Question by Mark S : stocking ideas for a 40 gallon fishtank!?
ok, pretty soon i will have a empty 4o gal cuz i am upgrading the community tank thats in it to a 75 gal. i would like to start a cichlid or semi agressive tank. before doing this i will reasearch all of the fish you recamend or what i was thinking of cuz i dont no much about cichlids right now, so u dont have to worry about that!
anyways!.. for the stocking i had a few ideas.
these are all the fish that i would like to havebut dont no if they get along so that is wat i was hopeing to rely on you guys for.
so.. iwas thinking…
-german rams,
-assorted apistogramma,
-double full red cockatoo cichlid,
red parrot,
double full red agassizi cichlid,
albino peacock cichlid,
blue johanni cichlid,
blue peacokc cichlid,
damasoni cichlid,
electric yellow cichlid,
blue paradise gourami(can gouramis and ram and cichlids be together?)
gold gourami
american flag fish,
puffer fish,
peacock gudgeon,

these are all just fish that i thought were good looking fish, i have no idea their personalities so do you think that you could pick a stocking idea out of that list of fish? what you would do.

this is what i was kindof thinking
2 rams- 1 male and 1 female
1 blue paradise gourami,
1 albino peacock cichlid
1 demasoni cichlid,
1 electric yellow cichlid,
1 red peacock cichlid,
1 double full red cockatoo cichlid,

how does that sound? would that be to much? out of those fish i just named, what would your stocking be with those? my idea was to just get 1 fish for every color, so like 1 blue cichlid, 1 yellow, 1 red, 1 orange, 1 purple, 1 green- like that. i want this tank to have the best looking fish. so that is why i choose some of the fish i listed.
please to do not freak out on me for wat ever reason cuz im inexperienced when it comes to semi agressive fish. peaceful fish i no but not agressive!
thankssss
Maybe 1 angel if I take out a couple fish?
if any one else answers this, read the first guys answer and i would like this tank to be like plan 2 so if you could suggest a stocking like that it would be great! thanks

Best Answer:

Answer by Kim
german rams- finicky little fish. Need VERY soft water and warmer water than most other fish will tolerate at 85 degrees. The PH should be around 6.5 and the tank should be MATURE before adding them. They do not do well with other dwarf cichlids such as the apistogrammas you mentioned.

-assorted apistogramma- Not a good idea. One kind and 2 pairs max for a 40 gallon tank. They do not mix very well. They also need soft water and mature tanks. PH should be around 6.0

-double full red cockatoo cichlid- Considered an apistogramma

red parrot- Parrot Ciclids need 55 gallons

double full red agassizi cichlid — An apistogramma

albino peacock cichlid- An african cichlid needing 7.8 PH or more. Should only be mixed with other Malawian Cichlids. Never mix them with dwarf or new world/ Central American Cichlids.

blue johanni cichlid- African Ciclid

blue peacokc cichlid- African Cichlid

damasoni cichlid- Need larger tanks and are aggressive. African Cichlid

electric yellow cichlid- African Cichlid and aggressive.

blue paradise gourami- Do not mix these with African Cichlids

gold gourami- Do not mix these with paradise fish or rams or african cichlids

american flag fish- Nippy semi tropical species. Temp should be 72 ish.

puffer fish- Only if that’s all you want in the tank. Dwarf puffers are the only commonly available freshwater species of puffer and are tiny. They should not be housed with any of the other fish you have listed. Figure 8′s are 3-4 inches large and a strictly brackish species. Green spotted puffers are VERY aggressive and need brackish into full marine tanks as they age.

peacock gudgeon- Interesitng but finicky little fish. Require more of a fresh/ frozen diet to maintain their color and mature tanks. Should not be housed with african Cichlids.

2 rams- 1 male and 1 female
1 blue paradise gourami,
1 albino peacock cichlid
1 demasoni cichlid,
1 electric yellow cichlid,
1 red peacock cichlid,
1 double full red cockatoo cichlid,

There’s many things wrong with your stocking plan. 1. Rams need temps of 85 and none of the other fish do. 2. Paradise fish dont make good tank mates with any of the other fish listed. 3. Peacocks are african chichlids and need a PH of 7.8 and not 6.0 like the rams. 4. Demasoni’s need larger tanks and get more agressive than the other ones you listed. 5. Electric yellows are african Cichlids and agressive. 6. Peacocks are african Cichlids. 7. Cockatoo’s are apistogramma’s, should not be housed with other dwarf Cichlids or african cichlids.

Here’s a better plan.

1. A pair of Apistogramma’s
2. 6-10 2 inch tetra’s
3. 6 hatchets or other top dwelling species
4. PH 6.5 temp 78-80, feeding them high quality pellets and blood worms

Plan 2

1. 5 “assorted” african Cichlids (pick ones of different color if you like but be aware they will hybridize and create unwanted sometimes ugly fry)
2. PH 7.8-8.2 temp 80, feed them a high quality pellet

Plan 3

1. One BREEDING pair of Angelfish.
2. 6-8 “taller) 2 inch tetra’s like skirts or serpae’s. No neons, or thin streamline fish as they will be eaten.
3. 5 corries

EDIT: Plan 2 is a stocking plan. At Petsmart they have a tank labeled “Assorted African Cichlids”. There’s electrics, kenyi, zebras, peacocks to name a few. Basically random Cichlid fry they get in. Get 1-2 inch ones. They will settle in better and will grow up together. Decorate the tank with rock layers big enough for them to get in between to hide in.

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