90 gallon stocking help

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Mythic Figment

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 27, 2012
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Florida
So I am cycling a new 90 gallon aquarium and initially thought I might do a discus tank, but I can't even keep neon tetras alive. LOL I have a 20 gallon high with neon and rummy nose tetras, but I have had a total of 10 neons and 5 rummy nose (not all at once), which is now down to 2 rummy and 4 neons. My water parameters are excellent for both species with the exception of the temperature, which is 80 degrees (in preparation for discus) but after considering the needs of the discus, their expense and the facts that fragile neons can't survive for some reason, I have decided again discus and may reapproach the idea later on down the road. I am going to leave the temp at 80 degrees until I know for sure what I will stock, so I don't stress them unnecessarily. My LFS can order pretty much anything, so getting the fish I want won't be an issue.

So now I am stuck trying to figure out what I should stock in my 90 gallon. I have 6 small Angelicus loaches that will definitely be going into the new tank. I would love to stock rams, apistos and/or kribs. I know these fish spend quite a bit of time on the bottom. Will they coexist well with the loaches? I can't seem to find much information on pairing these species anywhere. I also plan to get a school of rasbora, congo tetras or other small tetra (bigger than neons, but hardier too). I am open to suggestions for compatible fish. I am looking for something colorful that schools.

I need an algae cleaning team. I can't do shrimp because the loaches would enjoy a snack. I lost a pleco in the past because the loaches ate the algae wafers I would drop for the pleco and he eventually starved to death. So I don't think a pleco is a good idea. Would Siamese algae eaters (flying fox fish) or otos be better?

I am open to all suggestions. However, I already own the angelicus loaches and love them, so they aren't negotiable. LOL


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What about severums? Would they get along with rams, apistos, kribs and angelicus loaches? Obviously severums would eat small tetras, so I would need to reconsider them in favor of another school of tetras.


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i think sevs would bother apistos and rams as they outgrow them.how about blue acaras? diademas,keyholes,laetecaras.(i know some of my spelling is off) rainbowfish for a schooler,BA or columbian tetras
 
Thanks for the reply and advice. Not sure what's am going to do for schoolers. Everything seems too small for severums except a few and I don't like most of them. I love the look of the congo tetras....until I found out a proper school size of 10-15 would cost me $100-150! Harlequin rasbora are a little smaller than BA tetras. Would they work? I would love to have rummy nose, but they would be snacks for sure. :(

I like the contrast of the keyholes. Blue acaras are just not my cup of tea I guess. Couldn't find those other two you mentioned. Search came up empty with no suggestions for possible spelling error.

I would like to have a breeding pair of the super red severums. Is that possible or is it true they are a weird sterile hybrid species? If I can't have breeding super red severums, I might take up keyhole breeding. They are pretty little fish.


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So my girlfriend has told me we have to have apistos, rams or kribensis. I like the look of all of them and would be happy with any of them. Obviously that creates a problem with having severums. I do like the idea of the keyholes and I think they are good looking little fish. I have read up on super reds and the shear number of them I would have to buy and attempt to pair up before successfully finding a fertile male is a big turn off. I have also done some reading on firemouths and I find their natural color to be very nice. So what do you think of this for a stocking list? Do all the fish I have here get along? And I know the keyholes, firemouths and apistos/rams/kribs will all breed under the right circumstances, but will having three potential breeding species together be a big issue?

6 angelicus loaches
3-4 rams/apistos/kribensis
2-3 firemouths
3-4 keyholes
1 Siamese algae eater
10-15 schooling tetras (still don't know what kind, but with the removal of the severums, would harlequin rasbora now work?)

Will the lower level be too crowded in a 90 gallon? I would be willing to remove the keyholes from the list because I like the firemouths more, but the firemouths would need to get along with the rams.

Again, open to any and all suggestions. Thanks guys and gals!


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That sucks. I am definitely getting some rams, apistos or kribs for sure (happy wife, happy life rules. LOL), but I would really like to have a couple of medium size, colorful fish that won't be aggressive with them. Any thoughts on fish that would fit this profile?


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kribs and acara probably would get along ok...kribs seem a little more hardy than sa dwarfs...you could even try jewels with kribs ..doing an african theme tank.
 
Okay, so my LFS can get just about any kind of freshwater fish out there. I have done more reading and have found some great fish that meet my demand for color and I think will live happily with the rams.

I am taking the advice on the blue acaras. They are very pretty. I also like festivum and keyholes. Will all three of these fish live happily with rams?

With the 6 angelicus loaches that I already have, what combination of rams/apistos/kribs, festivum, keyholes, and blue acara do you think I can have. I have seen German, Bolivian and electric blue rams, as well as kribensis in my LFS. I would probably pass on the german rams as I hear they are a tad sensitive and I don't like the look of the electric blues, so I am leaning towards Bolivian rams if I get rams. I can probably order apistos from the LFS as well. Are rams, apistos, or kribs easier to successfully breed? I will definitely be breeding one of the three for sure.

Of the three larger cichlids, which combinations work best with breeding rams and loaches? Should I do singles or can I get away with 2-3 of one kind, even if they pair up?

Here is what I am thinking. Feel free to correct me as I have only raised cichlids for 6 months.

3-4 rams/apistos/kribensis (1 male to 2-3 females)
1-4 keyholes
1-4 festivum
1-4 blue acara
6 angelicus loaches
1 Siamese algae eater

Now I only want multiple of either festivums, blue acara or keyholes. For example, 3 festivum, 1 keyhole, and 1 blue acara.

Another idea is to pass on all the larger fish and do 2 groups, one of 3-4 rams and one of 3-4 kribs?

What do you think?


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