compatability and suggestions

[biancaj]

hi there

i'm still kinda new in here and have so far only posted in the newbie forum. now i was hoping you guys could help me out.

i set up a 46 gallon saturday morning. i'm wanting to put my 9 barbs (1 tiger, 2 green tiger, 3 albino and 3 black rubies) and my 2 kribs in there together. here are my questions:

1. do i have room for more fish?
2. should those be only top-dwelling ( i would like some top-dwellers) and which would you suggest?
3. i really fell in love with the german blue rams and i also love the jewels. sizewise and temperamentwise they should be a match to the kribs, correct? do i have enough room down there on the bottom to add a pair of either rams or jewels to my kribs? and, if yes, which would be better?

any other suggestions on how to make them totally happy with their new home would be appreciated! so far all i have in there is cichlid sand, 1 medium sized drift wood (wish i had gotten the bigger one but originally thought it would be too big), and 3 plastic plants ( i medium sized big leaved one and two little bitty grass type ones). hoping to add about 4 flower pots tomorrow.

i'll ask that question here as well real quick:
i broke 2 flowerpots in half to make caves and filed the sharp edges. i see silver traces from the file on the pots. will scrubbing take care of that or would it be too dangerous to add these pots in case they might introduce metal traces?

was also wanting to purchase some larger rocks from a lfs. anything i should stear clear off and should i boild those and scrub them first?

thanks in advance already! hope someone out there can help me

Bianca

 

[rmcder]

Kribs are pretty nippy fish, and if those two are a pair, then they will be very aggressive when spawning. The rams might have a problem unless you can break up the sightlines in the tank. Since you like barbs, rosy barbs will tend to stay higher in the tank and shoal side to side. You also might give a thought to angels, although I'm not sure if the tigers will nip at them; maybe someone else can advise you there.

 

[sarcare]

DO NOT PUT BARBS WITH ANGELS!!!

Barbs will torment the angels and nip off their fins.

I'd also avoid rams--the barbs will also nip off their fins.

The kribs might work, MIGHT, just make sure to have an alternate location ready to move them if the barbs start harrasing them.

 

[biancaj]

yeah, as much as i love angels, i know i have to stay away from them. i just can't think of any top dwellers. maybe some gouramis, they should be able to stand up to the gang. but they get bigger than the others - i still want to keep them comfortable.

i was looking around at liveaquaria. they say kribs should be in a 50 gallon at least, but everywhere else (as well as advise i got on this board) i read they suggest 30gl. would that mean i can't have any other cichlids? i found a few i thought might work if i can:

kenyi cichlid, tho it also suggests 50 gallon. they only get up to 5 inches and like the same decorations as my kribs. but they are listed as aggressive.

electric yellow cichlid: same as kenyi but semi aggressive

Assorted Apistogramma: they come in different colors, get up to 3 1/2 inches, need at least 30 gallons and need plants and sand - semi aggressive

Port Acara: 30 gallon, semi-aggressive, plants, rocks, sand

what are your opinions on these? or is there someone that has or has had kribs with other cichlids? i really wanted something that would stand out more like the rams, jewels, blue peacocks (i've been eyeing them for a while as well) or electric yellows.

thanks for the input so far! i won't get rams, wouldn't want their fins to get torn up and i've found out the jewels would be too aggressive.
it'd be great if you could let me know what you think, even if you don't think any of the ones i mentioned would work.

thanks!

bianca

 

[fish_freak]

German Blue Rams are very sensitive fish when it comes to water quality and stress. I personaly think they do best in a species tank or with some peacefull tetra's. I think the barbs and kribs would nip at there fins too. Maybe look into some bolivian rams? There a little bigger and not quite as colorfull but a whole lot hardier. Dawrf cockatoo cichlids might also do well in that tank.

 

[biancaj]

one of my lfs has blue rams that look completely different from the pictures i've seen, i guess they must be the bolivian kind you mentioned.
i saw those cockatoo ones on that same website and was thinking the same thing, that they might work well (and wow! they're awesome! ) till i scrolled down and saw they were $50 each. that would be an expensive mistake if for some reason they didn't work.

also wanted to mention that i am not really sure of the gender of one of my kribs. i've been reading up on them for months (after my husband got one that i now have) and every site says something different. one site will say only females have red bellies, the next says males have them, too. one says only males have the dark spots on their dorsal and tail fin, another tells me they both have them. the only thing everyone seems to agree on is that the dorsal fin is longer in the males and the tail fin ends in a point.
i'm sure the one i've had longer is a female. she had a really red belly for quite some time but unfortunitly it's almost gone now. she's larger and her belly is bigger. clearly no elongated dorsal fin.
the other one tho, i'm not so sure about. they say males are less colorful. well it never has had the bright red belly, not really red at all, but its black stripe is very dark. it doesn't have the black spots which males are supposed to have (my female has them tho). it's smaller and slimmer but that might just be cause it's a couple months newer than the other. and even tho it's dorsal fin looks a little bit longer maybe than that of the female it looks not nearly as long as the ones i've seen pics of. female sometimes picks on it, especially when it's feeding time. so i can't really say if i have a pair - they haven't bred or led me to believe they might. so i also don't really know if that might become a problem

well, that's that. i think i'll also ask the guy at one of my lfs. he breeds fish and goes to shows and such so he might have some good advise for me as well. thank you guys

bianca