am not the most experienced keeper, and I just want to make the right decision. Apologies for my ignorance around certain subjects; I just started keeping fish last year. I am aware of the angelfish issue and are not 100% set on getting them, I just like the size, shape, etc. I definitely don't want to get some and have them be unhealthy. As for the smaller borellli apisto - smaller cichlid idea, I will have to look more into it, to be honest I don't know very much about cichlids other than rams so I'm not confident speaking much on the matter. But it is an interesting idea I will toy around with. I will also look into getting some nerites for the 40g. I had no idea they were better algae eaters, I just always assumed. Thanks again, everyone!

 

[jake37]

Good luck. If you have more questions feel free to post them. Also if you decide to go with a different apisto be sure to check it out as I noted different species have different requirements and level of aggression.