125l Beginner Community Tank Stocking Review/Suggestions

[Derigriff]

(Apologies for a second post, but this covers a very different topic)

I'm returning to the hobby after many, many years, and am basically back to square one. Over the last few weeks i've been heavily researching everything i can about the fish/plants/substrate/hardscape, but there's so much information it feels like a bit of a blur.

I was originally hoping to sort out the plants/substrate etc. first, then worry about which fish to stock, but as many seem to have specialist requirements, i've tried to plan out an early tentative stocking list before acquiring the plants/substrate, and would appreciate any suggestions. (Ours is a soft water area, so i've tried to select compatible fish)

2x German Blue Ram (i know these can be difficult, but they are such marvellous fish)
2x Dwarf Gourami (had some in the past, and they were always interesting)
1-2x of either Tigris Pleco or Starlight Pleco (I love Pleco, and these seem small enough for the tank)
2x Bamboo shrimp (really wanted some smaller shrimp, but smaller variety would apparently fall prey to the Rams)
6-8x shoaling fish (really stuck on this one, as none have really jumped out at me. Possibly a group of marbled hatchetfish, or harlequin rasbora?)
no snails sadly, as the soft water seems to prohibit their keeping.

that puts the stocking level at approx. 80-90% according to Aqadvisor, and they seems to be able to coexist at similar ph/temp ranges from what i've seen.

Any suggestions as to alterations, or fantastic fish that i may not have considered would be great! The tank dimensions are 80x35x50 cm, and i'm hoping to create a heavily planted tank, decorated with some bogwood and rocks i've pre-washed and soaked. Waiting for the tank to arrive at the moment, then i'll acquire and set up the plants first, and hopefully set up a gradual planted cycle. I'm in no rush to add any fish, so i'm willing to wait for as long as that takes.

Thanks again!

 

[HoldenOn]

I would get bolivian rams. Just as beautiful in my opinion and not as hard to keep. Also dwarf gourami have these weird inbreeding diseases so I would stay away from those. Rest looks fine I think. Get a second opinion.

 

[ClownLurch]

Welcome. This lot will look after you.
You’ll be asked for your water hardness in numbers soon. Have a look on your suppliers website and head em off at the pass.

 

[Essjay]

Unfortunately, Welsh Water/Dwr Cymru is one of three water companies that don't give a number. But they will give words so we can say 'it's in this band, somewhere between this and that'. It's better than nothing.

Rams, Mikkrogephagus ramirezi in all it's colours and body shapes, need a temperature in the high 20s C and none of the other fish on your list can cope with a temperature that high. But as HoldenOn said, Bolivian rams, Mikrogeophagus altispinosus, does not need these high temperatures.
You need to be aware that cichlids like rams and Bolivian rams need to choose their own mates; you can't buy any male and any female and hope they'll get on. There are ways to select a pair which have hopefully bonded, but it's not guaranteed.

 

[utahfish]

Add to whats been said, German Rams need warmer water.
Lots of other Dwarf cichlids like cockatoo or bolivians that are soft water and not as warm temp as german rams.
Rams do best with a group of dither fish, dither fish indicate to the Ram the lack of predators and helps them feel safe.
In the wild small tetras like neons and small pencil fish are often found in the same water with Bolivian Ram. Other dither fish that could work are similarly sized slow moving shoaling fish. Neons, cardinals, rummy nose glo light tetra, black neons, emperor tetra, ember tetra, lemon tetra harlequin rasbora, cherry barbs and any other similar calm shoaling fish.
RAms are also exclusive bottom swimmers and feeders any other fish that is a bottom fish will compete with RAM for food and space, id avoid bottom fish like plecos or cory with RAM and if so limit the amount of bottom fish as footprint of tank limits bottom space.
If one wants a top column fish hatchets work well there as they are exclusive top, marbled hatchets stay smaller than the larger silver hatchets and are much prettier IMO.
Good luck in what you choose.

 

[Derigriff]

Thank you for all the responses! I had no idea about the issues with temperature, as all the research i'd done seemed to suggest a compromise of about 26-27 degrees would be suitable all round... It will be such a shame to have to give up on the German Rams, as they were the one species i had my heart set on, so to speak. I've had a look at Bolivian rams before and have never been particularly fond, though the Cockatoo Cichlid seems intriguing, and i'll have to do more research into it. What is the typical recommended temperature for German Blue Rams then? and are there any alternative fish that are comfortable at that range?
On a separate note, are there any good mid-level fish that people would recommend for this theoretical setup? if Rams/pleco tend to stay low, and hatchetfish stay at the top, and gourami..vary? the middle level may seem a little empty.

 

[HoldenOn]

Thank you for all the responses! I had no idea about the issues with temperature, as all the research i'd done seemed to suggest a compromise of about 26-27 degrees would be suitable all round... It will be such a shame to have to give up on the German Rams, as they were the one species i had my heart set on, so to speak. I've had a look at Bolivian rams before and have never been particularly fond, though the Cockatoo Cichlid seems intriguing, and i'll have to do more research into it. What is the typical recommended temperature for German Blue Rams then? and are there any alternative fish that are comfortable at that range?
On a separate note, are there any good mid-level fish that people would recommend for this theoretical setup? if Rams/pleco tend to stay low, and hatchetfish stay at the top, and gourami..vary? the middle level may seem a little empty.

There aren't very many fish that can tolerate German Blue Rams temps. I think its like 27.5 celsius minimum(sorry if thats wrong I'm a fahrenheit person). Tetra and Rasbora are middle fish. I would recommend Rasbora because they aren't so nippy.

