stocking advice for 37g

[reventuality]

I currently have 1 angelfish, 7 dwarf rainbowfish, 5 peppered cory’s, and 5 otos. I was thinking about adding a pair of german blue rams if possible, but I’ve gotten different opinions on wether it would be too crowded or not. It’s my first community tank so any advice would be appreciated.

[Lennie]

Hey there,

I personally keep 2 angels with my black rams in a tank with 100cmx40cmx40cm/160 liters. Both are juveniles, and rams will be moved in a breeding tank soon.

 

In the tall tanks, you should ideally consider your stocking options based on the footprint of the tank. That tank is like taller 29g, right? So ideally, you should consider 29g stocking options.

Second thing to consider is, you already have a stock going on. So basically you should consider the requirements and temperament of what you have in your tank and what new fish you want to have needs. You have a cichlid on hand and you wanna add another. Cichlid vs cichlid behavior changes A LOT compared to their normal temperament versus other fish in general.

 

In my tank, angels usually use upper side of the tank meanwhile rams usually spend time in bottom side unless it's feeding time. My male ram has a territory and does not like angels entering its territory or being nearby. So if angels swims nearby, they are being pushed away. Same goes for the  other black rams regardless of their sex.

If you want a breeding project, ideally you should have a species only tank. Otherwise, keeping a pair in a community tank does not make much sense. All they will cause is legit chaos for any other fish in the tank. Especially when it is breeding time. 

So if I were you, in that tank size, I would not keep them together.

That being said, peppered cory already likes colder water and being with some tropical fish you have is forcing its limit. GBR like it hot. That would negatively affect them very much, and for rainbows to stay in the highest limit.

[JettsPapa]

I wouldn't.  If for no other reason, BGR's rarely thrive with temperature below the low 80's F.  While the angelfish might be okay in water that warm long-term, I don't believe your other fish would.

[reventuality]

2 hours ago, Lennie said:

Hey there,

I personally keep 2 angels with my black rams in a tank with 100cmx40cmx40cm/160 liters. Both are juveniles, and rams will be moved in a breeding tank soon.

 

In the tall tanks, you should ideally consider your stocking options based on the footprint of the tank. That tank is like taller 29g, right? So ideally, you should consider 29g stocking options.

Second thing to consider is, you already have a stock going on. So basically you should consider the requirements and temperament of what you have in your tank and what new fish you want to have needs. You have a cichlid on hand and you wanna add another. Cichlid vs cichlid behavior changes A LOT compared to their normal temperament versus other fish in general.

 

In my tank, angels usually use upper side of the tank meanwhile rams usually spend time in bottom side unless it's feeding time. My male ram has a territory and does not like angels entering its territory or being nearby. So if angels swims nearby, they are being pushed away. Same goes for the  other black rams regardless of their sex.

If you want a breeding project, ideally you should have a species only tank. Otherwise, keeping a pair in a community tank does not make much sense. All they will cause is legit chaos for any other fish in the tank. Especially when it is breeding time. 

So if I were you, in that tank size, I would not keep them together.

That being said, peppered cory already likes colder water and being with some tropical fish you have is forcing its limit. GBR like it hot. That would negatively affect them very much, and for rainbows to stay in the highest limit.

thanks for all the info! i’ll save rams for a future setup then :)

1 hour ago, JettsPapa said:

I wouldn't.  If for no other reason, BGR's rarely thrive with temperature below the low 80's F.  While the angelfish might be okay in water that warm long-term, I don't believe your other fish would.

gotcha, thanks!

[bryanisag]

I won't speak to the fish getting along or not as I have not kept those fish in particular. With regard to "overcrowded" that's mostly up to you. You already know the maintenance required to keep the tank clean and healthy with your current fish so it's easy to guess how much a couple more fish will add to that. Also as a side note I love my 37 gallon aquarium and the tallness of it lends you to have a clear "top middle bottom" theme for your fish. I think you would get more enjoyment from increasing your Corry squad and adding a top dweller like hatchet fish. I would love to see a picture of your tank

[reventuality]

On 6/22/2023 at 8:50 PM, bryanisag said:

I won't speak to the fish getting along or not as I have not kept those fish in particular. With regard to "overcrowded" that's mostly up to you. You already know the maintenance required to keep the tank clean and healthy with your current fish so it's easy to guess how much a couple more fish will add to that. Also as a side note I love my 37 gallon aquarium and the tallness of it lends you to have a clear "top middle bottom" theme for your fish. I think you would get more enjoyment from increasing your Corry squad and adding a top dweller like hatchet fish. I would love to see a picture of your tank

i have noticed the upper part is lacking a bit, i’ll look into hatchetfish! and here’s my 37g so far, eventually i wanna upgrade the lighting so i can have some floater plants as well 🙂

[Lennie]

On 6/24/2023 at 11:35 PM, reventuality said:

i have noticed the upper part is lacking a bit, i’ll look into hatchetfish!

@beastie May share her experience regarding hatchetfish. They are usually fragile due to being wild caught, extremely jumpy, will find any open tiny gap on top and will jump to death. also needs to be fed on surface strictly. 

If I were you, I would add something with orange-red-yellow colors that would pop between those beautiful green plants. Hatchetfish would add some activity on top, but in terms  color, they would not pop up.

I wanna make some suggestions but I can't trust angels 🤣 Maybe something like a honey gourami, or red robin? + A colorful mystery snail with a light foot, like a gold, magenta or ivory, if you think your angel wouldn't bother it. I said light food because u have black substrate. Something adds color but also won't be bothered by the tankmates. You know your angel's temperament better than us.

 

Here are some pictures of what I would consider, only if you have a friendly Angel. The pictures are not mine:

Magenta:

Ivory:

Gold:

Honey gourami:

Red robin (thicklip):

 

 

 

[beastie]

Hatchetfish are a never again fish for me. There is no activity, they hang as lanterns on the surface and jump. Also hate flow, nippy fish, too little plants and are always wild caught.  Nope. My next planned surface dweller is a nannostomus. Any sort of pencil fish :))

 

 

 

 

 

 

[reventuality]

On 6/24/2023 at 4:55 PM, Lennie said:

@beastie May share her experience regarding hatchetfish. They are usually fragile due to being wild caught, extremely jumpy, will find any open tiny gap on top and will jump to death. also needs to be fed on surface strictly. 

If I were you, I would add something with orange-red-yellow colors that would pop between those beautiful green plants. Hatchetfish would add some activity on top, but in terms  color, they would not pop up.

I wanna make some suggestions but I can't trust angels 🤣 Maybe something like a honey gourami, or red robin? + A colorful mystery snail with a light foot, like a gold, magenta or ivory, if you think your angel wouldn't bother it. I said light food because u have black substrate. Something adds color but also won't be bothered by the tankmates. You know your angel's temperament better than us.

 

Here are some pictures of what I would consider, only if you have a friendly Angel. The pictures are not mine:

Magenta:

Ivory:

Gold:

Honey gourami:

Red robin (thicklip):

 

 

 

thanks for the advice! i have also thought about adding honey gouramis…my angelfish is a good sport about roommates lol