# Stocking a South American Tank



## ktluvsfish (Jan 13, 2008)

Hi Everyone,
I need some advise in regards to stocking my 80 gallon South American tank. The tank has been set up for about 6 months. I currently have it stocked with 6 angels, 3 male keyholes, 2 borrellis dwarf cichlids, BN Plecos, Tetras, and SAE's. Honestly, the tetras don't really thrill me. I was thinking of swapping them out for possibly 5 curviceps cichlids. My question is though, will my tank have enough room for that many cichlids? Right now everything is very peaceful. My angels are almost full grown and I have two proven pairs out of the six fish. As far as I can tell, my keyholes are all males. Can someone please advise me on whether or not the curviceps would work?


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## hollyfish2000 (Aug 23, 2007)

IMHO, no.

I'd personally remove the two angels that aren't paired, as two breeding pairs plus other cichids is more than enough.

If your tetras aren't doing it for you, maybe try a different type of tetra. I adore my rummynoses, for example, but hated my black skirts and red eyes . . .


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## Zack2112 (Jul 11, 2008)

I agree with hollyfish, I would not add the curviceps. I too would remove the unpaired angles. I personally really like large schools of certain tetras. I LOVE a big school of rummynose or cardinals, they just look great in a tank IMO.


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## ktluvsfish (Jan 13, 2008)

Thanks for the advise 

I think I really just need to find a tetra that I like. I love cardinals. I love rummynoses too, but I am not sure if they will do well with my pH. I was wondering, with the smaller tetras, do people usually follow the inch per gallon rule when stocking them, or can you fit more since they are so slender?


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## DeadFishFloating (Oct 9, 2007)

G'day *ktluvsfish*,

Just out of interest, what are the dimensions of your tank? Personally I'd ditch the Keyholes and borrellii, and go with the Laetacara, but I may be just a little biased.



> I love cardinals. I love rummynoses too, but I am not sure if they will do well with my pH.


What is your PH? If your SA cichlids are doing alright in your water, most of the common tetras should as well.



> with the smaller tetras, do people usually follow the inch per gallon rule when stocking them, or can you fit more since they are so slender?


Very few people use this rule of thumb, especially when cichlids are involved. Usually your stocking should revolve around providing sufficiently sized territories for compatible cichlids. After this you can look at filling in the empty areas of your tank. Looking at you current stock list, I'd plan on only keeping two _pairs_ of Angels, and add another Keyhole. With most SA cichlids, a third wheel usually ends up being overly harrased by the other _pair_. As for tetras, I find it's more a case gut instinct. You should be able to tell when you have to many tetras.


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## ktluvsfish (Jan 13, 2008)

Hi Deadfishfloating 

Thanks for the quick response.

My tank is 4 feet by 2 feet by 2 feet (thats off the top of my head. I don't have a measuring tape on me right now). Pretty much the standard 80g size. Its very heavily planted, so the fish have a lot of hiding places and don't really have trouble establishing their territories.

I love the Laetacara, but I have had my keyholes for over a year and I am way too attached to give them up at this point  Maybe in the next tank I can do Laetacaras instead.

My ph is 7.8 out of the tap, but with all of the driftwood that I have in the tank, the tank water stays at about 7.4. I am just a little afraid of getting an expensive school of cardinals or rummy noses and then losing them a week later because they are so sensitive.

I may move a pair of my angels to my 75 gallon tank and see how they do. I have a blue acara, bolivian rams, and rainbowfish in that tank. I love all 6 of my angels. They are all so different: 2 marble, 2 platinum, and 2 wild silvers.

I am glad to hear you say that the inch per gallon rule is not completely accurate. I find it hard to believe that you could stock 80 inches of cichlids in a 80g tank; however, I think an 80 gallon tank could probably hold more than 40 of the smaller tetras since they are so slender and have such a tiny bioload. I am thinking maybe a school of 15?


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

You might want to measure, a 4'x2'x2' is a 120 gallon.

Most 80's are the same footprint as a 75 gallon (4'x18") but taller. The footprint is important in determining how many dwarf cichlids you could keep. That extra 6" width would make a differance.


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## ktluvsfish (Jan 13, 2008)

Okay, I know its not a 120g. I measured it back when I first got it to make sure. I think you are right, its probably 18 inches deep. I guess those measurements were just wishful thinking on my part, lol.


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## IN2_Rams (Jun 11, 2008)

If you're thinking of adding cardinals or one of the more delicate (easily stressed) tetras, here's a trick that I've had GREAT success with...

After floating or dripping them, leave the lights off your tank for 24 hours.

I don't know why it works, but they settle in better and I've had 90% retention rates. I do know from SA visits that the water they come from is fairly dark, so it may feel like a bit of a homecoming...

Hope it works for you, too!


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## ktluvsfish (Jan 13, 2008)

Thanks for the advice  I will deffinetly try that. I have also heard that doing a long 3-4 hour drip acclimation works. Maybe that and then leave the lights off for 24 hours? I probably won't replace my current tetras for at least a month or so, but I'm looking forward to adding some of the more delicate species to my tank because they are just so pretty.


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## DeadFishFloating (Oct 9, 2007)

Hmmmm, I've never thought of rummynose tetras as delicate tetras. Most of our rummynose are tank bred so they're probably a little healthier.


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## hollyfish2000 (Aug 23, 2007)

Yes, my understanding is that rummynose can be sensitive and sometimes the whole lot of them will 'crash.' I've personally had great luck, though. I have schools of 10-12 in two different planted tanks and I don't think I've lost even one in the past six months. (OK, one, he was found on the floor and I still don't know how he got there.) In my case, I wait for a month or so after they've arrived at the LFS and then buy them. This lets the LFS take the hit should there be a crash and gives them time to settle in from importation (I've always thought they were wild caught, but I could be wrong.) I do give them a longer time of adding tank water, floating, etc., but otherwise don't do anything special when acclimating them.

I was looking at them this morning and thought anew how fantastic they are. Their noses are such a pretty red and their black and white checkerboard tails are so cute. Nothing beats them IMHO . . .


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

I would imagine most of your rummynose would be Asian farm bred *DFF* where ours are imported wild. Our florida fish farm water is harder and cardinals and rummynose don't bred in them, kinda like why we see dorsigera instead of curviceps for the same reason.


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## ktluvsfish (Jan 13, 2008)

Yeah I've heard of the "crash" happening to a lot of people with rummynoses. The bummer is that my LFS that I trust for good quality fish keeps their rummynoses and cardinals in RO water. I am afraid that they might not acclimate well to my tank. However, I did get my 2 wild angels from there (they were kept in the tank with RO water) and they are healthy and doing well 3 months later.

Deadfishfloating: I hope that I have a similar experience as yours with the rummynoses. It sounds like you have had a really easy time keeping yours.

Dwarfpike and hollyfish2000, thanks for the insight as to why they are sometimes so fragile. I will have to ask my LFS where they get their stock from.


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## ktluvsfish (Jan 13, 2008)

Ugh, I moved my fish around today. I put the 2 platinum angels in my 75 gallon. I had to take everything out of the tank to catch them. What a pain! I am not looking forward to catching my tetras when its time to switch them out.


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## Zack2112 (Jul 11, 2008)

Do a quick search online for a DIY fish trap, should help you a ton with the tetras. :thumb:


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## ktluvsfish (Jan 13, 2008)

Thanks for the link! Very helpful 

So I was thinking, could I swap out the pair of Borelli for a pair of Curviceps? That would give me 4 angels, 3 keyholes, and 2 curviceps.


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