280 gallon dwarf cichlid

[HFRCampbell]

hey heres the list of fish
5 blue rams
5 gold rams
5 bolivin rams
5 appisto viejita
5 appisto macmasteri
5 appisto aggrazsi

then 3 large schools of 40 tetras, what do you guys think for this ?

and then a group of 20 cory cats

if i see more room i might bump some of the fishes up to 6 dwarves

 

[ste12000]

Personally i think your pushing your luck to try and squeeze 30 dwarf cichlids of 6 different species into a space that size..

I would love to see a large group of the same species apistogramma so you see the interaction and natural harem spawning of your chosen species..You could go for 20 Apistogramma sp and maybe a few less aggressive blue Rams (Microgeophagus Ramirez.)

 

[bigbird]

Evening,

I also believe that with 50 bottom dwellers, that your lower levels are being pushed to the limit. If you hope to breed then you will have in my view trouble, especially with fry eating tetras and interbreeding of rams. I also would suggest to limit it to 2 larger harems of 8 for the apistos, a few rams and 15-20 corys. Remember you will need plenty of ground cover, caves, rocks and hidding places for all, so they can set up their territories. Maybe substitute the tetras with pencil fish and or mountain clouds. Also remember the Otos for algae cleaning on the leaves and upper levels. Would love to get a pic when you have set up your tank. anyway, all the best and enjoy. cheers jk :biggrin:

 

[pleurothallid]

I don't claim to have a lot of experience but I've been maintaining a 75 gallon mixed tank for a little over a year that is similar in idea. I have 4 species of Apistogramma (agassizi, mouth breeder, nijsseni and borelli) with many of them breeding, and mixed with pencilfish (N. mortenthaleri), several tetra species, and a good number of Corydora habrosus. The A. agassizi male is fairly aggressive towards all other cichlids so I would be very careful about aggression, both intraspecific and interspecific. Hybrids should also be avoided (in my opinion) when at all possible. The planting of my tank is fairly dense with a mix of plants and wood, then with ample leaf litter around. I've spent a lot of time in South America so I just tried to set up my aquarium similar to where I've seen Apistogramma in the wild, so far successfully. All in all, I think your idea is possible, but I too would probably be much more interested in hearing about how it would go with a few less species, but larger numbers. I also think using a lot of leaf litter is definitely helpful, perhaps even pieces of coconuts. Best of luck and be sure to post pictures.

 

[Apistomaster]

I would find it impossible not include at least 6 wild Discus, lose all the Bolivian and Blue Rams and decrease the number of Apistogramma spp so you can observe the natural behavior of the groups of Apistogramma. Just two species would be enough. Maybe stick with one slender form like A. agassizi and one of the stockier spp of your choice.

Just 6 wild Discus would not interfere with the lives of the Apistogramma but I think a 280 gallon tank could use a mid-water dwelling fish with some size and peaceful disposition to add some interest to that middle zone.

 

[freshwaterfishfan]

What about D. filamentosus

I think a group of Dicrossus filamentosus would be very interesting to see is such a large tank. They would add a nice contrast to the Apistos. And I agree with others, fewer sp but more of them would be more interesting.
Steve

 

[Gillie]

I have to agree with Steve about the dicrossus. In my opinion a school of dicrossus fits better in a dwarf tank than a mish mash of 5 or 6 different species. This also would eliminate the losses from the macmasteri and viejita fighting with each other. I have tried to keep macmasteri with other specier aggies included that are not known to be aggressive and none ever fared well. If you want to add more than one species of apisto, borellii or cacatuoides go well with agassizi.

 

[HFRCampbell]

okay heres what im thinking of doing here
i really like bolivians like allot so im keeping 10 of them w 10 appistos,, probably aggraszi, then 6 discus and 10 black angel fish, and then 40 bleeding heart tetras. Would the angels eat hatchet fish? cause they would be really cool to be a top strana fish. oh yea and 20 panda corys

 

[Apistomaster]

I just moved my Dicrossus filamentosus to my Heckel Discus tank. Only a trio but they have already helped the Heckels become less shy and the D.filamentosus just shine. Always been one of my favorite SA dwarf Cichlids and their preference for living off the bottom is a big plus if you put them in a large tank.