# What would you put in this tank?



## mezzy (Jun 1, 2006)

I had a heater malfunction and my fish got boiled :x 
As a result i lost my prized collection of tanganyikan cichlids.
Now i am left with an empty tank to restock. It was really hard to source these fish so i do not have the time or money to go down this route again  
A bad picture of the old set up









After cleaning the tank i am left with this setup 


















The tank dimensionns are 36''L x 18''w x 20'' not sure volume. 2 filters fluval 405 & a internal filter sand substrate and an internal rock background.
So my question is what would you put in this tank. I would like a pair or group of cichlids, with some dithers.
Any suggestions are grateful as i dont have a clue which way to go with this tank :thumb:


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

I would go with a pair of _Laetacara_ species and a pair of dwarf pike cichlids, along with a nice sized school of high bodied tetras. :thumb:


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## mezzy (Jun 1, 2006)

Thanks for the quick response dwarfpike. It sounds like an intersting tank I have a few questions :-? Would i have to buy several juvies to find a pair .Are there any specific types so i can do some research and are they easily available. Id like a tank that is not too overcrowded and a tank with 2 types of small cichlids and a school of dithers sounds great :drooling: maybe a few cories or pigmy cats? would they work? 
Off to google latecara sp


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

Well, I am not sure what would be easily available over across the pond. Here the two most common _Laetacara_ are curviceps (pretty blue when breeding) and dorsiger (pretty maroon/red when breeding). Two harder to find ones would be _Laetacara fulvipinnis_ (aka 'orangeflossen') and _Laetacara araguaiae_ (aka 'buckelkopf'). This two probably show better colors more of the time, but all four dwarves are amazing.

As for dwarf pike cichlids, _Crenicichla compressiceps_ are the most common here followed by _Cr. regani_. Regani are prehaps the mildest in terms of aggression and would be my choice for a first dwarf pike species.

You are deffinately best off getting groups of smaller ones and letting them pair naturally, then pull the extra ones. This shouldn't end in deaths at all with most of the species (it would with the dwarf pikes except the regani), giving you time to pull and return to the LFS. I try to always buy at least 4, preferably 6, juvies and let them pair themselves.

A small group of cories would work as well. :thumb:


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## mezzy (Jun 1, 2006)

Wolud a Apistogramma agassizii pair/trio work with the Laetacara as i can easily source these fish i.e temperament/size /biotope?
I have also seen some nice rams bolivian and GBRs?
What kind of dither would you suggest?I like the look of endlers live bearers would they work ?
Thanks again for your help dwarfpike :thumb: 
Thers so many choices


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

Oh there are a lot of combinations you can do:

*-* m/f/f trio of agassizii with a pair of cuviceps with neon tetras or lemon tetras
*-* a group of bolivian rams (they like their large geophagus cousins prefer groups) with black neons or greenfire tetras
*-* a pair of blue rams and 'orangeflossen' with rummynose or cardinal tetras

endlers would work if you avoided the dwarf pike cichlids, and would match well with the agassizii and curviceps. I would think the blue rams would be kept too warm for the endlers, but I am deffinately not a livebearer person so not 100% on that.

You are right, the choices are mindboggling sometimes. But you have such a nice planted tank, it'll be well worth it. :thumb:


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## Manoah Marton (Feb 17, 2009)

If your looking for rams, Bolivian Rams are really cool. They are much less demanding than Blue Rams. They have such personalities. A pair of those, some corries, and a school of small tetras or danios might be really cool in that planted tank. Also, if you can get your hands on them, a pair of kribs might be cool. I have a lone male (I don't want to breed) in my 30g and he's really sweet.


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## mezzy (Jun 1, 2006)

I went to my lfs today and came back with a group of 5 bolivian rams,and a group of 11 emperor tetras  
I went looking for some apistograma aggizzisi or a pair of Laetacara dorsiger but they only had one laetecara but im happy with my choice :thumb: 
I will post some pics when the fish settle in a bit.
Thanks for your help dwarfpike and manoah martin =D>


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## Manoah Marton (Feb 17, 2009)

Your welcome. And good luck! :thumb:

Manoah Marton
8)


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## DeadFishFloating (Oct 9, 2007)

mezzy said:


> Wolud a Apistogramma agassizii pair/trio work with the Laetacara as i can easily source these fish i.e temperament/size /biotope?


Well I'm a little too late to answer this question. But my pair of L. curviceps and 1m/3f A. agassizii are currently sharing a 36"x18"x18" tank quite happily. Every now and then the male agassizii will puff out his fins and attempt to square up to the female curviceps, but then the male curviceps gives him a bored "you gottan be kidding" look and male agassizii goes and finds a female agassizii to preen in front of.

Eventually, the plan is to return the agassizii to the 29 gallon tank (curently housing my growing juvenile dorsigera) and add a trio of Dicrossus macultaus in with the curviceps in the 50 gallon.

Just wish November would hurry up and arrive as I'll be selling the dorsigera juveniles at a local auction then.


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## tankhead (Aug 8, 2008)

What kind of heater malfunctioned? In an attempt to learn from other's problems, it would be good if you put a comment in the product review section. In the future, would you be more likely to add 2 small heaters to avoid this problem from happening again?


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## mezzy (Jun 1, 2006)

So out of the 5 rams i bought i ended up with 5 males :-? , i brought them back to the lfs and was told that all the rams in the tank were all males :x . So i ended up having to get a pair of german blue rams instead.  I really liked the peaceful nature of the bolivians and the dynamics between the group but now i have to adapt this tank to suit the blues.
I have raised the temp from 25 c to 27 c but have read that even warmer temps are preferred?
I have 5 ottos in the tank and wondered if raising the temp any more will be uncomfortable for the ottos and the school of emperor tetras in the tank?
As i have more space in this tank now do you think i could add a pair of some other dwarf cichlid/ or pairing fish [oddballs].
Also has anyone kept shrimp with blue rams i.e amano, bamboo ,cherry shrimp?

Here are some photos of the new set-up, i have taken the rocks out and added some mopani wood with anubias and java fern tied to it.Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thanks mezzy :thumb: p.s. sorry about picture quality 



























And a rubbish video of the rams,i was told they were a definite pair by the lfs but after there performance with the bolivians i dont trust any of their expertise  
Can anyone tell if i have a male? They are constantly together and although the 'male looks a bit boisterous so far they have not left each others side after 24 hours.







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## mezzy (Jun 1, 2006)

To tankhead, i dont know what make the heater was as i threw it out in a fit of anger after fishing out my tank of dead tangs  The heater thermostat must have broke because when i came in the water must have been 50c plus and the heater light was still on. What it has taught me is that even if you think your heater is working fine for the sake of 20 bucks you should change it regularly, prevention is better than cure as they say.


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## mezzy (Jun 1, 2006)

Link for video did not work ill try again sorry for background noise


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## mezzy (Jun 1, 2006)

Does anyone know how i attach a video link


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