South American

[jaywings19]

Just wanted to get some thoughts whether this combination of fish will work in a 72 US Gallon tank.

South American
2 - Angelfish (small)
8 - Cardinal Tetra (medium)
4 - Blue Ram (small)
5 - Hatchets (small)
5 - Corydoras (medium-large)
1 - Cockatoo Cichlid

 

[Cian McLiam]

This sounds like a great tank!
I would make a few suggestions, which you probably have already considered.
I would get the largest cardinals you can find,
If possible a mated pair of angels would be better than two that could be male/male which can cause strife. The best option if you are getting small angels would be to get 5-6 small angels as they like the security of a school as youngsters. As they mature you should be able to pick out a mated pair and bring the others back/sell them.
I think the lone cockatoo might be bullied by the four rams but in a tank this size with a lot of caves and plants it shouldnt be an issue.

A tank like this deserves lots of real plants and some floating plants to make the hatchets feel more secure. Amazon swords and other tall echinodorus species with some salvinia and valis to keep the upper and surface areas covered would be a good plan.
I would try to keep lighting muted and the floating plants will help, as would a dark substrate with lots of bogwood.

Hope it works out well and dont forget to post some pics when its all together!!

Ken

 

[jaywings19]

This sounds like a great tank!
I would make a few suggestions, which you probably have already considered.
I would get the largest cardinals you can find,
If possible a mated pair of angels would be better than two that could be male/male which can cause strife. The best option if you are getting small angels would be to get 5-6 small angels as they like the security of a school as youngsters. As they mature you should be able to pick out a mated pair and bring the others back/sell them.
I think the lone cockatoo might be bullied by the four rams but in a tank this size with a lot of caves and plants it shouldnt be an issue.

A tank like this deserves lots of real plants and some floating plants to make the hatchets feel more secure. Amazon swords and other tall echinodorus species with some salvinia and valis to keep the upper and surface areas covered would be a good plan.
I would try to keep lighting muted and the floating plants will help, as would a dark substrate with lots of bogwood.

Hope it works out well and dont forget to post some pics when its all together!!

Ken

Thanks, Ken. This is my first time tackling a tank like this, so I appreciate the commentary.

As far as the Rams and Cockatoo combination. . . In an effort to even things out, can I keep less than 4 Rams and more than 1 Cockatoo? Will either of these fish put my Corys at risk of being bullied?

Yes, I was planning to get the largest Cardinal Tetras (or some other type of large "colorful" tetra) in order to keep them safe from the Angels.

Thanks for the advice on the getting more than 2 Angels until they get larger.

Unfortunately, I'm not experienced enough to do a "real" planted tank yet... so artificial plants with driftwood/rocks will have to do.

 

[Cian McLiam]

The cories wont be bothered by any of the fish you list.
As far as the rams/cockatoo thing goes, I would recommend one male and two females of each, the two females should keep the males too busy to get in each others way.
Planted tanks arent hard to keep at all, I dont do anything special with my plants that I didnt do when I had plastic so I think you should give it a shot, they are sometimes cheaper than plastic too. The species of plants mentioned above are fairly hardy and dont particularly need special care except prunuing when they start to get too thick or long.
I can really recommend Diamond Flame tetras, Black Phantom Tetras and Buines Aires Tetra ( if you dont go for the real plants) The first two wont eat plants and are peaceful, a little larger than neons/cardinals and are colourful. Avoid Serpae Tetra with angels, they can be a bit nippy.

Good luck!

Ken

 

[jaywings19]

Okay... how does this adjusted stock look? I'm starting to think the tank is getting crowded (inch per gallon rule).

South American
5 - Angelfish (small)
8 - Cardinal Tetra or Equivalent (medium-large)
3 - Blue Ram (1 male / 2 female)
5 - Hatchets (small)
5 - Corydoras (medium-large)
3 - Cockatoo Cichlid (1 male / 2 female)

I was considering sand as the substrate. I've only done fine gravel so far. What do I need to know differently for sand?

 

[Cian McLiam]

Sand is great for rams and cockatoos, will make them feel right at home. Because it is so fine, it needs to be hoovered regularly by holding the gravel cleaner just a few inches above the surface, all the gunk should be lying on top. Its a good idea to give it a stir once in a while after its cleaned to prevent areas becoming anerobic. This causes noxious gases to build up and when it is disturbed it can cause fish deaths.
I think its quite a comfortable amount of fish for a 72G but as I said earlier you will need to move out some angels when the get larger or there may be conflict.
BTW hatchets are very prone to whitespot so it would be a good idea to quarantine them rather than treating a newly set up tank.

Ken

 

[jaywings19]

Let me just clarify. . .
NOT stirring the sand causes the noxious buildup, right? So if I occasionally stir the sand, then this prevents the toxic buildup. Just making sure I understood that right. But I'm assuming too much stirring will harm the nitrate population that I need? Do you have to pre-rinse sand like gravel requires?

As for the hatchets. . .
Do you mean quarantine and treat them for whitespot before introducing them to the main tank? Or just quarantine/treat when whitespot occurs?

PS: Thanks again for all the info. It's helping me plan a lot better.

 

[Cian McLiam]

Yes, undisturbed sand can compact into hard lumps so you want to prevent this happening. The bacteria in the sand are only a secondary consideration, your filter has many times more bacteria with a constant flow of water. Gravel and sand in a well filtered aquarium is for decoration only except when using undergravel filtration which you wont be able to with sand. You could use a narrow stick to sitr the gravel, it shouldnt kick up too much dust if you do it gently. I wouldnt put more than an inch in until the tank is fully balanced, just enought to hide the glass bottom. Bogwood plants and caves should take up much of the rest of the tank floor.
With the hatchets, I would quarantine for 2-3 weeks wi th no mds and if whitespot develops, use 1/4 to 1/2 dose of WS3 or other parasite cure.
Hatchets are fond of live food but they should take freeze dried bloodworm from the surface. I doubt they will take to flake too easily and will only eat from the surface so take this into account when feeding.

Ken

 

[jaywings19]

Sounds like Hatchets are more picky eaters than what I'm used to. Though, they sound like my Betta. He only eats from the surface... once food falls, it's wasted. Also, he eats flakes occasionally, but prefers freeze-dried brine shrimp and bloodworms. Sound the same for for Hatchets? The only LFS that carries live food in my area is not very near close by, so that can be a problem. Also, I usually don't like to keep the frozen stuff because it freaks my girlfriend out when I have worms in my freezer.

Do any other my other target fish have special eating requirements? I already have Corys, so I know what they eat.

 

[joshua]

u may wanna get some almost indestructable plants like java moss and riccia.. riccia are floating tho so u may wanna tie it down to seomthing and if u do when they photosynthesize u will see tiny oxygen bubbles whihc some may describe as pearls. have fun