Amazon Biotope tank list

[unfamous]

Hey, soon i will be starting up a 100 gallon amazon biotope (i will prolly be doin a journal of it on the biotope forum soon)...i plan on keeping discus and having it planted...i also want to keep some other fish with the discus and i have been thinking of this really carefully and i am almost certain on which fish to keep with them so here it is....

6 Discus
12 Rummynose tetras
8-10 marble hatchet fish
10-12 cories(panda or dwarf..not sure yet)
?-Ottos
4-german blue rams
possible rare pleco( not sure on which one yet)

well any suggestions or comments would be greatly apprectiated...i know it will be a lot of work to do this but i really want to rise to the challenge of keeping discus in this biotope communtiy!

[cobaltblue]

YOur list looks good to me. Im not up to speed on hatchet fish, but all the others look good. Alot of people here keep bristlenose plecos with discus, but ive also had queen arabesque and clown plecos which both did fine with discus. Queens are very cool looking.

[pcsb23]

Are you going to put wilds in there?? Hatchets are a good choice, the zebra plecs are stunning, bit expensive though. Are you going to put any driftwood in there??

[unfamous]

bristlnose plecs and zebra plecs both look very nice and seem to be my first choices...i have never seen any queen arebesques befor does any one have a pic?..and yes i am definatley gonna use driftwood i am looking for a piece that resembles a large tree stump i think that would look realistic.

i never thought about putting wilds in...that would prolly make the tank a true biotope huh? but i kinda want some color variety with the discus what would u guys suggest?

[Ryan]

You can get a pretty amazing variety of colors out of wild discus. Solid reds, royal blues, heckels, red spotted greens... there are enough differences among the different types of wilds to have a really nice contrast.

Your list looks good. All the fish you listed usually do pretty well. About the rummynose... as they get larger, they become incredibly fast and they're the first to hit the food you put in the tank. Make sure when you feed them that the discus get their fair share. When I toss in flakes at work, the rummynose have devoured them before my poor rams even make it to the middle of the tank, and I only have 6 rummynose.

Rams are great, but buy them young because they don't live long. You might also think of Bolivian rams, they're a little bigger but still very cool. That's a nice alternative if you can't find good blues or golds.

Ryan

[unfamous]

wow ididnt know wilds come in those varieties..i thought u could only get heckle....i was plannin on gettin them from jeff at discus farm because montebello is near my house so i wonder if he will have diferent starnds of wilds....

The bolivians do like nice but...i m gonna think about gettin those

what do u guys think...panda cories or dwarf cories..those dwarfs are prety kool lookin

[pcsb23]

I'm easily pleased where cories are concerned I like em all! Just got some albino pepered cories that look real nice, out of panda and dwarf I prefer the panda but its what you like that matters.

As for wilds, you do get a really good variety of colours, 6 or 7 red spotted greens would look special to me.

[Ryan]

I don't think Jeff @ Discus Farm is selling fish anymore.

Ryan

[unfamous]

NO!!!!!!
is anyone certain that jeff isn't sellin any more fish?

[gators111]

Also, you might want to look into sterbae corys. They cost more, but are worth it IMO.

[unfamous]

well i guess i'll make my final decisions on the cory's when i get closer to gettin the tank...but my mega flow sump filter came today! so i'd jus thought id mention that....do you guys think that 12 rummynose tetras will be godd in the 100?

[Dany]

6 Discus
12 Rummynose tetras
8-10 marble hatchet fish
10-12 cories(panda or dwarf..not sure yet)
?-Ottos
4-german blue rams
possible rare pleco( not sure on which one yet)

What about some nice Cardinal Tetras. I've always found they go great with discus!

do you guys think that 12 rummynose tetras will be good in the 100?

I have about 11 rummynose tetras, they are great. Very active and they don't distrub the discus.

Dany

[unfamous]

What about some nice Cardinal Tetras. I've always found they go great with discus!

So u think i could add some cardinal tetras to the list of fish i already have?

[Dany]

It depends. If you have enough filtration in the tank it will be fine. In my 55g bb with bogwood is way over stocked, I have about:
28 cardinal tetras
11 rummynose tetras
6 glow light tetras
6 random tetras
2 clown loach
1 pleco
7 discus

They are all doing fine and the water is always crystal clear. But I do have more filtration then a 55g would require. Hydro V (up to 125g), Pre-filer Max III( for 40g and over), HOB filer with 2 biological sponges( each 80g total= 160g). Also, I do 40-50% water changes every other day.

The key is to have good filtration and keep up with water changes. If you have enough of these then I think you can add some more Cardinal Tetras.

Some might disagree but i've had no problems with the tank and everything seem good. So… from my experience I would recommend you add some more cardinal tetras…lol… only because they look great!!!

Dany

[unfamous]

well im using the mega flow sump filter which can pump up to 115 gallons so i might think anout gettin some of those or jus add more rummynoses