Centre piece fish for 300litre tank

[Mattyd123]

Hey everyone, does anyone have any ideas on a good centrepiece fish for my 300 litre community tank 

so far its got

20ish zebra danios

8 whiteclouds  

15 panda corydoras 

1 fully grown super red bristlenose 

6 honey gouramis

 

the tank is heavily planted but unfortunately my water is hard as hell haha, so no really soft water fish unfortunately 

tank temp runs around 22 degrees and id like to keep to that temperature as the running costs of the heater is a problem already 

any recommendations? 

Edited March 1 by Mattyd123

[Cinnebuns]

At first I was thinning of an angelfish but they need a higher temp. Then I thought a pearl gourami or 2 or 3 but again I'm pretty sure warmer temps. Anything I think if seems to want warmer temps. 

[Galabar]

As soon as I saw the tank, I also thought angelfish.

 

[AllFishNoBrakes]

Ya, 22 C might be a little chilly for an Angel, but I’m not 100% sure. My breeding pair is at like 74 F, and they still breed all the time. I probably wouldn’t worry too too much about dropping that a couple more degrees, but it just might not be “ideal”. An Angel would probably be more chill (pun intended) at that temp. 

Edited March 1 by AllFishNoBrakes

[Mattyd123]

I always thought angelfish were more on the soft water side? Can they tolerate the harder water? 

[Tony s]

On 3/1/2024 at 6:11 PM, Mattyd123 said:

Can they tolerate the harder water? 

absolutely. honestly most soft water fish can. very easily. the only ones I would even worry about are german rams, some apistos (not even all of them), and discus.

My angels have run as high as 12 dgh before no issues. and you've got to remember. most tank bred or farm bred waters are not that soft. mostly already medium to hard. so unless it's wild caught. not an issue

temp is slightly cool at 72F, but also within range.

[Mattyd123]

On 3/1/2024 at 11:34 PM, Tony s said:

absolutely. honestly most soft water fish can. very easily. the only ones I would even worry about are german rams, some apistos (not even all of them), and discus.

My angels have run as high as 12 dgh before no issues. and you've got to remember. most tank bred or farm bred waters are not that soft. mostly already medium to hard. so unless it's wild caught. not an issue

temp is slightly cool at 72F, but also within range.

My water is 22dgh, I probably should have led with that, reckon that is okay? 

[Tony s]

well now, you have harder water than me. I didn't know that was possible. What are you testing with. I find coop strips are not very accurate with high ph and hard water. I use Sera brand Gh/Kh kits for mine.

I think it should be fine. but i wouldn't expect much breeding. both from the cold water and the hardness

[Mattyd123]

I’ve tested with NT labs water test kit 

gh is 22 and kh is 8-9 

im from the uk so unfortunately i cant get any of the coop gear yet 

my PH isn’t actually too bad at 7.8 from the tap and then usually settling at about 7.5 in the tank 

[Tony s]

Your water is mostly normal for most of the US. and probably for the EU as well. I think you'll probably be fine. it's easier for a low gh animal to adapt to high Gh than it is for a high gh animal to adapt to low gh. a high gh animal gets the minerals sucked out of it's body by osmosis. not as easy to push minerals into a low gh animal. the process is slower and less damaging. there are even some very good german discus farms who raise their discus at a higher gh and ph than normal. but probably still not 22dgh

[Tony s]

But for harder water fish how about a school of dwarf neon rainbows. Danios may annoy the heck out of the angels. always so zippy. or other rainbows. just not the really big ones for your small fish. or a small school of congo tetras even. they should adapt easily. honestly, if you can find it locally tank raised, you should be good. And I assume you can find local angels as well

[Ninjoma]

Rainbowfish, peacock gudgeon or kribensis are some good options imo. Three spot gourami or empire gudgeon are potentially good options, but they may or may not get along with your community.