suggestions please

[ste1982]

i have recently failed to keep german blue rams as i am unable to maintrain a stable ph at a low enough level to keep them happy, so instead of trying to change the water for the fish i'm just going to keep what is able to live in my water, i have a 25 gallon tank running at a temp of 25/26C PH hovers between 7.8 and 8 ammonia and nitrite is always 0 and nitrate is usually around 15/20 but has been known to hit 40 on rare occaisions, i have black sand substrate and several plants, for some reason the endlers and the corydoras have survived the chaos i that has occured so what i want really is something that can live in the water i have, your suggestions would be great, and whilst dwarf cichlids would be great i would also consider some of the larger types up to 6inches

 

[Mike Wise]

You don't mention how hard your water is. With such high pH values I expect it to be quite hard. In this case, I would suggest one of the smaller shell-dwelling Lamprologus from Lake Tanganyika or maybe the beautiful Central American Cryptoheros nanoluteus. Pelvicachromis pulcher is another good possibility. Some aquarists have even had Apistogramma cacatuoides reproduce in such water.

 

[Lisachromis]

pH sounds similar to where I am, but I don't know how hard your water is. I've spawned several Apisto (and other dwarf) species in our local water including cacatuoides, borellii, norberti, and Nannacara anomala.

 

[ed seeley]

The small Tanganyikan rock and shell dwellers would be great for your tank. However as Lisa and Mike said a number of other cichlids would do well too, including kribs and they are a great starter cichlid.

If you go for Tanganyikans then I'd definitely recomend Neolamprologus brichardi as they form colonies with old babies hanging around to look after the younger ones - an awesome sight.

 

[ste1982]

im not sure exactly how hard the water is, i do have a liquid test kit but i dont really understand the readings so gave up using it