German Blue Ram tank stocking advice?

[SuperNinjaDragon]

Hello, there! I'm new to this community, so please do tell me if I'm posting in the wrong place.

 

I am aiming to loosely imitate the Venezuelan basin biotope, and was wondering if any species in my plan is incompatible, or if any other species are recommended.

I am concentrating on the german blue rams, I just love their beautiful colours and iridescence! 

 

Below are all the species I plan to stock for a long 50-150L tank:

• Blue Ram x2-5 (any good breeders?) Note! I am not aiming to breed rams - is an all female community fine; or must they have one male and others female; an all males group will fight I assume?
• Cardinal Tetra x10-20 AND/OR Rummynose Tetra x10-20
• Pygmy Corydoras x6-10
• Apistogramma x2-6 (Should tank be larger as they may be territorial against rams? Any species in particular which will match my planned setup - temps, pH, tankmates?)
• Pleco x1-4 (Any species that is small, beautiful and not too hard to come by? There are too many L numbers for me)
• Water changes (I am unsure what a good schedule will be, 25% weekly? Also, any recommended gravel vacs or such? My current method of cleaning tanks would not fit a large tank)
• pH: 5-7 (Is there a way to maintain pH without using chemicals which may cause too much swing? Would driftwood be enough?)
• Temperature (C): 26-29

 

If you happen to also know any low maintenance plants that can be grown in this setup, please do tell me! My current knowledge of plants is rather  small, so the only species I could think of was anubias. 

 

Any help, advice and recommendations will be very much appreciated, thank you!

[Link2Hell]

Hi and welcome to ACE 

50-150Lt is a pretty large variance in tank size especially with a stocking list like that

what area do have available for the tank ?

I think seeing as you want a long tank maybe a standard 90cm unit would work

90 x 32 x 45cm approx. 130 Lt but going to 90 x 45 x 45 cm would give a better footprint and be approx. 180 Lt

what filtration do you intend to use ?

once you answer these questions then you can think of a stock list

do you have room for a water storage drum ? 

Sydney tapwater is just over neutral and low hardness this will give the acid/neutral pH with 30% weekly WC

but if you can do a couple of 20% changes a week this would be better 

stability of water chemistry is related to the carbonate hardness of the water so low kH or soft water can 

create a crash due to infrequent water changes and I recommend looking at a neutral level of 6.8-7.2 pH 

these are not wild caught fish so are normally quite happy in that range and filter bacteria work better here than 

in a low pH system which can be subject to crashing from a drop in the maintenance schedule

Plants Anubia, Java Fern, Bobilitis,  Crypts even the humble Val  ….  what lighting will be used 

 

[SuperNinjaDragon]

Thank you so much for the advice, @Link2Hell! I will try to maintain a neutral water pH and keep up a schedule of 20% twice a week when I set it up.

Plants sound great, I can propagate my existing anubias too, nice!

I'm eyeing these two tanks at the moment: 130L (https://www.petbarn.com.au/fish/aquariums-stands/horizon-130-glass-starter-kit-w-stand-130l-90x36x42) and 180L (https://www.petbarn.com.au/fish/aquariums-stands/horizon-182-glass-starter-kit-stand-182l-120x36x45). They apparently come with a filter but I might upgrade to another sponge filter or hang-on filter since there are no specifications on what filter is in the kit. Lighting used will likely be a low watts one, since I'm not aiming to make plants grow faster. If there's any cheaper tanks somewhere I'd have to take a look.

(Irrelevant, but also thinking of getting a 50L as a quarantine / aquascape tank)

My relatives have some water storage drums that they should be able to spare. This is a dumb question but... what do I need them for? Making it easier for water changes?