Stocking for 90G South American Aquarium

[raja26]

Hi everyone! This is Shubham from Kolkata, India. I am relatively new to the fish-keeping hobby and have only a couple of years of experience. I want to set up a 90-gallon (4' L, 2' H, 1.5' W) South American tank. I plan to use sand as substrate, a large piece of driftwood with some rocks, and Epiphyte plants attached to them. I'll be running a Hydor Professional 600/Fluval 407 canister filter with an Aquaclear 70 HOB.

I am considering the following stocking:

1. Albino Heckelii: 4 pieces (juveniles already growing in a smaller tank)
2. Tank-bred F1 Altum Angels: 4 pieces
3. Electric Blue Acara: 2 pieces
4. Denisoni Barb: 6 pieces

Now the questions are:

A. Am I at full capacity for 90G, or can I add a few Geophagus Sveni? If yes, should I keep only 2 Sveni or go for a larger group?

B. Are these fishes compatible? I have done a lot of research, but advice from experienced hobbyists will be very helpful.

C. Is the filtration sufficient, or should I add another Aquaclear 70 or something?

Thanks in advance.

 

[duanes]

One of the 1st and most important factors s to consider in combining these sensitive species, are your tap water parameters,
Both the heckelli and altum prefer soft, black water with pH between 4 to 7.
Both prefer water temps of around 80'F (27'C).
I find the Acarichthys will be fine when young, in a tank of that size, but as they mature, they need tanks in the 220gal and up range, or they start to intimidate into chronic stress diseases, like HITH and other bacterial maladies like bloat. As a single individual in your size tank, they should be fine, they usually aren't aggressive with other species.
I was warned by an Acarichthys expert about needing a larger tank size, at maturity as a species group, but thought I could manage them in a 150 gal, 6 ft tank.
I was wrong.
Just as he predicted, at about 2.5 to 3 years old, my group started subtly intimidating each other to chronic disease and death.
Add another nail, to that coffin, my pH was a bit too high for this species at 7.8, so when 2 stressors combined were involved it was a recipe for disaster.
I stared with 6 juvies, and ended up with 1, below you can see stress induced HITH beginning in the individual on the left.


By contrast, the demonsoni barbs are temperate stream dwellers, and prefer fast flow condition with an average water temp of around 70'F (21'C),
and a pH of 7.5 to 8.5.

The acaras are non-sensitive generalists, and evolved to handle a wider range of water parameters, pH 6.5 to 8.5, and tolerant of water temps from 68'F to 80's F (20'C to 27"C.

 

[tlindsey]

Hi everyone! This is Shubham from Kolkata, India. I am relatively new to the fish-keeping hobby and have only a couple of years of experience. I want to set up a 90-gallon (4' L, 2' H, 1.5' W) South American tank. I plan to use sand as substrate, a large piece of driftwood with some rocks, and Epiphyte plants attached to them. I'll be running a Hydor Professional 600/Fluval 407 canister filter with an Aquaclear 70 HOB.

I am considering the following stocking:

1. Albino Heckelii: 4 pieces (juveniles already growing in a smaller tank)
2. Tank-bred F1 Altum Angels: 4 pieces
3. Electric Blue Acara: 2 pieces
4. Denisoni Barb: 6 pieces

Now the questions are:

A. Am I at full capacity for 90G, or can I add a few Geophagus Sveni? If yes, should I keep only 2 Sveni or go for a larger group?

B. Are these fishes compatible? I have done a lot of research, but advice from experienced hobbyists will be very helpful.

C. Is the filtration sufficient, or should I add another Aquaclear 70 or something?

Thanks in advance.

Welcome aboard

 

[RedRaven]

As already mentioned threadfin can show a great deal of conspecific aggression, having a single specimen would of the species is the safer option.

 

[raja26]

One of the 1st and most important factors s to consider in combining these sensitive species, are your tap water parameters,
Both the heckelli and altum prefer soft, black water with pH between 4 to 7.
Both prefer water temps of around 80'F (27'C).
I find the Acarichthys will be fine when young, in a tank of that size, but as they mature, they need tanks in the 220gal and up range, or they start to intimidate into chronic stress diseases, like HITH and other bacterial maladies like bloat. As a single individual in your size tank, they should be fine, they usually aren't aggressive with other species.
I was warned by an Acarichthys expert about needing a larger tank size, at maturity as a species group, but thought I could manage them in a 150 gal, 6 ft tank.
I was wrong.
Just as he predicted, at about 2.5 to 3 years old, my group started subtly intimidating each other to chronic disease and death.
Add another nail, to that coffin, my pH was a bit too high for this species at 7.8, so when 2 stressors combined were involved it was a recipe for disaster.
I stared with 6 juvies, and ended up with 1, below you can see stress induced HITH beginning in the individual on the left.
View attachment 1529405

By contrast, the demonsoni barbs are temperate stream dwellers, and prefer fast flow condition with an average water temp of around 70'F (21'C),
and a pH of 7.5 to 8.5.

The acaras are non-sensitive generalists, and evolved to handle a wider range of water parameters, pH 6.5 to 8.5, and tolerant of water temps from 68'F to 80's F (20'C to 27"C.

Thank you very much for your insights. The tap water in my area generally have a TDS of 130-150. I mix some amount of RO water and water conditioner to take it down to 100-120. I am also able to maintain a steady pH of 6.2-6.4 and temperature of 27'-28' C in my current aquarium. The Altum Angels available at my local fish store are well acclimated for a TDS of 200 and 6.5+ pH. So I think that will not be a problem.

Regarding the Heckelii, after few months I will then keep just one or two in my tank and trade off the others. In their place can I get a small group of 4-5 Geophagus Sveni in 90G?

I initially decided to keep 8-10 Cardinal Tetras as a group of shoaling fishes in the tank but I have read that they may be too small to get eaten by adult geophagus and acaras. That's why I decided on Denisonis. I know they generally need cooler water but the locally available Denisoni Barbs in here generally do well in warmer water with lower pH. Some of my friends are keeping them for years. That's why I have decided on them, otherwise my first choice was Cardinals.

 

[raja26]

As already mentioned threadfin can show a great deal of conspecific aggression, having a single specimen would of the species is the safer option.

In that case, after a few months I can keep the best looking one, trade off the rest and get a small group of 4-5 Geophagus Sveni in their place. Will that be alright?

 

[raja26]

Welcome aboard

Thank you

 

[muh_fish]

I put 6 denison barbs in my tank with my Geos and really regret it. They are aggressive eaters and I feel like I have to overfeed to get food down to the bottom of the tank.

 

[Ogertron3000]

I would get some type of large flat tetra such as Colombians or similar instead of denisons. A lot more chilled and too big to be eaten by the acaras.

 

[raja26]

I put 6 denison barbs in my tank with my Geos and really regret it. They are aggressive eaters and I feel like I have to overfeed to get food down to the bottom of the tank.

I'll keep that in mind. Not sure about Geos but my Albino Heckeliis catch food top/mid water. I use sinking pellets, but they do not wait to let the food sink. If there is any left over food in the bottom sand, they sift through the sand a finish those food within a minute. They are aggressive eaters too.