Stocking Help

[Zak03]

Alright, so i have a 40 gal tank and i need some stocking ideas. im thinking of doing a cichlid community tank, but im not very versed in different types of cichlids.
Basically, what im looking for is a community tank with color, personallity, and movement. (plus, having cleaner fish so that water changes will be kept to a minimum would be amaaazing). I also would like some bottom dwelling fish so as to give the tank a bit more variety: im thinking plecos of bichirs.

So, again, im looking for cleanliness, personality, variety, and colour. And in that order of priority. And if you guys have any other ideas, whether cichlid or not, im completely open for suggestion. just need help stocking. Thank you!

 

[Rocksor]

What type of water do you have? Hard water or soft water (this is measured in GH and not PH)? If you don't know check your water quality report. It might be listed as GPG (grains per gallon) or CaCO3.

 

[Zak03]

What type of water do you have? Hard water or soft water (this is measured in GH and not PH)? If you don't know check your water quality report. It might be listed as GPG (grains per gallon) or CaCO3.

um, well water. Is that enough information? i dont really understand hard/soft water

 

[Rocksor]

um, well water. Is that enough information? i dont really understand hard/soft water

Well water can be hard or soft. You should have a water quality report for your well water.

 

[HybridFinatic]

That’s a lot of ideas to pack into a 40 gallon but if your water is on the soft side whenever you get that figured out I recommend dwarf cichlids and a bristlenose pleco. I’m not sure their are any “cleaner fish” that will make for less water changes though. A lot more options open up with a 4 foot tank though for a small cichlid community.

 

[Zak03]

Well water can be hard or soft. You should have a water quality report for your well water.

We have soft water

 

[Zak03]

That’s a lot of ideas to pack into a 40 gallon but if your water is on the soft side whenever you get that figured out I recommend dwarf cichlids and a bristlenose pleco. I’m not sure their are any “cleaner fish” that will make for less water changes though. A lot more options open up with a 4 foot tank though for a small cichlid community.

bristlenose, its a good idea, but im not a big fan of how they look. mainly speaking of their bristlenose.
thank you for the idea of dwarf cichlid though.

 

[Gourami Swami]

One thing- cleaner fish will do absolutely nothing for your maintenance other than perhaps eating algae from the glass and rocks, and possibly some left over food from the bottom. But everything they eat, gets turned into poop, and they add to the amount of maintenance you have to do because they add bioload. Basically, more fish mass = more water changes. I would expect to do one water change a week at least.

40 is quite small for a cichlid community tank. I think you would have much better luck with a pair or a small group of single-species. Though some communities could be possible with careful fish selection. I would figure out the hardness and pH of your water first- that would be important to decide what region fits your water.
If you have hard water and high pH, I would recommend either some tanganyikan or Malawi cichlids for your tank. A colony of shell-dwellers like N. brevis, plus a pair of Altolamprologus compressiceps, would be a nice stock. As for Malawi cichlids, you would want to do a group of one of the less aggressive species, like L. Perlmutt. You might be able to do two groups of 4-5 if you stick with passive cichlids. As adults, that would be a heavy bioload though, quite possibly require 2 WC's per week.

For soft water and low pH, south american dwarfs like rams or apistogrammas would be great. With some tetras to make them feel more comfortable.

 

[HybridFinatic]

One thing- cleaner fish will do absolutely nothing for your maintenance other than perhaps eating algae from the glass and rocks, and possibly some left over food from the bottom. But everything they eat, gets turned into poop, and they add to the amount of maintenance you have to do because they add bioload. Basically, more fish mass = more water changes. I would expect to do one water change a week at least.

40 is quite small for a cichlid community tank. I think you would have much better luck with a pair or a small group of single-species. Though some communities could be possible with careful fish selection. I would figure out the hardness and pH of your water first- that would be important to decide what region fits your water.
If you have hard water and high pH, I would recommend either some tanganyikan or Malawi cichlids for your tank. A colony of shell-dwellers like N. brevis, plus a pair of Altolamprologus compressiceps, would be a nice stock. As for Malawi cichlids, you would want to do a group of one of the less aggressive species, like L. Perlmutt. You might be able to do two groups of 4-5 if you stick with passive cichlids. As adults, that would be a heavy bioload though, quite possibly require 2 WC's per week.

For soft water and low pH, south american dwarfs like rams or apistogrammas would be great. With some tetras to make them feel more comfortable.

Agreed

 

[Zak03]

One thing- cleaner fish will do absolutely nothing for your maintenance other than perhaps eating algae from the glass and rocks, and possibly some left over food from the bottom. But everything they eat, gets turned into poop, and they add to the amount of maintenance you have to do because they add bioload. Basically, more fish mass = more water changes. I would expect to do one water change a week at least.

40 is quite small for a cichlid community tank. I think you would have much better luck with a pair or a small group of single-species. Though some communities could be possible with careful fish selection. I would figure out the hardness and pH of your water first- that would be important to decide what region fits your water.
If you have hard water and high pH, I would recommend either some tanganyikan or Malawi cichlids for your tank. A colony of shell-dwellers like N. brevis, plus a pair of Altolamprologus compressiceps, would be a nice stock. As for Malawi cichlids, you would want to do a group of one of the less aggressive species, like L. Perlmutt. You might be able to do two groups of 4-5 if you stick with passive cichlids. As adults, that would be a heavy bioload though, quite possibly require 2 WC's per week.

For soft water and low pH, south american dwarfs like rams or apistogrammas would be great. With some tetras to make them feel more comfortable.

ok, so more fish mass=more water changes. What about instead of a community tank, It could be just one or two "feature fish" and then like 1 bottom dweller?