100 gal stock list. Need to think this through.

[sol]

Long stort short, I'm combining a couple 40 breeder tanks and a 29 gal qt that I have been using to grow out some electric blue acaras.

I'm looking to stock my new 5 foot long 100 gal planted show tank and not sure who should go where. I really want to get down to just two tanks plus a hospital tank.

Here's what I have:
7 young electric blue acaras- trying for a pair
6 Congo tetras
6 rosy barbs
6 odessa barbs
8 sterbai cory cats
8 juvi trifascitia -goyder river rainbows
3 bristle nose plecos

I'm starting to think some of these should stay in the 40 breeder and most should go in the 100g.

The barbs are such spazes, maybe too hyper for the congos and rainbows....

 

[tanker]

I think the stocking is fine for a 100gal, except that the Acaras maybe get a little too mean when they grow and pair off. I "heard" that Electric Blue Acaras are more peaceful, but have no experience with that.

 

[sol]

So far they seem really peaceful but they are only with plecos at this point. They managed to eat all the pleco fry which is expected I guess.

I watched some congo river tank videos last night and am now tempted to go with something like that instead, although my crypt plants don't really make sense

 

[tanker]

Did not mean that they are mean, they (IMO) are like Rainbow and Keyhole cichlids--fairly peaceful. Will get mean when breeding.

 

[Turbosaurus]

IME (experience, not opinion or scientific fact) on Akaras-

Akara's are MF-ers to EACH OTHER. The odd man out still wants to school with his own kind and they will not have it... provide all the hiding places you want, it wont help. This is the one difference I've noticed n Akaras vs other soft water cichlids I've kept.

I got 5 from a friend who started with 6 in a densely planted 125. One jumped- as an adult- a BIG fish. I moved the reaming 5 to a 125 too. In my care, I noticed a "pack style" attack on one fish and removed him. The only evidence exteriorly was two small areas of scales missing on one side, the fish died two days later. My club has another member with 6 in a 180 - and he's got issues with intra-species aggression too. All of our tanks are at least 6 ft long all are DENSELY planted (CO2 injected high light)

I'm pretty sure all 5 I originally started with were male (every one had a dorsal fin that extended caudally (toward the tail) well beyond the peduncle (the boundary between body and tail fin) and visible breeding tubes appear very pointed)- so it seems to me to exclusive of the intensified behavior we would expect when breeding-

My Akara behavior issues seem strictly intra-species. They completely ignore any other species that is big enough to not look like food but that MAY be because the akaras were introduced to their tank- so the Akara's were the ones who had to adjust to existing conditions. I would be very cautious introducing new species to a tank with established akaras.

 

[rufioman]

^nice. One acara is plenty...they are peaceful, yet incredibly boisterous. And they HATE each other.