Stocking My 260L With Angels And Community

[GS1981]

Hi i have a empty 260l (fraction under 70 us gallons) bowfront tank with a mature over 6 years Fluval 305 external.



I was thinking of having this....



Heavily Planted tank with 3 decent sized pieces of bog wood and pebbles, natural or white silica sand or pea gravel, blue background.



I plan to use easy low light plants like Java Fern, Anubus and easy to grow plants like Cabomba, Vallis and Amazon Swords.



Fish stock I'm looking at is...



Scalare Angels (how many? i plan to get one colour type, what colour do you think...Koi, Black Marble, Natural etc, not interested in Altums)

Neons or Cardinals or Rummynose (how many, yes i know Angels sometimes eat them when they get bigger, but going to try it anyway)

Corydoras (how many, which type, i want hardy fish so no pandas etc)



Possibility's:



Bolivian Ram Pair or Solo Keyhole (never kept these, i have always been a large CA man)

Solo Ancistrus/Bristlenose (or similar plec? ideas? my tank is by a window and gets green alot on the glass which i am constantly scraping off)



Also how big water changes should I do on such stocking, i normally do 50% weekly on my Flowerhorn but I'm thinking these may need less?

Forgot to mention I want to keep it South American. (Amazon)

 

[authmal]

I'd add the angels last (and am partial to the koi), and as small as you can possibly find. That'll give you the best chance of your smaller fish not getting eaten. I prefer the GBR over the Bolivian, simply because I think they're prettier. IME, BNs mostly eat algae off of surfaces when young. I've cultivated a horde of ramshorns, MTS, and pond snails to go along with a few nerites for regular algae clean up. I'd do at least 35% weekly for water changes.

 

[Star_Rider]

sounds like a solid tank stocking.

P. Scalare and Bolivian rams do well with similar water parameters.
Upper 70's - low 80'sf is best for both species.
A single BN will be fine(btw bn's are terrific algae eaters they entire life) if you get a ton of algae an alternative is Otocinclus.. however, I have found they don't do well with Angels..mine eat them..it's also a risk when you have smaller tetras...
in terms of coloration of the angels I always lean toward silvers ( I also keep Altum and Wild Silvers)
there has been a lot of folks who prefer the Pariaba and the pinnoy Blue..
there were also in the past some green Zebra's which I don't see much these days.

 

[GS1981]

Thanks for the feedback guys, I have never had much luck with GBRs in the past, even when i used to have them in perfect conditions in my old discus tank! so i'll stick with the much tougher Bolivians, i know they are not quite as pretty, but still a nice fish, i kept them with no bother before

I rarely seen the blue Angels, and they tend to be Discus prices here in the UK, i have done Black Marbles alot in the past, so i'm deffo going to do either Natural types or koi, I think Kois will look nice against lots of plants and Blue Background.

I know the risk with the Tetras, i might try a few cardinals or neons (whichever i can get hold of at the time, i know Cardinals are hardier and get bigger, but neons tend to be 50p each around here, wheras Cardinals £3 a fish!) if it don't work out, i'll get something hihger bodied.... maybe Emporers? problem is most higher bodied Shoaling fish are fin nippers! don't know if that would be a problem in a 70g tho :S i like the look of Lemon Tetras, and i had Rummys before and liked them, i have had tons of Barbs before but i want to keep my tank as close to the Amazon as possible.

Ottos are cool, had them, before but they are hard to find and expensive here in Somerset so i think i will get a solo Bristlenose. (again, just got rid of a few lol)

Seems wierd for me, i'm kind of going backwards after years of large cichlid keeping, back to basics

So the questions i have...

My existing Pea Gravel (which is better for planting/keeping the plants rooted) or play sand, or white silica sand?

and...

How many Angels?
How many tetras? (i am only keeping one type as i think it looks better)
How many Bristlenoses and will they eat my plants?
i suppose no more than 2 Bolivian Rams?
can i get some Apple snails with these fish?

 

[GS1981]

Also i keep my tank at 29c is this to hot for the fish and plants? My Flowerhorn used to thrive in it.

 

[GS1981]

I just turned the temp down to 26c

Another question, my tanks media in teh external filter is 6 years mature, how many fish should i start with to keep the tank cycled? it has a solo flowerhorn in it at the moment keeping it running which will be removed once i get the new fish.

If i got the bolivians, some plants a bristlenose and some tetras, will that be enough to keep the bioload mature until the bigger Angels are introduced? its a tight time money wise for me at the moment, so i'm going to have to stock it slowly over a period of time.

 

[Star_Rider]

I keep my Angels btw 78-82(very similar to your temps you are going for)
the filter media is seeded and it won't take long for the bacteria to adjust to your bioload.

there are 2 schools of thought with angels..
1) put in a bunch 6-8 but be prepared... the idea is to spread aggression.. but if a pair forms from the large grouping you will have to deal with aggression..angels can be very aggressive within their own species.
2) try a pair and see what happens.
the issue with angels..they are very unpredicatable..
I have 6 Altum in a 75, BTW that is max stock for them as they are already outgrowing my 75..they are not acting like normal angels even for Altum..they tend to be aggressive to each other normally.mine have been pretty calm and stick in a fairly tight school..luckily no pairs have formed..crossing my fingers they don't.
I have several Scalare..most are now in single tanks..mine were Peru altum and were too aggressive for tank mates save for the bn's.
I do have a pair of silvers(domestic)..this pair actually get along with the lone neon..it was in the bag with the angels and has been their tank mate since I got them... weird as in my other tanks.. the angels killed all the tetras and oto's..hence why I stick with BN's

 

[GS1981]

Thanks

How many tetras?
How many Bristlenoses and will they eat my plants?
i suppose no more than 2 Bolivian Rams?
can i get some Apple snails with these fish?

And should i stick with pea gravel?

 

[OrionGirl]

I'd go with a dozen tetras. 2-3 bristlenose should be fine, and no, they won't eat the plants unless starving. They will go after dead plant matter a bit, but prefer fresh veg or algae.

I suspect a pair of rams would be the limit, since they too will be aggressive if they pair up.

Apple snails...which kind? Apple refers to several different kinds, some that get the size of an apple, others that stay smaller. True apples will devour any plants. Diffusa (previously called Pomacea bridgesii, sold as mystery snails in the US) will damage more sensitive leaves, but for the most part won't eat plants. A good resource for snails: Apple Snail.

Pea gravel should be fine. You might need to supplement the vals--they tend to need more iron, I believe.

 

[GS1981]

how many Angels should i get?