# Stocking a 40 gallon breeder



## Careful (Mar 26, 2013)

1. Corys are great! Get some cories. Those spotted/striped ones are super cute.

2. A 40b is probably too small for angelfish. They get Much bigger than people think (10+ inches tall and 6-8 long). Sure, people will way they keep angelfish in 20 gallon tanks so really it's up to you on how much space you feel is appropriate for a fish but personally I wouldn't do it. Get a 100 gallon to go with the 40 and keep them in there.

4. Rams are fun and interesting. They have a lot of cool behaviors and can be pretty hardy depending on how they were bred/raised. Get whichever appeals to you more as both Bolivians and GBR are really fun fish to watch that are always interacting with each other in interesting ways. Get a group of 4-6 younger ones and let them pair off or get an already established pair. Five star fish would own again.

5. Get some small fish if you find them interesting and enjoy watching them. Don't get some if you don't. Some other fish that would work well in a 40b and are worth looking in to are pearl gouramis (can be kept in groups) or other gouramis (if you are okay with a solo gourami), bristlenose plecos, dwarf neon/praecox rainbow fish, small barbs, apistogramma, kribensis (though maybe they would need a bigger tank), assorted small danios/tetras/rasboras, heck really most fish that are less than 6" long and not ridiculously active. Good luck!


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## FatherLandDescendant (Jul 24, 2014)

Junivile Angels would grow to be cramped in a 40b, I have a 40b myself and wouldn't put Angels in one, they're just to shallow IMHO. Also if you do keep angels danios, and most (if not all) tetras will nip their fins and torment them, plus their highly active swiming activities would be stressful to the more slower paced Angel mentality. The GBRs would do fine in any tank but use to be prone to SDS (sudden death syndrome) for no apparent reason, and I'm of the mind that ones tank should be reasonably mature before housing these fish, just my opinion.


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## psych (Jan 7, 2013)

Thank you for your advice. I started out with a 20 gallon tank but decided against it at the last minute in hopes Angels could be kept. At the moment I have the biggest tank my situation allows for. I'll be upgrading in the future to something a little larger, maybe 75 or more. I've seen exactly what you said of people keeping Angels in smaller tanks so I figured this would be fine, for now. I'm still going back and forth on the idea of maybe getting one or two juveniles and then upgrading them as they get bigger. Mostly because its what my wife wants to see in there.

If I did, what else could be kept with them?

I don't really love the idea of smaller fish in a tank like this. I only considered it because people said dither fish would help the others feel more comfortable. Is that not necessary? I really like the idea of a ram only tank, and might go this route.

Thanks again for the opinions. Anyone else? This is always the hardest part for me.


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## toddnbecka (Sep 4, 2006)

IMO Ram's are overrated; GBR's need higher temps than most other fish are happy with and aren't particularly hardy. Here's a few pics of a less-known SA cichlid I really like, a pair would be fine in a 40 breeder with or w/out other fish.
Pair in breeding dress (pretty much permanent after they pair off regardless of breeding status):


Male:


Female, looks the same but shorter fins:


Blue spangles become more numerous as they mature:




Yes, they will breed, lol:


With any cichlid whether angels, Ram's, or any other pair-bonding species start with 5-6 juvies and move out the extras after you have an established pair. Simply putting a random male and female together isn't likely to work out.
Angels would be better suited to a 75 or 90, in that size tank you could actually keep a larger group of 10-12 adults. Smaller numbers aren't good, but with a large group the conspecific aggression gets diluted enough that no one fish gets beat up.


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## psych (Jan 7, 2013)

Appreciate your feed back. I've been going back and forth on Angel's most of the day. Leaning towards no right now. What kind of fish is that in the pictures? Are they as docile as some of the rams are made out to be? Whatever I get I would want to keep them with the cory's I mentioned earlier. Created a sand substrate just for them. Are they a hardy fish or very temperamental?


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## toddnbecka (Sep 4, 2006)

They're a Nicaraguan fish, Australoheros oblongum. Only been imported once some years ago, never been found/collected in the wild since then, but are still bred and available in the hobby. Quite hardy fish, prefer lower temps, rough on conspecifics when they pair off but not bad on other species. There's some available on aquabid now. I have a pair with fry several weeks old that won't be large enough to move along for months. There are also a number of Gymnogeophagus species from the same region that would mix well, similar requirements. Not sure about Cory temp requirements, never been a fan of those, research anything/everything before you stock it. (You wanted opinions... LOL.)


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## ErtyJr (Jun 21, 2014)

As I do in basically all threads asking about stocking, I will recommend apistogramma. I currently am breeding my apistogramma cacatuoides. Look into the fish they are gorgeous and stay fairly small. You may turn out to love them like me! I recommend this fish so often because I am 29 years old, have been keeping fish since a very small child, and I only found out these fish exist earlier this year. Check em out!


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