Stocking A New 60-Gallon Aquarium

[LRRoberts0122]

Okay so most people say, find the fish you like first and then make a tank based on what will work in your selections.

I wanted at least one school of fish, and I really, really love Cichlids. The tank is already cycled and I have one Albino Bristlenose Pleco.

I've come up with this list, and I used ##151### for guidelines on how to "stock" my tank.

Here's what I want to put in my tank!

1 Festivum

1 Black Acara

12 Tiger Barbs

1 Red Tailed Shark

1 Albino Bristlenose Pleco

I wanted to get some opinions on this before I go and buy fish.

Thank you for your help!

 

[laura120381]

Hi there,

I believe that festivum should be kept in small groups (i only know this from googling it...i ihave never kept them!). they are timid fish and may not get on well with tiger barbs. black acara on the other hand can be kept as single specimens. they are generally good community fish and will live happily with your pleco. However, if you are keeping them with other cichlids you will have to research their temprements as your tank may not be large enough and compatibility issues may occur. i am sure you will find something that will live happily in the community. the tiger barbs can be slightly aggressive (prone to fin nipping etc) but this is reduced when they are kept in large enough groups. the numbers you are talking about seem fine to me. have you thought of setting up your tank as a biotope and haveing a selection of cichlids from just one area? (malawi, tanganyika). it is sometimes easier to find compatable fish if they all hail from the same area!! good luck and let us know what you decide on!

L

 

[Hermithall]

Red tail black shark would probably be ok as a juvenile but become more and more hostile to other fish as it matures, play it safe and strike it off the list unless you are willing to keep it in another tank by itself later on (or with fish that it will tolerate).

 

[Wills]

Hi this tank looks pretty good - I have to admit that Festivums are not always a timid fish though! I have had bad experiences with them but I can totally see them being a calm addition to most some tanks. I would go for a group as I kept them as pairs and I think that a group would spread any issues out both aggression wise and/or if you had a timid group it would give them confidence. Though in a 60g not sure if its enough room for a group of them and the other fish.

The Black Acara - quite hard to find but again would be good And I think robust enough to go with Festivums should you get a tough group.

The Tiger Barbs could work - though if you wanted to keep the tank American you could look at various tetras - Bleeding Hearts are nice and fast and a good option for American Cichlid tank. But if you go down the Barb route 12 is a good number and you could perhaps consider more...

The RBTS could work out but they do have somewhat of a mixed reputation.

And your BN will do nicely

Wills

 

[Delloy12]

How big is your tank?