[MidNightCowBoy]

Today I will be purchasing a 75 gallon tank from a friend of mine. It is a planted tank and is lightly stocked. Of course I will want to add some American Cichlids to it so I am hoping to get some advice from you guys! Bear in mind that my local tapwater is somewhat hard/alkalyne and I'm really not into hitting my water with a ton of chemicals, although I will if i have to, nor do I have an RO system.

The general specs are:
standard 75 gallon AGA tank with matching stand.
Coralife 4 Bulb Light system
Rena XP3
Small CO2 system
Heater ( I think its a visitherm stealth )
Gravel substrate

THe tank is coming with a few fish, most of which I will keep. It has:

about 4 mollies
about 5 or 6 Rummy Nose Tetras (Will probably get about 6 more of these)
2 Clown Loaches (will probably get rid of as they get too big and replace with yo yo loaches or a dojo loach for snail control)
2 Small Cory Cats. (will probably get 2 or 3 more of these)
2 SAE's

So what I am thinking of doing is adding some small to medium sized cichlids that won't eat/harrass to death the smaller fish or kill the plants. This is where I need your guys help.

THe fish I have been considering are:

Bolivian Rams (5 or 6)

Apistogramma cacatuoides (5 or 6)

Herotilapia multispinosa (Rainbow Cichlid) (a pair)

Hypsophrys nicaraguensis (Macaw Cichlid) (a pair)

Archocentrus sajica (T-Bar Cichlid) (a pair)

Herichthys carpintis (Green Texas) (only one, not sure if this guy would chew the plants or not)

Now I'm not planning on putting all of these fish in the tank, they are just what I'm considering. So any comments or additions to this list are welcome!

THanks guys and gals! Pictures to follow!!!

:dancing:

 

[hollyfish2000]

How fun. I'll play!

If it were my tank, I'd plant a bunch of swords and vals to really get it well planted and get a pair of angel fish. I'd do exactly what you've suggested in terms of cories, etc.. I'd get rid of the SAEs (I'm not fond of them) and I'd add maybe a trio (1M-2F) of apistos or a pair of blue rams. I'd also add an albino bristlenose pleco! I'd also do pressurized C02, which will bring your pH down and make your plants grow long and pretty!! (Not sure what you mean by small C02 system, but I'm guessing it's a DIY type, which I didn't really have good luck with . . .

 

[MidNightCowBoy]

The CO2 system is the "Turbo Co2 Bio System" as seen here

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... atid=14711

 

[kingpoiuy]

The CO2 system is the "Turbo Co2 Bio System" as seen here

Hey, cool product!

 

[under_control]

You would have better luck wiht a diy co2 system from 2 liter bottles than that system. They are too small to have any impact on your tank.

You would need 2-4 2 liters to really make a difference.

 

[hollyfish2000]

Yes, that was the system I was using on two tanks. The output wasn't consistent enough, particularly when the house cooled off a bit during the winter, and I found making the solution a pain. I switched to pressurized C02, using the diffuser that came with the Turbo Bio. Such a big difference and well worth it.

 

[MidNightCowBoy]

I appreciate the co2 advice but im more concerned about the fish stocking :lol:

 

[MidNightCowBoy]

So after some research I am thinking of doing Bolivian Rams and Sajica. Does this sound like an acceptable combo?

Any other suggestions or comments would be appreciated!

:thumb:

 

[MidNightCowBoy]

Here are some pics of the newly setup tank. One shot with flash, one shot without. It's only been running for a couple of hours so the water is still pretty hazy. Does it looks like a good home for Sajica and Bolivian Rams?

 

[F8LBITEva]

very nice! great footprint.