First Aquarium, Suggestions/thoughts

Calmwaters

Have you looked at the Bolivian Ram? I have had them and they are very similar to the German they are nice fish that have a personality. You can check out there profile in our fish profile section by clicking on there name. I am not sure if the germans would adjust that much or not.
Driftwood and bogwood are the same.

LisaC144

I LOVE my Bolivian Rams! Be careful, the GBR can be much more sensitive to water quality and does not adjust as well as the Bolivian Ram to pH flucuations.

neo83

Fantastic! thank you i'll look at the bolivian rams. i have heard that GBR's are more colourful than bolivian, but are bolivians really that colourless or only when compared to GBRs?

LisaC144

Juveniles are not as colorful, but they color up as they become adults. Not quite as exquisite as the GBR, IMO, but I still love them.

Calmwaters

In my opinion what they lack in color they make up for in personality. ; )

LisaC144

100% agree with Amanda. They have some quirky personalities. I have 3 in my 120g and they are one of my favorite fish.

Ostara

I would wait on the GBRs until the tank has been established with fish for at least a few months. Add some more plants (they'll do fine in gravel, though fertilizers will be needed) so they'll have a chance to grow a bit... rams love plants. Finding someone that has bred them locally is a great idea since they won't know anything other than your local water conditions. It's also important to find strong specimens; I've had four die on me from my LFS, which has weak and overbred stock that are nearly impossible to keep alive.

You could easily have a Dwarf Gourami as well, provided that you only have one (males will bicker with each other). I've keep them in similar or smaller communities containing neons, platies, rams, etc. without problems. I like having one Dwarf Gourami and several Honey Gourami, since the larger dwarfs seem to leave the little guys alone. Those are just my experiences though. Good luck with your tank! :)

neo83

Thanks a lot guys for your suggestions. I would definitely look at adding more plants and i fell in love with the rams, i'm more inclined towards the bolivian rams now since they are hardier than GBRs. Now, the hardest thing is to wait for the cycle to complete :(. Finally I have decided on the following fish.

Bolivian Rams - 3
Guppies - 6
Platies - 6
pygmy cories - 6

and a couple of Mollies may be.

What do you think?

Thanks

Byron

In a 125 litre (33 gallon) which presumably would not be longer than 3 feet, I would not go with 3 Bolivian Ram unless you can be certain of one male/two females. Three males would be in continual "battle" within the confines of a 3-foot tank. And sexing these fish is very difficult until they are somewhat mature, and stores usually have juvenile fish. Observing their behaviour in the store tank can sometimes guide you, as any fish that is constantly "pushing" the others away is likely a male, though my female also does this to her mate out of spawning. As noted in our profile, this species does very well as a solitary fish, and one in a 3-foot tank would be lovely. They grow to almost 4 inches.

neo83

Byron, apologies first of for not completely reading the profile. It was suggested to me to put 3 bolivian rams, but i should have read the profile and known better. Well, now i'm a bit confused as to what to get for the bottom and middle part of the tank. As guppies will take the top, Platys on top and middle as well and corys at the bottom. If i get a Honey Gourami, that would still be at the top level, which is already crowded. Can you suggest any other big enough fish to occupy the middle please?

Thanks