Need some help choosing a stock list

R

RESET

AC Members
Aug 8, 2010
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Hello,
I have another opertunity for you guys to do some bench racing. I have a 40g breeder with plants and river rock substrate.
Crispy-03.jpg

It currently houses 4 WCMM and some pond snails. I was going to get an Arowana but have decided against it. I like smaller fish, I have been keeping a large school of WCMM for about 10 years. What Cichlids would work in this tank? I also have two penguin 350 OTB filters so there is some current in the tank. I can probably remove one if needed though. I kinda like the look of shellies but I think they prefer sand bottom. I like plants so the rock has to stay. It also gets alot of natural light during the day, as you can see in the pic.
 
nice looking tank, you could try rams or apistos. Angels would also be a good tankmate for the white clouds.

If I was you, I would up the white cloud school to 6, add a pair of bolivian rams, and then add a school of corys.
 
Find a small pair of Archocentrus nanoluteus they amazing cichlids, then add a few bottom dwellers, corys or something small, and just because this is a 40 gallon breeder I'd throw in a few ram or german blue ram. Nanos stay under 5in so I think it'd be a good match.
 
Forgot to mention that I have some drift wood that I took out in preperation for the Aro. Could I put that back in there? I also used to have an RTBS and would love to get another one. Would that be ok with Cichlids?

So no go on the shellies?
 
RESET said:
Forgot to mention that I have some drift wood that I took out in preperation for the Aro. Could I put that back in there? I also used to have an RTBS and would love to get another one. Would that be ok with Cichlids?

So no go on the shellies?
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What is your water like in terms of pH and hardness?

You might be able to do shellies with just a sandy area(10x18 would be about the footprint of a 10 gallon tank). If you go this route you might want to do brevis because they have the reputation as the most peaceful.

If you so the shelldweller route, I would leave out the driftwood.
 
I could probably do a small area of sand. I wonder what I would use to keep it out of the rock though. I know shellies like to move it around. I have seen pics of them in barnacles. That might be cool in the corner. Actually, 10x18 would be one whole end of the tank, it is 18 wide. I might be able to come up with something there. It wouldn't look very natural though. I will do some research on the species listed so far and see which ones I like best. I just thought the shellies would be fun. How many could I keep if I converted the whole tank to their liking?
 
RESET said:
I could probably do a small area of sand. I wonder what I would use to keep it out of the rock though. I know shellies like to move it around. I have seen pics of them in barnacles. That might be cool in the corner. Actually, 10x18 would be one whole end of the tank, it is 18 wide. I might be able to come up with something there. It wouldn't look very natural though. I will do some research on the species listed so far and see which ones I like best. I just thought the shellies would be fun. How many could I keep if I converted the whole tank to their liking?
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I think it may depend on the species. I think most shellies a group of 6 would be fine in the tank. You probably could do a dozen if the species is small and has small territories.

The WCMM should help draw out the shellies. I am not sure if the a red tailed shark would be a good mix with the shellies.
 
OK, How many different types of shellies are there? I could probably stay away from the RTBS if I could get a few different types to look at. Wow, only 6 - 12 of them in this tank? They keep that big of a territory? Looks like I have some research to do. I have always steered away from cichlids because I thought they were too much of a "me too" fish, as in everyone had them. I think the shellies are interesting but I would a nice sized group. I loved watching my WCMM school around in the tank. I assume shellies don't do that but are they active? I already have a flounder in a different tank. I don't want another fish that I am only going to see eyes 95% of the time.

One last quick question. My river rock is from a local river. When I got it I sifted it thru a colander and tossed out the smaller bits. Could I do the opposite for my "sand"? I like having realistic substrates. Maybe I should look into these fish more and see what their natural habitat is.
 
O, I have been doing some research, mostly just looking at what others have put in similar size tanks. I am really interested in doing a rock/shell dweller combo tank. I think I can do a 60/40 split in the tank and put a nice pile of rocks on the small side. I am still considering using local river sand for the sand area. I will have to source the rocks and shells but that shouldn't be a problem. I may even try to figure out a way to wedge some plants in the rocks. I have been trying to look into Tanganyika biotopes but they look a little short on plants. Maybe I will just grow some algae.
 
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