Hello all,
I'm not at the final plant stocking yet (that will likely be a years-long hobby of trial and error) but I'm ready to put livestock in my 40B. Specifically I am adding 3-4 amano shrimp a week until I get 15 probably, I moved over 7 cardinal tetras I've had for nearly a year in an unplanted tank last night, and I have 4 Otos in QT right now.
I have been considering various centerpiece fish for a while :
Angelfish - then I read more and more and realized he will possibly eat the tetras and likely eat the amano shrimp or chase them out of the tank. I could substitute tetras for other species but like the amano shrimp for their extra algae and scavenging abilities! So I think an Angel is out - also a 40 B with 3 inches of substrate only leaves 13 inches of water which won't show him off as well...
Rainbowfish - Yesterday I was real excited about this discovery. Instead of a big centerpiece, a small school of medium sized fish would do! Also wonderful coloration and probably ok with other tank inhabitants. Then I found that they are serious jumpers when it comes to open tanks. I have Coralife T5NO so dealing with dirty glass (or glass cleaning) is not something I look forward to. Maybe if I had HO I could cover the tank but don't think so with this setup.
Rams / Apisto Cichlids - looking for thoughts - are these fish that will primarily stay on the bottom of the tank and hide behind my driftwood?
Gourami - also jumpers? Also they need floating plants which will block out light and I find less attractive. I gave away a pair of honey gouramis in my old tank because I didn't like the floating plants.
Any suggestions or comments on above?
Thank you!
I'm not at the final plant stocking yet (that will likely be a years-long hobby of trial and error) but I'm ready to put livestock in my 40B. Specifically I am adding 3-4 amano shrimp a week until I get 15 probably, I moved over 7 cardinal tetras I've had for nearly a year in an unplanted tank last night, and I have 4 Otos in QT right now.
I have been considering various centerpiece fish for a while :
Angelfish - then I read more and more and realized he will possibly eat the tetras and likely eat the amano shrimp or chase them out of the tank. I could substitute tetras for other species but like the amano shrimp for their extra algae and scavenging abilities! So I think an Angel is out - also a 40 B with 3 inches of substrate only leaves 13 inches of water which won't show him off as well...
Rainbowfish - Yesterday I was real excited about this discovery. Instead of a big centerpiece, a small school of medium sized fish would do! Also wonderful coloration and probably ok with other tank inhabitants. Then I found that they are serious jumpers when it comes to open tanks. I have Coralife T5NO so dealing with dirty glass (or glass cleaning) is not something I look forward to. Maybe if I had HO I could cover the tank but don't think so with this setup.
Rams / Apisto Cichlids - looking for thoughts - are these fish that will primarily stay on the bottom of the tank and hide behind my driftwood?
Gourami - also jumpers? Also they need floating plants which will block out light and I find less attractive. I gave away a pair of honey gouramis in my old tank because I didn't like the floating plants.
Any suggestions or comments on above?
Thank you!
