saqib

thanks for the warm welcome guys...a very good forum with great and helpful people...

guys i have another Q for you guys...i just started building mmy own custom made tank...dimensions are 5ft x 2ft x 2ft so it will hold roughly 150 gallons i.e. 560 litres...
i have two stocking options considering my water chemistry (pH around 8 kh 3.2)

option 1) kissing & blue gourami, tiger barb, bala, tinfoil, zebra danio and rainbow shark.
option 2) dwarf gourami, mollies, swordtails, platys and zebra danio

i'm asking well in advance cause i want to stock the tank with proper gravel, plants and thier colors etc..hiding places..

So guys which one should i opt for...and how many of each would you recommend...any other community options would be most welcome too...

jdhef

Rainbowfish for the most part like a higher ph and they are good community fish.

tkfury

I'm afraid I don't know much about any of those fish but given your pH - I'd say look into .. I believe its african cichlids. Not exactly what I'd consider a community but just thought I'd throw that out.

Honestly though I think I'd look into jdhef suggestion - I've had my eye on the smaller rainbows such as the dwarves and pygmies and with a tank that size you could get away with a number of differant schools.

saqib

the only problem i have with cichlids is thier agressiveness...i dont want bullies making everything in the tank and for that matter my life miserable!
if you could please educate mw further about options for a community tank or more info on the cichlids...i would greatly appreciate that

Amanda

You could have some angels. They cichlids, but are a little more peaceful. They just can't be with any small fish, they may see them as suitable for dinner.

Allie

My angelfish are worse than my Africans for aggression. I had one female who tore up everyone she came across. The are no such thing as small angelfish.
I have had standard tail female who is at least 6" tall and 4" wide and she is only a year and half old. My male veil tail is 7-8" tall and 4" same age.

Amanda

No, I didn't mean a small angelfish - I meant that they can't be housed with any small fish i.e. neons. Sorry for the confusion!

Laelanna

Something to consider with having live plants is a co2 injection system which will lower your ph and help your plants to grow better.