Im looking for ideas for a 90 gallon sand bottom driftwood tank. Doesn’t have to be biotope but would like a little piece of s/c America in my basement. Everything I like grows to large. One display fish and dithers would be nice or a group of fish that don’t outgrow a 90. I don’t like angels btw lol. Would be nice to hear ideas from other people get a different perspective I’m drawing blanks. Thanks in advance appreciate the help
Stocking ideas?
- Thread starter Pond9
- Start date
For a south american setup, I would start with a severum, uaru, or chocolate. Then an assortment or harem of smaller cichlids like blue or saddled acaras. You can stock a wide array of dither fish with these. Just nothing too small. I use blackskirt tetras and rainbowfish in my tank.
A shoal of cories or pictus cats will work, as well as nighttime lurkers like jaguar or doradid cats. Smaller plecos are an option as well.
For some added flair you could introduce a pinktail chalceus. They're a very interesting fish that constantly hangs in the top of the tank.
As an alternative to this setup, you could try a single geophagus brasiliensis with a few tankmates.
A shoal of cories or pictus cats will work, as well as nighttime lurkers like jaguar or doradid cats. Smaller plecos are an option as well.
For some added flair you could introduce a pinktail chalceus. They're a very interesting fish that constantly hangs in the top of the tank.
As an alternative to this setup, you could try a single geophagus brasiliensis with a few tankmates.
Here are some options:
South America
6 geophagus Tapajos redhead (or any similar sized geophagus)
4 apistogramma agassizi (or sp. of your choosing, rams would work too)
20ish cardinal tetras
8 skunk corydoras
Central America:
Group of Amatitlania Septemfasciatus 1-2m 4-5f (or any cryptoheros. panamensis work too. Alternatively, pair of H. Deppii or Salvini)
4-5 Belonesox belizanus
6-10 swordtail
I had a CA tank like this for the past couple years, worked well for the most part. With panamensis. Belonesox might eat swordtails when full grown. But mine got pushed around by my much smaller a. splendens.
South America
6 geophagus Tapajos redhead (or any similar sized geophagus)
4 apistogramma agassizi (or sp. of your choosing, rams would work too)
20ish cardinal tetras
8 skunk corydoras
Central America:
Group of Amatitlania Septemfasciatus 1-2m 4-5f (or any cryptoheros. panamensis work too. Alternatively, pair of H. Deppii or Salvini)
4-5 Belonesox belizanus
6-10 swordtail
I had a CA tank like this for the past couple years, worked well for the most part. With panamensis. Belonesox might eat swordtails when full grown. But mine got pushed around by my much smaller a. splendens.
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What is your water PH and general hardness?
CA for hard water setups
Astatheros robertsoni or Jack Dempsey as your big fish
mollies/swordtails/guppies as your shoal of 10+ dither fish
SA for moderately hard to hard water setups
Green Terror or Red Terror (female) or Geophagus brasilensis for main fish
Buenos Aires tetras as your shoal of 10+ fish
SA for soft to neutral water setups
Severum or chocolate cichlid for main fish
larger tetras like Colombian tetras as your shoal of 10+ dither fish
If you want bottom feeding fish, cores in schools of 10+ instead of the larger tetras.
CA for hard water setups
Astatheros robertsoni or Jack Dempsey as your big fish
mollies/swordtails/guppies as your shoal of 10+ dither fish
SA for moderately hard to hard water setups
Green Terror or Red Terror (female) or Geophagus brasilensis for main fish
Buenos Aires tetras as your shoal of 10+ fish
SA for soft to neutral water setups
Severum or chocolate cichlid for main fish
larger tetras like Colombian tetras as your shoal of 10+ dither fish
If you want bottom feeding fish, cores in schools of 10+ instead of the larger tetras.
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Belly crawler pike would work perfectly with some geos in a 90. Just make sure no other tankmates are small enough to eat.
pH of 7 is fine, GH is more important usually. Soft or neutral is better for SA cichlids like geophagus and pikes.
pH of 7 is fine, GH is more important usually. Soft or neutral is better for SA cichlids like geophagus and pikes.
Bolivian rams will work well in a 1m 2-3f harem. You could probably do 2m and 4-5f in a 90 if you want, though the dominant male might bully the subdom.