Help me stock a 40 breeder

[badpotato39]

 

I have a 40 breeder ready to go with blasting sand.  Im really looking to get one or two bigger fish to have in this tank.  I do not want a community tank with nano fish or angel fish.  A breeding pair would be plus.  Right now it's planted with a couple swords, val, christmas moss, pogo stem.  This can all be moved around of course.  Filtration can be sponge/hob or cansiter.  What would be some good options for this setup?

Local water parameters

ph 8.0

kh 4

gh 4

tds 71

 

Thanks!

 

[jwcarlson]

I've enjoyed my apistos and observing them.  You could do a pair of those and maybe some top water dither fish.

[badpotato39]

I appreciate the response!  Unfortunately I'm already doing that in a 20 long lol.  Fingers crossed they breed once they get bigger.

[mynameisnobody]

@badpotato39 5 star generals would be a really cool breeding pair for a 40. They’re predatory so you won’t be able to keep anything else in the tank with them, but they are super cool. 

[Biotope Biologist]

I’ve always felt Ctenopoma were fun fish. They are quite timid at first but I have noticed they recognize their food handler and come out more when you’re present.

 

I believe Leopard Ctenopoma can be had at most chain petstores still… Or you could always do a puffer colony there are quite a few midsize species at LFS now as people have been breeding pao puffers and a few others

 

[anewbie]

Your ph looks bogus; i'd let the water sit over night in a cup and re-test it is probably lower.

 

There are a lot of options; right now i'm partial to L. thayeri; L. araguaiae; and keyholes all three are easy to keep sa cicihld. Wouldn't hurt if your kh was lower but otherwise good numbers for your water. 

 

You could go another route - make the water a little harder and get some nice central america cichild or if you don't want plants go with african lake fishes. Lots of options kind of hard to start from scratch and tell you how to populate it - of course you might prefer salt water fishes.

 

[badpotato39]

I’ll re-test the ph as you suggested. I would prefer to keep plants but I know that can be a challenge with most cichlids.