I need a "show" fish for a 180g community - Ideas?

[BryceM]

I have a 180g heavily planted tank that has been set up for 2 years now. The current stocklist includes:

12 Congo tetras - Phenacogrammus interruptus
30 Rummynose tetras - Hemigrammus rhodostomus
15 Cardinal tetras - Paracheirodon axelrodi
10 Harlequin rasboras - Trigonostigma heteromorpha
15 Otos - Otocinclus affinis 'niger'
6 Sidthimunki loaches - Yasuhikotakia sidthimunki
8 Corydoras loxozonus
a few dozen Amano shrimp

Since I set it up I've always had a few blue rams, Mikrogeophagus ramirezi, but they're getting old, and the orignal group of five is now down to two. It's time to try something else.

I'm looking for something that will add a bit of color and personality like the rams did. The tank is large enough and densely planted so it should be possible to keep a few of anything small and relativley peaceful. With the exception of the sidthimunki's, everything in the tank is fairly common. Something rare or unusual might be fun.

I like the idea of other S. American or African dwarf chiclids, but I'm open to ideas. Whatever it is must be peaceful, but I can tollerate a little spawning-time aggresion.

There are some new W. African dwarf chiclids coming on the scene. Anyone know where to get these?

The tank is reconstituted RO with GH 5, KH 3.

[xdoomsongx]

Discus? They are peaceful, not very small, but it's 180 gallons right? And talk about show stoppers!

[jmontee]

Bryce,

How about a group of peacock gudgeons or some brightly colored killie species?

x, discus have different needs than the other fish in the tank, like they should be at around 82 to 84 degrees. They are nice fish though.

[JanS]

I personally think that African Butterflies (Pantodon buchholzi) add a great deal of animation and interest to a tank like that. They may not be all that colorful, but they are just cool fish to have in the upper level of your tank. In my experience, they get along well with all of the fish you currently have in the tank too.

Angel's are another favorite show case fish of mine that work well in a tank like yours.

I know, boring, but cool....

[Tex Gal]

Have you seen the red congo tetras? They are gorgeous! Heard somewhere they are abou $60 each. I contacted the company and they said they would have them in the fall. They are definately unique. They would look neat with your blues. Kinda pricey, but anything
unique will be pricey!

The px. belongs to www.rehobothaquatics.com.

[xdoomsongx]

Have you seen the red congo tetras?

Just when I thought a congo tetra couldn't get any cooler! Thanks for sharing.

[ed seeley]

A pair of Nanochromis transvestitus would be great and in a tank your size they would have enough space not to kill each other!!! The female's colours are awesome.

Other than that some of the other Pelvicachromis species would be great and are very colourful.

They'll only keep the other fish away from their breeding site. Other than that aggression is just between themselves.

[wrkucera]

how about an oscar? just kidding...

[AaronT]

In my experience, if you want showy, active, peaceful fish, you can't go wrong with rainbows. There are so many different cool rainbows to choose from. Rarefishatlax on Aquabid is probably one of the better breeders for the rarer types of rainbows.

[BryceM]

Thanks everyone.

xdoomsongx - I love discus and will probably convert the setup to a discus tank someday.

jmontee - I've had peacocks before and they're pretty unusual fish. They only lived about 4 or 5 months though. Maybe I should try again. I'm worried that I'd never see them though.

Jan - Do the butterflies have a tendency to jump? I do need a little activity in the upper layers, but most fish that live there often try to go flying. The back of the tank has a pretty large opening. I absolutely love angels, but they've always intimidated congos in my tanks. Someday I might try altums in the tank though.

TexGal - Red congos? That might be interesting assuming they could be found.

ed seeley - Nanochromis transvestitus is one I've never seen or heard of. West African chiclids are absolutely on the list. I really admired the recent article in TFH about some of the pelvicachromis species:





Where can you find W. African chiclids? Anyone know?

Aaron - I love rainbows and initially tried to find a school of praecox for the tank. I got 8 and all of them promptly died in quarantine. They're actually almost impossible to find around here. I also worry that they'd not find the soft water to their liking. Anyone know where to get these guys?