[aussieJJDude]

Hi,
Sadly my 64G tank is look bad - it is not like all fish dying, but it looks bad... You know, gravel, plastic plants and maybe overcrowded with guppies. Due to this tank being in the family/living/main room, it an eye sore. So my parents have suggested that i might be able to make it in to a real tank, well, a show tank!

The Tank:
It is a corner pentagon 64/65G:

So, the front part is 1m (100cm). The back triangle part is 95cm on both sides and the two smaller bits at the front is 20cm....

Lighting:
60cm Heto Reflector with light for plant growth (I might look into getting waterproof LED's around the rim of the tank...)

Fliter & Heater:
Fluval 303 (Yes, I know, old model... But this works great!) I forgot the heater type, but it is very trustworthy for me and is set at 24c.


Fish List:
- 4 Angels (juvenile, once one pairs, get rid of others)
- 8 Colombian 95 Tetras (or other peaceful tetras that wouldn't get eaten)
- Pair Bristle-nose Catfish
- 1 Clown Loach (I know, they need a bigger tank and buddies, me and parents were sucked into the trap of getting one for the snail "problems. Does wonderfully in the tank and has grown 3cm since I had him/her. Regularly feed with snails to keep it happy!)
- 3 ****** Loaches (Will like to up the school to 6, but don't know if it will be an overload)
Could I add more? What about a small school (6) of cories? Maybe some surface dwelling South American fish??

Substrate:
It is going to be a mix between sand and gravel. About 5:2 (sand:gravel) ratio...

Plant List:
- Java moss (already growing)
- Duckweed (Seems slow growing, fish must eat it)
- Java Fern
- Anubias
- Vallisneria
- Water Sprite
- Amazon Frogbit
- Cryptocorynes (Need to look in to these)
- Banana Lillies (love these!!!)
- Subwassertang (looks interesting)
- Amazon Sword
- Chain Sword
- Riccia
Most likely it will include a fert of some sort (besides fish) for the plants...

Ornaments:
- Rocks (Got a nice covering of algae)
- Bogwood

OK, think that is it :-D What do you guys think???

 

[aussieJJDude]

Oh yes, I also forgot! I thinking of adding some Cherry Shrimp or Crystal Shrimp in there..

 

[aussieJJDude]

Anyone with ideas?? :-(

 

[IsabellaRows]

Just a question/suggestion, about the angels, were you wanting them to breed? Why not have just one, or two. Or buy them larger.

 

[aussieJJDude]

Umm, I wouldn't mind but for the most part, no I just want to pleasure of growing them up and seeing them grow in the tank and then if one pairs, get rid of the others (or have 2 pairs??)

 

[Tolak]

Two pairs in a tank is tricky, takes some creative aquascaping to form a sort of natural divider, and cooperative pairs. I pulled it off in a 65 with a few unpaired angels, but it took switching some pairs in & out with my fishroom. I'd go with a single pair rather than a potential aquatic warfare situation, unless you have more tanks to fill with a second pair. I'd suggest more tanks & breed the angels, but I'm a terrible enabler with that sort of thing.

I'd go with the larger group of corys rather than the kuhlis, as they are a more active & visible fish. You might want to look into some hatchets for the top, pretty traditional fish in that sort of setup. As far as plants, I don't do them as the main focus of my fishroom is breeding, so bare bottom tanks.

 

[aussieJJDude]

I thought 2 pairs may be tricky, but then again, it was worth the ask as there is no silly question when it comes to the welfare of other animals!
I most likely stick with the single pair though, it seems less of a hassle for the fish!
The reason with my kuhlis is that I have 3 in there ATM and would still like to keep them (same with the clown). How ever maybe it could be:

- Angels (4 Juveniles, when one pairs, get rid of others)
- 8 Colombian 95 Tetras (or other peaceful tetras that wouldn't get eaten)
- Pair Bristle-nose Catfish
- 1 Clown Loach
- 3 ****** Loaches
- 6 Cories (Most likely peppered, )
- 6 Hatchlets
- Shrimp (most likely cyrstals, Cherries or aussie FW tropical native like Glass or Riffle)

Would this be too much? Or could I add another shoal of tetras or make my existing shoals bigger??
(And yes, I do like to have my numbers even! haha)

 

[aussieJJDude]

Any advise?? :-(

 

[Joe1985]

So you definetly wanna keep the angels? i know the size tank n can be tricky, well with what you have i reckon once the angels mature keep a pair (you can keep the 2 if it turns out that way but aggression could get real bad during spawning) so a pair of them a few BNs and a few schools of tetras but id suggest the more torpedo shaped ones eg Lemon Tetras n so on.
Why dont you get rid of them all and do a planted apisto/dwarf cichlid set up

 

[rsskylight04]

Instead of adding corys, I would get about 6 more kuhlis. You'll see one more often if there's more in the tank. I do love corys, but loaches have a special place for me and especially kuhlis. To mix with angels a bottom dwelling like kuhlis is good idea.

 

[aussieJJDude]

So you definetly wanna keep the angels? i know the size tank n can be tricky, well with what you have i reckon once the angels mature keep a pair (you can keep the 2 if it turns out that way but aggression could get real bad during spawning) so a pair of them a few BNs and a few schools of tetras but id suggest the more torpedo shaped ones eg Lemon Tetras n so on.

Why dont you get rid of them all and do a planted apisto/dwarf cichlid set up

i would like to keep angels, they always had a soft place in my heart - well, among others!
The problem with dwarf cichlids is i never found any in my area besides rams... As much as i love rams, I don't think that they are the best for my household... Also - from what i read - they incredibly short lived and live around 1 - 2 years... i really like to have a fish that i kept for 5+ years....
But i think i found my favourite stocking list here:
http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/freshwater-tropical-fish/plans-blackwater-tank-316994/
Thanks guys for all your help!