So I'm going to do a small planted SA/CA tank using a 40 gal breeder tank in my daughters play room/family room in our basement. Obviously I'm looking for some smaller species that could live in a 40 breeder for life (although they probablly wont) I'm going to use a sand substrate, a few rock outcrops a large peice of driftwood as the centerpeice. As far as plants right now I'm thinking some java fern/jave moss, some swords for the background and maybe some type of short mat type plant. I'm picking up 5 baby bristlenose plecos from a local breeder tomorrow to handle the scavenging duties. So what do you guys think, list some smaller SA/CA's for me. Thanks!
Help me stock a 40gal breeder
- Thread starter Frostyone
- Start date
I think I just found what I'm going to put in it, dwarfs. Check out some of the beautiful fish in this thread http://forum.apistogramma.com/showthread.php?t=6790 56K BEWARE!
I'll deal with the SA's, someone else can chip in with the CA's (Thorichthys, Archocentrus,etc.)
- Cleithracara maronii "Keyhole Cichlid"
- Laetacara dorsigera "Red-Breast Acara"
- Laetacara curviceps "Flag Cichlid"
- Aequidens pulcher "Blue Acara" (Enjoy shredding plants)
- Aequidens diadema
- Apistogramma sp.
- Nannacara anomala
- Mikrogeophagus altispinosus "Bolivian Ram"
- Mikrogeophagus ramirezi "Blue Ram"
- Mesonauta festivus "Festivum" (Would probably be pushing it in a 40, they like high tanks)
- Dicrossus filamentosus "Checkerboard Cichlid"
- Geophagus sp. (All eartheaters under 6", Biotodoma sp., Gymnogeophagus sp., Guianacara sp. - Most will uproot plants though, especially in a tank that small.)
There's a whole lot more, though.
- Cleithracara maronii "Keyhole Cichlid"
- Laetacara dorsigera "Red-Breast Acara"
- Laetacara curviceps "Flag Cichlid"
- Aequidens pulcher "Blue Acara" (Enjoy shredding plants)
- Aequidens diadema
- Apistogramma sp.
- Nannacara anomala
- Mikrogeophagus altispinosus "Bolivian Ram"
- Mikrogeophagus ramirezi "Blue Ram"
- Mesonauta festivus "Festivum" (Would probably be pushing it in a 40, they like high tanks)
- Dicrossus filamentosus "Checkerboard Cichlid"
- Geophagus sp. (All eartheaters under 6", Biotodoma sp., Gymnogeophagus sp., Guianacara sp. - Most will uproot plants though, especially in a tank that small.)
There's a whole lot more, though.
japes;1876150; said:
I'm thinking of the ones I highlighted in red, I'd like them all to be 4" or under as adults. Definately don't want any plant shredders, my fiancee wants a tank with lush plants in it, and she let me put my 125 I got recently in the living room
so I'm doing this for her and the kids. I'm going to show her some of the dwarf pics in the thread I linked to above, she'll love em!
- Laetacara dorsigera "Red-Breast Acara"
- Laetacara curviceps "Flag Cichlid"
- Apistogramma sp.
- Mikrogeophagus altispinosus "Bolivian Ram"
- Mikrogeophagus ramirezi "Blue Ram"
- Dicrossus filamentosus "Checkerboard Cichlid"
All of these suit what you're after perfectly and are all community friendly so they can be mixed and matched without a problem.
- Laetacara curviceps "Flag Cichlid"
- Apistogramma sp.
- Mikrogeophagus altispinosus "Bolivian Ram"
- Mikrogeophagus ramirezi "Blue Ram"
- Dicrossus filamentosus "Checkerboard Cichlid"
All of these suit what you're after perfectly and are all community friendly so they can be mixed and matched without a problem.
That's up to you really, depends on how much maintenance you're willing to do, how many fish you like the look of, what species you choose, tc.
Personally, I'd go with a 3x Apistogramma sp. (I like borelli personally), and 2x Laetacara dorsigera. I'd say you could go for around 6-8 though, I honestly can't give a straight answer
Personally, I'd go with a 3x Apistogramma sp. (I like borelli personally), and 2x Laetacara dorsigera. I'd say you could go for around 6-8 though, I honestly can't give a straight answer
So here's what I've got so far, may have to slim the list down depending on how many I can actually keep in the tank.
Apistogramma Cacatuoides
Apistogramma sp. Abacaxis
Apistogramma Pulchra
Apistogramma Pulchra Xingú
Apistogrammas sp. Abacaxi
Apistogrammas sp. Abacaxis
Apistogrammas Cacatuoides
Mikrogeophagus ramirezi
Laetacara curviceps
Laetacara dorsigera
Mikrogeophagus altispinosus
Apistogrammas Trifaciata
Oh yea Apistogramma Boreli too I like these as well, now I have to narrow it down. I'll start first by finding out what's actually available to me.
Apistogramma Cacatuoides
Apistogramma sp. Abacaxis
Apistogramma Pulchra
Apistogramma Pulchra Xingú
Apistogrammas sp. Abacaxi
Apistogrammas sp. Abacaxis
Apistogrammas Cacatuoides
Mikrogeophagus ramirezi
Laetacara curviceps
Laetacara dorsigera
Mikrogeophagus altispinosus
Apistogrammas Trifaciata
Oh yea Apistogramma Boreli too I like these as well, now I have to narrow it down. I'll start first by finding out what's actually available to me.
If it were me, I'd throw in a pair of dwarf pikes as well ... Crenicichlia regani or wallacii ... but I might be biased. They don't dig, are rather pretty, aren't big enough to eat the apistos, rams, or dwarf acaras. In a 40 or 50 breeder I usually keep a pair with a pair of Laetacara species with a school of tetras and planted.
For Central American, September Cichlids would be awesome if you you find them. Related to convicts, but more mild mannered. I had two breeding pairs of convicts in a 75 with two breeding pairs of Septembers, that was a cool tank. That was way before I had a digital camera unfortunately. Cutteris would also be a great choice.