Confused Again

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
So a pair of gbr with the stock listed above? Or nah, im thinking nah. But for now 1 sev, 2 angels, 6 Bolivians, 8 candy cane tetra (I like them better), 3-4 clown pleco. The tank will be planted with Anubias, val, amazon swords, dwarf sag, dwarf haigrass and duckweed with water lettuce. I know that the sev will munch on these but hopefully, it won't be too bad and I can keep it under control with romaine lettuce and a full tummy. Opinions on the dwarf sag and hair grass combo? Any info on candy cane tetras? How tight do they school, where are they from? Etc.
 
Yes, those Tetras are nice, i think we call them Bentos / Bentosi Tetra over here. I've had them before with dwarf cichlids, in fact i had a school of those with a school of Serpae which made for a lovely 2 color display. The issue might be that they're pretty small to be with a Severum, again it's not certain to be a problem but could be. Bleeding Heart Tetras might be better, they're bigger and more robust. They tend to swim lower levels where your Sev and Angels will be a little higher up. If it's those cichlids/pleco's that you like and you want movement i'd go;
1 Severum, 2 Angels, 4 Clown Plecos, 6 BH Tetras. They are sexable so try for 2M 4F. I'd go with the Bolivian Rams as a 6 but let them develop a pair and trade in the others, so eventually just leave the 2 of those.
 
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Travis_Bickle said:
Yes, those Tetras are nice, i think we call them Bentos / Bentosi Tetra over here. I've had them before with dwarf cichlids, in fact i had a school of those with a school of Serpae which made for a lovely 2 color display. The issue might be that they're pretty small to be with a Severum, again it's not certain to be a problem but could be. Bleeding Heart Tetras might be better, they're bigger and more robust. They tend to swim lower levels where your Sev and Angels will be a little higher up. If it's those cichlids/pleco's that you like and you want movement i'd go;
1 Severum, 2 Angels, 4 Clown Plecos, 6 BH Tetras. They are sexable so try for 2M 4F. I'd go with the Bolivian Rams as a 6 but let them develop a pair and trade in the others, so eventually just leave the 2 of those.
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Just a quick question. How do you sex a BH tetra? Personally I never noticed any differences in gender.

Also, for the OP, if you plan on breeding the Angels just make sure to leave a spot light on at night focused on the eggs so the plecos don't eat them.
 
Bleeding Hearts, the males have a much longer dorsal fin which curves back slightly, the females have a shorter, straighter dorsal. The head shape in the male is a little different too, it's a little hard to explain but the female is more of a continuous curve shape. Bit more colour in the males too.
If you see a tank full of decent sized ones the prettier ones are the males in this species!
 
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Travis_Bickle said:
Bleeding Hearts, the males have a much longer dorsal fin which curves back slightly, the females have a shorter, straighter dorsal. The head shape in the male is a little different too, it's a little hard to explain but the female is more of a continuous curve shape. Bit more colour in the males too.
If you see a tank full of decent sized ones the prettier ones are the males in this species!
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Well that's good to know. No wonder I never had any breeding behavior with the ones I had when I was younger. Pretty sure they all had the bent over dorsal fin.
 
All males. Mind you, all males groups of certain tetras can be good. I've tried all male congos and mixed group congos and i prefer the all males.
 
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Travis_Bickle said:
All males. Mind you, all males groups of certain tetras can be good. I've tried all male congos and mixed group congos and i prefer the all males.
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Allot less aggression I suppose. Been thinking of getting a school of Congos, atleast they are some of the easiest tetras to sex and they get to a decent size and color up nicely.
 
They're stunning. It's not always good to keep a tank in too much natural light but if you keep a school of Congo's it must be done! They look unbelievable with sunlight on them. In terms of the male/female mix with Congos, the females are just so drab in comparison and a group of 6-12 males will happily spar and show off colors once they size up anyway, it just looks better that way IMHO. Go for as many as the tank will allow with a minimum of 6.
 
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Travis_Bickle said:
They're stunning. It's not always good to keep a tank in too much natural light but if you keep a school of Congo's it must be done! They look unbelievable with sunlight on them. In terms of the male/female mix with Congos, the females are just so drab in comparison and a group of 6-12 males will happily spar and show off colors once they size up anyway, it just looks better that way IMHO. Go for as many as the tank will allow with a minimum of 6.
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In an 80g I should be able to house 15-20 comfortably I would think. Maybe a pair of samurai gourami as center piece fish along with a small clean up crew, probably a handful of otocinclus and some ghost shrimp.
 
They would look brilliant. Probably about 15-16 and then you could keep it West African, a larger Synodontis or a group of Synodontis nigriventris with any single cichlids such as Kribensis, Blockhead or a Jewel. A pair is possible but if you want the main theme to be the congo's i wouldn't risk them being nipped. An African Knifefish is another interesting one.

Sometimes less is more though and i'd probably go with 16 congos, a Jewel and a single mid sized Syno like Angelicus or Featherfin.
 
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