 

[Derigriff]

Hmm, so taking recent advice into account, i've drawn up a second stocking draft (apparently 84% on aqadvisor, which should give room for lots of hardscape etc.)

2 (3?)x Cockatoo Apisto
2x Dwarf Gourami (i know someone mentioned they can have health issues, but i don't think a larger gourami would fit in this size tank)
1x Starlight Bristlenose Pleco (one should hopefully be able to coexist)
6x Marbled Hatchetfish
6x Harlequin Rasboras
2x Bamboo Shrimp

Please let me know if this is even worse than the previous!! (also, if someone comes up with a magic solution that allows me to still keep German Blue Rams, let me know!) I think a temperature of 25-26c seems best for this group, but i'm not 100% sure.

Also, if anyone just knows of any fun species to swap out/add, let me know i've been researching different species, but there are so many, a few exciting ones are sure to have passed me by.

 

[HoldenOn]

Hmm, so taking recent advice into account, i've drawn up a second stocking draft (apparently 84% on aqadvisor, which should give room for lots of hardscape etc.)

2 (3?)x Cockatoo Apisto
2x Dwarf Gourami (i know someone mentioned they can have health issues, but i don't think a larger gourami would fit in this size tank)
1x Starlight Bristlenose Pleco (one should hopefully be able to coexist)
6x Marbled Hatchetfish
6x Harlequin Rasboras
2x Bamboo Shrimp

Please let me know if this is even worse than the previous!! (also, if someone comes up with a magic solution that allows me to still keep German Blue Rams, let me know!) I think a temperature of 25-26c seems best for this group, but i'm not 100% sure.

Also, if anyone just knows of any fun species to swap out/add, let me know i've been researching different species, but there are so many, a few exciting ones are sure to have passed me by.

They would have health issues and they could get aggressive with the apistos. I would drop the gourami and increase the hatchet fish and rasboras.

 

[Derigriff]

Thanks for the reply. Would that be the case for all gourami species, or just the dwarf variety? i am fond of the species(genus?), and it would be a shame to drop them entirely. Also if possible, i prefer smaller groups of more unique fish, rather that just a few large swarms with little individual personality, though i know i'm just being picky at this point.

Thanks again for being so helpful, and for putting up with my barrage of questions. Sorry i'm being rather obstinate with some of my species choices, but at the moment i'm worried the final list will include none of the fish i'd actually wanted to keep in the first place. I suppose reality is never as kind as we hope

 

[HoldenOn]

Thanks for the reply. Would that be the case for all gourami species, or just the dwarf variety? i am fond of the species(genus?), and it would be a shame to drop them entirely. Also if possible, i prefer smaller groups of more unique fish, rather that just a few large swarms with little individual personality, though i know i'm just being picky at this point.

Thanks again for being so helpful, and for putting up with my barrage of questions. Sorry i'm being rather obstinate with some of my species choices, but at the moment i'm worried the final list will include none of the fish i'd actually wanted to keep in the first place. I suppose reality is never as kind as we hope

You could maybe keep honey gourami or sparkling gourami, but only females or just a pair because they get aggressive when spawning. The thing is 8 is recommended for shoaling species, you really start seeing some cool behaviors. Also yea, figuring out stocking is rough. I wanted a parrot for my 29 sooo bad but the only one that fits in a tank that size is pretty rare.

 

[Treestone]

Thanks for the reply. Would that be the case for all gourami species, or just the dwarf variety? i am fond of the species(genus?), and it would be a shame to drop them entirely. Also if possible, i prefer smaller groups of more unique fish, rather that just a few large swarms with little individual personality, though i know i'm just being picky at this point.

Thanks again for being so helpful, and for putting up with my barrage of questions. Sorry i'm being rather obstinate with some of my species choices, but at the moment i'm worried the final list will include none of the fish i'd actually wanted to keep in the first place. I suppose reality is never as kind as we hope

Before anyone gets too carried away what sort of supplier do you have like a good lfs or just a chain store because that may limit the options you have. I think this article https://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/features/lets-hear-it-for-the-dwarf-gourami/ may help with your gourami choosing. btw hatchetfish are jumpers so a lid is a must with them.

 

[Derigriff]

I'm not that close to any supplier, but i know there are a bunch of specialist and chain stores within an hour/hour and a half drive, which is fine by me. So a pair of honey gourami would be a good possible replacement for the two dwarf gourami? and would it be best to have one large shoal of either hatchetfish or rasbora then instead of two? Thanks again to everyone replying! and yes i have a strong lid, so no worries there.

 

[HoldenOn]

I'm not that close to any supplier, but i know there are a bunch of specialist and chain stores within an hour/hour and a half drive, which is fine by me. So a pair of honey gourami would be a good possible replacement for the two dwarf gourami? and would it be best to have one large shoal of either hatchetfish or rasbora then instead of two? Thanks again to everyone replying! and yes i have a strong lid, so no worries there.

Well, you could actually keep dwarfs if you want to deal with the health issues as long as they aren't males. Just be wary of aggression between apistos and gourami. I don't know which one to increase more, I like to keep it even

 

[Wills]

I wouldnt recommend Gourami and Dwarf Cichlids in the same tank, you will have more success if you choose either or rather than both.

If you have naturally soft water and want to try them, you could look at a higher temperature tank set around German Blue Rams. I believe Rummy Nose Tetras are a good companion as they also do well in high temperatures, if you look for fish often kept with Discus that are a suitable size for a 125ltr it would work well.

If you go down the Gourami route - I would go for Honeys over Dwarfs as the stock is usually much better quality and less prone to disease than the Dwarfs.

Wills