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Hey all

I am in the process of setting up a new 72 gallon community tank which will feature;

1 - severum
2 - 4 german rams
4 - Blue Acara
a school of tiger, banded, or rosy barbs
a school of zebra danios or beunos aires tertas


Now I need help in slecting appropriate algae eaters, as well as some other bottom feeders. I was thinking of some yoyo loaches and possibly a couple bristlenose plecos. Would this work or are there other alternatives.

I guess that I should add that I have 2 filters, 1 fluval 404 cannister filter and a wet/dry filter so I think I can handle some fish that have a high waste production.

Thanks in advance

Loaches would be a wonderful addition, as would the BNs, though with a tank that size and that much filtration, you could probably go with some of the slightly larger plecos such as mango, green phantom, royal, etc. If you can find them, a south american bumblebee cat would be excellent (they get about 6 inches).
Watch your rams carefully, as they are terribly small for those larger cichlids and might get bullied from their territories.

Hoping that there must be a word for everything I mean...

I was worried about the rams as well and was considering maybe 4-5 silver dollars instead, this is my first community tank as I previously only had species specific tanks so thanks for the info.

If your planning on planting this tank do NOT get silver dollars, as they will devour all of your plants within a short amount of time

YUp, silver dollars are vegetarian pirannahs and are voracious when it comes to eating anything green. You need something that's going to be able to hold their own against the cichlids without being a bully. Ctenopomas might be a cool addition, or gouramis.

Hoping that there must be a word for everything I mean...

Yoyo loaches would be great. You could easily have about 6 or 8 in a 72g. They are very entertaining. Give them some places to hide such as a big piece of DW and they will be happy. You could also get a BN.

*Kristin*

I would add some Yoyo's & BN's. The Yoyo's as bottom feeders & the BN's to keep the tank Algae free.


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I think you could do yoyos and one pleco, but not two, and be sure t feed them alge wafers ^_^

Inky

Should I wait and add my pleco until the end as they produce a lot of waste?

It doesn't matter when you add them. They are messy, but that doesn't mean you should add them last. You could wait until you have a little algae built up, but they will eat veggies and algae wafers too, so add them whenever you want.

*Kristin*

I'd also be concerned about the blue acaras. If you end up with a pair that breeds they could cause a lot of problems for the other fish in your tank.

I also vote for a group of yoyo loaches. Nice-sized fish for a 72g, good bottom-feeders, and very entertaining.

You didn't actually mention if the tank would be planted or not, but IME severums treat plants as snacks/meals too.

A nice larger gourami choice is a snakeskin. Good size and very peaceful.

Good luck with your tank

~~~~~~~~~~~~
There is water at the bottom of the ocean

Initially I was not going to plant the tank but last weekend I ended up getting some plants I like the way it is set up now so I definately will have to reconsider my options. I know the rams might be ok now if I avoid the blua acaras. As for the severum I was kinda hoping it would be the "showcase" fish of the tank. I just love how the interact and look. Outside of the snakeskin gourami what else might be a good alternative.

Thanks to everybody for all the advice

Cheers

p.s. maybe this should be moved to general section as we've kinda gone off topic.