500 liters - new tank

[Gaisller]

Hey there,

I want to share my new project with you.

It’s a 180 x 50 x 60 (cm) tank. It will be the house of some South American fishes.

The ideia is keep the fishes that I’ve already had in my other tank, including the dicrossus filamentosus and a apistogrammas sp abacaxis.

At the moment the tank is cycling, I’m trying to adjust the water parameters.

I also need to finish the layout. I’ll insert more branches and driftwoods.

Do you think it will be a good idea to add some more dicrossus? I’ve always wanted to keep D. maculatus. They will be fine with the filamentosus?

Appreciate any suggestion/ideia.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Mike Wise]

The tank definitely needs more structure as you noted. Depending on the decor, D. filamentosus and A. sp. Abacaxis should be compatible in such a large tank, depending on numbers or each species. I personally would not mix D. filamentosus with D. maculatus. They are quite different in size, mass, and do best in different water conditions.

 

[MacZ]

I personally would not mix D. filamentosus with D. maculatus. They are quite different in size, mass, and do best in different water conditions.

Much bigger problem is the likelihood of hybridisation. D. filamentosus females have a reputation of falling for D. maculatus males and they have produced fertile offspring.

 

[Gaisller]

The tank definitely needs more structure as you noted. Depending on the decor, D. filamentosus and A. sp. Abacaxis should be compatible in such a large tank, depending on numbers or each species. I personally would not mix D. filamentosus with D. maculatus. They are quite different in size, mass, and do best in different water conditions.

Definitely agreed.
My idea is to share the tank evolution in this topic. So as soon as I improve the decoration I’ll post here.

The Dicrossus and the Apistogramma are already together in my other aquarium. Only one male A. sp abacaxis and one male + two females Dicrossus. I’m thinking about add some more Dicrossus.

Thanks for the tips!

 

[MacZ]

I’m thinking about add some more Dicrossus.

More female D. filamentosus are definitely possible, but I'd add them all at once, so maybe time the purchase and quarantine of the new ones so that you can do that.

 

[Gaisller]

Quickly update

Added more two big wood pieces and a couple rocks. Tannin is getting stronger. I also added two nymphaea from my other tank.

The main layout will stay at it is. Now I'll add some branches, more leaves, rocks and probably some kind of nut, to create caves.

 

[anewbie]

One thing i do in the lower levels is have drift wood criss cross - i don't mean branches per sey but if i have for example a flat roundish piece i will place it against other pieces to form 'caves'. Unfortunately this makes it extremely difficult to remove fishes that don't want to be removed as they can traverse under large areas without being exposed but it does provide nice natural caves.

 

[Gaisller]

Hi, I added the fishes from my old tank.

Tha fauna list is:
- Carnegiella strigata;
- Carnegiella marthae;
- Nannostomus trifasciatus;
- Paracheirodon axelrodi;
- Hemigrammus rhodostomus;
- Parotocinclus maculicauda;
- Characidium fasciatum;
- Dicrossus filamentosus;
- Apistogramma sp. Abacaxis.

I'll post more pictures as soon as I get some time.

 

[MacZ]

Nice, though still a little sparse in the bottom.

What are the numbers of the species each?

 

[Gaisller]

Nice, though still a little sparse in the bottom.

What are the numbers of the species each?

Thanks for the advise, Mac. I'll provide more hidden areas.

- Carnegiella strigata - 4;
- Carnegiella marthae - 4;
- Nannostomus trifasciatus - 3;
- Paracheirodon axelrodi - 17;
- Hemigrammus rhodostomus - 8;
- Parotocinclus maculicauda - 1;
- Characidium fasciatum - 1;
- Dicrossus filamentosus - 1 male, 2 females;
- Apistogramma sp. Abacaxis - 1 male.

 

[MacZ]

How did the Characidium end up in there? Like the Macrotocinclus!

 

[Gaisller]

The Characidium was at my wife's old aquarium. She didn't keep that tank when we moved to our new home.

The Parotocinclus I bought assuming that was an amazonic fish...

 

[anewbie]

The Characidium was at my wife's old aquarium. She didn't keep that tank when we moved to our new home.

The Parotocinclus I bought assuming that was an amazonic fish...

It is - they can annoy breeding fishes. I have some red fin otto with my winkie and it doesn't stop them from breeding - they are actually quite gentle breeders relatively speaking. However with more aggressive species they will get pick on quite a bit as they enter territories.

winkie are my nickname for a. sp winkelfleck because winkie is a lot easier to type

 

[Mike Wise]

This is obviously a community tank so I doubt that there will be much successful breeding in this tank. It seems rather 'busy' and 17 Cardinals and 8 Rummynoses will guarantee that.