Trying to set up a soft water tank; suggestions or advice?

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Jyynx
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Trying to set up a soft water tank; suggestions or advice?

Post by Jyynx » Thu Dec 03, 2009 12:52 pm

Hi. I'm new here so please forgive me or redirect me if this is posted in the wrong place...

I have a 55 gallon with some African cichlids (and a 20 with tiger barbs >_>) and now I'm trying to start a soft water one to accommodate my love for clown loaches, Kribs and khuli loaches.

The tank I'm setting up is going to be soft water. It is 50 gallon (I know clowns can get fairly large and plan to eventually upgrade to a 180 in 1-2 years). I would ideally like to add a few clown loaches, khuli loaches, some kribs, my pictus catfish and my mellow red tailed shark. I'm also into getting some Bolivian Rams.

Would all of these guys be compatible with each other? I've done some reading online and all of them seem to have roughly the same water parameters(correct me if I'm wrong please). Any suggestions or recommendations?

Thanks!

Diana
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Post by Diana » Thu Dec 03, 2009 9:07 pm

Clown Loaches- Nice, but they grow really fast when they are young (and have been treated for internal parasites) It will not last more than 1 year.
Khuli Loaches- See note below
Kribs- Can get pretty aggressive when breeding.
Pictus catfish- Fast enough to take care of himself.
Red tailed shark- Questionable with Kribs. Is this guy mature enough that you know he (or she) is a mellow one? Youngsters are often less aggressive than an adult.
Bolivian Rams- I would not combine these with the Kribs. Bolivian Rams seem to be less aggressive than Kribs.

This is too many bottom fish. There is not enough territory for them all, and the aggression levels vary. The more territorial fish (Cichlids) are likely to be too pushy for each other, and dislike the other (non-Cichlids) that want to explore the whole tank, regardless of territories.

I would cut this list in half, then see how much bio-load is available and get some upper level fish.

There are ways to arrange the plants and decor so that the more aggressive fish have their own area. Most of the time this sort of fish is most aggressive about defending their 'front yard', the space roughly in front of their cave or nest. If the plants, driftwood and other decor is set up so the line of site is broken from one cave to the next you would have the best chance of keeping several territorial fish like the Cichlids you list.

As for optimum conditions: I have not kept Kribs, but I did here an expert talking about breeding them. He has bred many of the species not normally found in the trade. The part I remember about his presentation was that Kribs seem to breed better in cooler water
38 tanks, 2 ponds over 4000 liters of water to keep clean and fresh.

Happy fish keeping!

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Jyynx
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Post by Jyynx » Fri Dec 04, 2009 10:33 am

I guess I will wait until I have the 180g before I get Clown Loaches; as much as I love them it really isn't fair if I force them to live in an aquarium too small for them...

My RTS is just over 3 inches now. I remember reading that their size usually maxes out around 6 inches. Is her current size enough to judge her personality with? I have had her for about a year without a problem yet.

If I set up the tank properly and can divide it into more secluded territories, do you think Kribs and Khulis would be able to co-exist in it? Any suggestions for any other tank mates for them?

andyroo
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Post by andyroo » Wed Dec 09, 2009 7:04 am

how do you plan to control hardness?
A
"I can eat 50 eggs !"

Diana
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Post by Diana » Wed Dec 09, 2009 9:49 pm

The Kuhlies will not respect the dividers (plants, rocks, driftwood), but the Kribs and the shark are highly likely to choose an area out of sight of each other, so this is probably OK.
3" might be a bit young yet to be sure the shark is really gentler than is common for the species.

Upper level fish for this tank would probably be a schooling species that is gutsy enough to stand up to the Kribs, but mostly stay high enough not to bother them. Perhaps a species of Rainbows. There are several that reach 3-5", and most are active enough to be good dithers. For warmest water: Parkinsoni or M. praecox. Many others are also good in water in the upper 70s F.
Many Rainbows come from water that varies a lot on an annual cycle, both temperature and pH. Generally the water is relatively soft for many of them.
Do not get the smaller, more delicate ones (Threadfin, Celebes or others)
38 tanks, 2 ponds over 4000 liters of water to keep clean and fresh.

Happy fish keeping!

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Jyynx
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Location: Manitoba

Post by Jyynx » Tue Jan 05, 2010 2:54 am

The water where I lives tends to be on the softer side, and the PH is pretty low too ( I had a tricky time getting it to an acceptable level for my African cichlids).

I've done some reading and have decided against the Rams and the Kribs. At the moment my tank is housing my Pictus cat and RTS; I'm going to hopefully add some kuhlies in a few months. I've done a little bit of reading on Yo-Yo loaches - do you think they would be alright in this kind of set up? If not, do you guys know anything about keyhole cichlids? How do you think they would fair in this?

Thanks for you replies too.

Diana
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Post by Diana » Tue Jan 05, 2010 9:53 pm

Yoyos would be better than Kuhlies. Pictus cats have a large mouth :-(

Keyholes are large enough to hold their own, but IME tend to be very shy compared to many Cichlids. I am not sure they would stand up for themselves. They are easier to care for than Rams and Kribs.
38 tanks, 2 ponds over 4000 liters of water to keep clean and fresh.

Happy fish keeping!

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