Fish For My Large Dream Tank

So my partner has just bought me a Aqua One 1800RT tank and now I have the horrible job of figuring out what I'm going to put in it :p The dimensions are 180 x 60 x 66 cm (LxDxH) and 630 litres.

I was thinking about having a trio (1 male, two female) pearl gouramis, a pair of angelfish, five electric blue rams, two pairs of kribensis, three keyhole cichlids, three pictus catfish and two smaller varieties of pleco. I'll have lots of plants, driftwood and caves so the fish can establish their own territories.

I know that this is a lot of cichlids to have in one tank, but I figured that as long as they have a lot of room they'll be okay? Any advice would be very much appreciated.

I would also add about cichlids that it is not usually a good idea to mix species from different continents - kribs are African while angelfish, rams and keyholes are American. The continents have been separated for eons and the fish have evolved separately to the extent that they don't understand each other's signals and body language. This can lead to aggression.

And rams can be iffy in the water temp needed by the other fish. They do better at 29 to 30 deg C. If they have been tank bred for several generations they should be OK, but the danger is that the breeder has used a wild caught fish recently to add new blood to his stock. Wild caught fish don't cope with lower temps at all well, and that includes tank bred fish with a recent wild ancestor.

Regarding Sue's point about African and South American cichlids, there is another reason not to mix them; S. American cichlids have a preference for soft-water, African cichlids have a preference for hard water. This is another of those guideline thingies, so it won't always be true, but it's something to consider.

Okay, that does make sense. I've done some research into the Mbuna community tank idea and I really, really like it. The only problem is that I really like the look of lots of live plants and wood. I was under the impression that these cichlids were really rough on plants. Would it still be possible to have live plants with them if I chose my plants carefully?

Cool If the water from the tap isn't hard enough for the fish I'll be keeping, how do I make it harder?

Cool If the water from the tap isn't hard enough for the fish I'll be keeping, how do I make it harder?

Okee-dokee. Half-way down this page you'll find a heading: 'A Simple But Effective Rift Valley Cichlid Salt Mix' if you fancy making your own.

There is a great article here at Malawi Mayhem.

Or you could buy a ready made product such as this, available from here in the UK. This buffer needs to be mixed with Cichlid Lake Salt.... also available from a stockist near you.

There is a difference between Lake Malawi water and Lake Tanganyika water..... but I'm not sure what. It'll be somewhere.... Google is your friend (sometimes  )

My pleasure - I've learnt quite a lot, too.

Obviously there's some payback ( )..... and that's progress reports and pictures, please.