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Will these species work in a tank? Dicrossus Filamentosus, Agassizii, Black Neons, Pleco L306, +some cory sp.

Sam's Terrariums

New Member
Messages
2
Location
Bandon, Oregon
Hi! I am looking to set up a tank with the dimensions 48l" x 12d" x 20h" (supposedly 55g) in an amazon-type setup. This build will not happen for a little while, as I am currently reorganizing my tanks around a new shelf I got. I currently have a tentative hardscape in the tank, and nothing else, but I have plans for planting. Pics of the tank and hardscape are attached.

I was wondering if these fish would work as tankmates in a tank of this size, if I need to reduce numbers, switch to a similar species, or simply omit some from the tank. Stocking plan is as follows:
6-8 Dicrossus Filamentosus depending on feedback. What would be a good number? I've heard they should be kept in groups.
2-3 (pair or harem) Apisto. Agassizii, probably fire red or super fire red, depends on what's available.
30 Black Neon Tetras (I have 8 in another tank, I would purchase more.
1 L306-L397 Tiger Pleco (either Alenquer or Takutut, shop I got it from wasn't sure) His name is Stealin' Steve
Possibly 2 otocinclus
Corys of some kind -- I have a skunk cory in another tank, all of his friends have died but he remains I might want to get more friends for him. Also possibly Bronze Corys (C. aeneus).

How aggressive are the apistos? My mom hates it when my fish chase each other (even if nobody gets hurt), would they get along well with each other? With the corys? With the checkerboards? I've had problems with my GBRs chasing corys (and each other) before, is that normal territorial behavior from dwarf cichlids or were my rams just exceptional jerks?

My plant list for now is as follows:
Vallisneria Spiralis
Hygrophilia corymbosa 'angustifolia'
Red java fern (on the wood)
Cryptcoryne Wendetii 'bronze'
Echinodorus sp.
Maybe Pink Amazon Sword, maybe not. It depends on which lights I end up using, I guess.
...and possibly emersed plants like pothos, dumb canes, philodendron, spider plant, etc.

Any suggestions for changing the stocking, proposed alternative species, feedback on stocking ideas, and any other comments are appreciated.
Thanks for reading, have a great day!

I hope I put this thread in the right category :p
 

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anewbie

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,879
Won't work. The black neon will stay near the top but everything else will be on the relatively small bottom. If your water is blackwater you could keep a few Dicrossus Filamentosus; but drop the pleco.
 

Sam's Terrariums

New Member
Messages
2
Location
Bandon, Oregon
Okay, glad I asked before setting it up, then.

Why would the pleco be unsuitable for this tank?

Would this tank be viable without any corys (or plecos, otos)? That would be just the apistos, tetras, and checkerboards.

EDIT: Yes, it will be blackwater

EDIT 2: Do you have any suggestions for other species/fish types that would fill empty areas in the water column?
 
Last edited:

MacZ

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,586
Location
Germany
Why would the pleco be unsuitable for this tank?
Plecos are usually somewhat nocturnal. Dwarf cichlids are diurnal. It ends with stressed out cichlids at the water surface in the morning. And stress is the number one killer of dwarf cichlids. Definitely do not mix plecos with dwarfs.
Would this tank be viable without any corys (or plecos, otos)?
As mentioned above that will end up with too many species at the bottom. Although Otocinclus are not bottom dwellers. They are feeding specialists though, you should give the tank at least 6 months to develope sustainable aufwuchs on all the surfaces, otherwise they will likely starve. You could try feeding vegetables and all kinds of stuff, but the chances they go for it are slim and nearly all the possible food items for them will be detrimental for the water quality.

EDIT: Yes, it will be blackwater
Are we talking true blackwater or faux blackwater? If true blackwater (i.e. softwater), reconsider your plant plans, because you picked some that would be working much better in a classic planted tank than a dim, low-nutrient softwater environment. I recommend emersed plants, floaters and anything that can cheat for light and CO2 like Nymphaea lotus and Hydrocotyle leucocephala

How aggressive are the apistos? My mom hates it when my fish chase each other (even if nobody gets hurt), would they get along well with each other? With the corys? With the checkerboards? I've had problems with my GBRs chasing corys (and each other) before, is that normal territorial behavior from dwarf cichlids or were my rams just exceptional jerks?
All dwarf cichlids become little orcs when brooding, Apistos (except a handful of species) tend to be second worst to Ivanacara. While Ivanacara sometimes simply kill everything in the tank, Apistos often just claim half the tank, everybody else will be crammed into the corner including the male Apistos.
Dicrossus and Mikrogeophagus are docile and peaceful in comparison.

Any bottom dwelling fish may also be subject to some minor aggression without a brooding situation. Feeding spots sometimes get defended against everything and everyone.

If you experienced Mikrogeophagus as too aggressive for your taste, either keep a single male Apistogramma (my recommendation for a community anyway, because a display tank is not a breeding tank) or Dicrossus (I recommend either a single male or 3-4 females). But leave the catfish.

And as for decoration... you have nice wood pieces there. Make sure if you get more than one specimen of cichlid to build sight blocks. 10-15cm upfrom the sand-surface, no chance of the fish looking (let alone swimming) through underneath it, if possible glass to glass so they also can't get around. Otherwise it will be near impossible for females and subdominant males to evade the dominant specimen.

A classic combination for a display tank with dwarf cichlids would be a single male (or bachelor group if the tank is big enough) of ONE species of dwarf cichlid, a species or two of tetra and a species of pencilfish and we're done.
 

Hanzle

Member
Messages
35
Beperk je tot 1 soort:
Van otocinclus, van corydoras, van??????
Van dicrossus, van agassizi, van??????
Van zwarte neons, van kardinalen, van hyphessobrycon, van????????
Zeker geen pleco.......wordt veel te groot n lomp
 

anewbie

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,879
I would like to point out that unlike some dwarf cichild; the dwarf cichild you have mentioned are not really beginner fishes. They tend to do better in very specific layouts that are dedicated to them.

I would suggest you look at some more robust more peaceful species like laetacara araguaiae or laetacara dorsigera these are fishes where you could keep several pairs in a 55 and they would be able to spawn without killing each other. Of course you would still want to avoid pleco and cory .... though i do keep my laetacara araguaiae with a number of pleco and they spawn just fine...
 

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