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This is what I have in my heavily panted, cycled 60 gallon (48"long by 16" deep)tank:

4 Angels
3 Bolivian Rams
3 Apistogrammas Cacatoides 1:2
4 Pearl Gouramis
5 Spotted Cories
8 Harlequin Rasboras

Filtration is by a Penguin 330 and a Penguin 170. There are many caves and other hiding places.

All the fish are juvies. Is this overstocked, have room for more, or just right?

Thanks,
Bill

Looks like a very nice setup!

I don't think that you're overstocked at all. In fact, you probably have room to add a few more small fish. I would increase the number of cories by at least two, and you can add another couple of rasboras if you want to. Cories should really be kept in groups of at least six or so, which is the main reason for adding more of them. Besides, who doesn't like cories?

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

Sirbooks,
Thanks for the reply(and the compliment!).

Everyone likes Cories, of course! I will probably add a few more shortly. I was wondering if I should add another ram, or if three is enough to keep them happy. The way they interact among each other and with the male apisto is very entertaining! Unfortunately I haven't been able to sex them so I don't know what type I have.

Bill

Sexing rams is easy. I'm going to assume that you have German rams, since they seem to be the most common.

The third ray on a male ram's dorsal fin is much longer than the ones behind it, which is a trait that females do not share. Also, female German rams tend to have a round-ish pink area on their bellies. Some males may have this, but it is much smaller than that of the female.

Adding another ram would be a good idea, so that you end up with two pairs. Keeping German rams in pairs is a good way to go, since they seem to benefit from each other's presence. Hopefully you have at least one of each sex, to make pairing easy.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

Sirbooks,

My rams are Bolivians. I don't know if the sexing process is the same. Anyway I'ld love to have another as long as the tank won't get too crowded and the apistos will tolerate them. The apistos are definitely more aggresive than the rams!

Bill

The apistogrammas should do all right with another ram, as they are usually pretty peaceful (for a cichlid).

As for sexing Bolivian rams, that can be a tricky business. Male rams usually have longer 'threads' on the ends of their dorsal and caudal (tail) fins than females do. Also, female Bolivian rams *supposedly* have a bit more red on their abdomens than do males. These two methods of sexing are best applied to mature, older fish, as sexing juveniles is really tough.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

Sirbooks,
I'm going to have to wait to see what sexes my rams are I guess. In any case except for the fact that one is a little smaller they are identicle. Maybe they are all the same sex. No trouble telling the cacatoos apart, that's for sure!

Bill

i think even if you upped the rams and added more corys ann rabsorbas you would have room for 2 upside down catfish

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''All the clown fish and yellow tangs in the world cant save you now!''

Alex,
Thanks for the suggestion. I'll have a look at the upside down cats. I have some fun choices to make!

Bill

Yes, your tank has room for many different fish. As most of them are on the lower aggessive side, I would recommend you try to keep them that way. It will be a beautiful tank when they all grow out.

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There is always a bigger fish...

The idea was to have a peaceful, relaxing tank. I am pleased so far with how well everyone is getting along. The rams play-fight from time to time, and the male apisto occasionally chases a fish away, but I haven't seen any marks on anybody yet. Of course, the angels are still small, so I'll have to see how they do once they get to spawning age.

Bill