Fish suitable for deep, short tank

[Oli]

Hi guys,

Looking to pick up another tank. My local store has the AquaEl Ultrascape. It is 90cm wide, 60 cm deep, and 45cm high. Great for aquascaping but maybe not suitable for a lot of things.

I’m pretty set on a few electric blue Acaras.

Other things I like include

Congo tetra
Denison barbs
Columbian tetra
Rainbowfish
Angelfish

I have concerns about the congos and Denisons and unfortunately they are my favourite.

How would people stock this tank?

 

[Wills]

Is there a bigger version in that range as a 90cm tank isn’t a great size for a lot of those fish. You really want to get an other 30cm on there - the aquael sets are great though!

Certainly for the companion fish you listed I’d either increase the tank size or look a bit smaller for the other species. There are some new tetras species around called Blueberry Tetras they might be a good option George Farmer has them in his big tank at the moment, there are some other African tetras that might work instead of the congos - yellow congos for example are quite available now and don’t get as big as regulars though still a bit big and active for this size tank. Maybe red eye African tetras? Big scales like the Congo’s but more streamlined body and the flash of red you’d get from the denison barbs. Spotted headstanders could be a good option too? There is a small green distichilodous around in the uk hobby at the moment that could be interesting too?

Wills

 

[Oli]

I’m actually in Australia, apologies if my account hasn’t updated; I’ve recently moved. Being in Tasmania, it’s extremely expensive and restricted on what tanks can be sourced. This is the biggest one within my budget, and it’s still going to be over $2000. It does come to 250 litres, but obviously a bit of a strange size!

 

[Colin_T]

3 ft x 2 ft x18 inches high is a nice size tank. I had 6 of them in my fish room that I used for snakeskin gouramis and a few cichlids. It's probably not long enough for Denison barbs or Congo tetras, both of whom like space to swim.

Rainbowfish in Australia are regularly infected with Fish TB (Mycobacterium species). If you can get wild caught fish, they are usually free of it. However, anything from a pet shop can be infected.

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What is the GH (general hardness), KH (carbonate hardness) and pH of your water supply?
This information can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website (Water Analysis Report) or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).

Depending on what the GH of your water is, will determine what fish you should keep.

Angelfish, discus, most tetras, most barbs, Bettas, gouramis, rasbora, Corydoras and small species of suckermouth catfish all occur in soft water (GH below 150ppm) and a pH below 7.0.

Livebearers (guppies, platies, swordtails, mollies), rainbowfish and goldfish occur in medium hard water with a GH around 200-250ppm and a pH above 7.0.

If you have very hard water (GH above 300ppm) then look at African Rift Lake cichlids, or use distilled or reverse osmosis water to reduce the GH and keep fishes from softer water.

 

[Oli]

GH is 7 dead, although I personally believe it is not massively relevant. Most fish are bred and kept in a variety of different water hardnesses and I believe constant parameters are the most important. Many stores and people keep both discus and African cichlids on the same water supply. I don’t mean to disregard your comment and I agree it is somewhat relevant; just my two cents. Regardless, my water is pretty much bang on 7. Tank will be heavily planted as always, so looking for some nice dither fish that will cohabit with Electric Blue Acara. Tricky because these dither fish need to be a bit bigger than you’re regular tetra, and as you’ve said, some of the bigger dithers need longer tanks…

 

[Oli]

GH is 7 dead, although I personally believe it is not massively relevant. Most fish are bred and kept in a variety of different water hardnesses and I believe constant parameters are the most important. Many stores and people keep both discus and African cichlids on the same water supply. I don’t mean to disregard your comment and I agree it is somewhat relevant; just my two cents. Regardless, my water is pretty much bang on 7. Tank will be heavily planted as always, so looking for some nice dither fish that will cohabit with Electric Blue Acara. Tricky because these dither fish need to be a bit bigger than you’re regular tetra, and as you’ve said, some of the bigger dithers need longer tanks…

*PH

 

[Colin_T]

Maybe rosy or ruby barbs or something like that. They aren't as active as Denisons or Congos and should be ok with blue acaras.

 

[Wills]

GH is 7 dead, although I personally believe it is not massively relevant. Most fish are bred and kept in a variety of different water hardnesses and I believe constant parameters are the most important. Many stores and people keep both discus and African cichlids on the same water supply. I don’t mean to disregard your comment and I agree it is somewhat relevant; just my two cents. Regardless, my water is pretty much bang on 7. Tank will be heavily planted as always, so looking for some nice dither fish that will cohabit with Electric Blue Acara. Tricky because these dither fish need to be a bit bigger than you’re regular tetra, and as you’ve said, some of the bigger dithers need longer tanks…

Definitely agree that consistent and constant parameters are most important but if you pick fish to match your water you will have more success, longer-lived fish and better overall health. Ph and Gh are different and worth looking up your Gh as that is more important.

I agree they are kept and bred in different waters and thats often considered 'fine' but if you have the chance to keep them 'well' and have the information to do so, why not?

Wills