nannacara (=Ivanacara) adoketa suitable tankmates

[RichD1011]

Hi all,

While i have about 2200liters of breeding/grow-out racks with Central American cichlids (Oscura heterospila, Amphilophus lyonsi, Amatitlania sp honduras red point, Chortiheros wesseli, Amatitlania altoflavus, Cincelichthys pearsei, Amatitlania nanolutea and some dither fish like Xiphophorus hellerii Yucatan and Ataeniobius toweri) i now have a 80liters tank in my livingroom.. and i would really like to have a try with an soft-/blackwater South American cichlid.

I have access to F1 Nannacara adoketa which i would really like to keep.
But i am still looking for some dither fish.. if possible biotope correct would be really nice.

Doing some research i found the Tucanoichthys tucano.. but i have 2 questions:
- do these fish indeed are biotope correct?
- i am afraid they will end up as food when the adoketa's grow bigger... but maybe i am wrong?

i someone could shine some light on my questions that would be much appreciated! and if someone has another idea for dither fish please feel free to share!

As for the tank, i am trying to reach a pH of 6.0 (6,5max)... since i already have quite the soft tap water i hope to achieve this by only using peat and leaf litter.

 

[MacZ]

Ivanacara seems to have been found at the type locality of Tucanoichthys, so this is not a wrong combination. The only problem I see, knowing the adult size of Ivanacara and Tucanoichthys: As typically the rule of "If it fits in their mouths..." applies, this combination in a tank of only 80 liters might turn out bad for the tetras. So, I'd probably go with a bigger sized pencilfish (N. beckfordi or N. eques) or tetra (Hyphessobrycon sp.) that have a wider range in the wild and thus are still biotope appropriate. As the other tetras from the type localities of both fish either need bigger tanks or are also not fitting with Ivanacara in such a small space, this might be your best option. Some are also just not available easily in the trade.

As for the tank, i am trying to reach a pH of 6.0 (6,5max)... since i already have quite the soft tap water i hope to achieve this by only using peat and leaf litter.

If you use peat you will end up with a pH of 4 - 5 rather than 6 - 6.5, depending on your KH. With peat you see significant changes of the pH even at a KH of 5-10°. Though I would not use it in that range, as each waterchange would provoke a fast pH-spike which is not what you want: Slow fluctuations of +/- 3 or even 4 are not a problem if they occur stretched over hours, but if it rises by 3 points within 40min of refilling the tank this is too fast.
With leaf litter there will be no significant change if the KH is higher than 1-2°. In softer water than that it's all a question of time. I use straight RO for over a year now, but only leaf litter, and the accumulated leaf litter bed has stabilized my pH at 4.5 now, but for the first 6 months I barely scratched the 6.0 pH mark.

 

[RichD1011]

Thanks for the information! yeah that "if it fits in the mouth" was also the thing i was thinking of.
If i make the comparison between a full grown male adoketa and a small Tucanoichthys that might turn out bad..

RO water.. if i can avoid using it i prefer it that way, but if needed it can be an option.

 

[MacZ]

You're welcome.

RO water.. if i can avoid using it i prefer it that way, but if needed it can be an option.

Your choice. If you want to be "biotope appropriate" or if you want the cichlids to breed, you will likely have no choice and no way around it. For the mentioned 6.0 pH: No way around it.

But get your own unit so you're independent of any suppliers.