mrramsey's 72gal Bowfront with Sump Project

[Hardy85]

And I could probably get you a good deal on a plant combo from a guy I know that lives near me. He just gave me a ton of plants for my 55, and could set you up nice for a decent price. Plus he can usually get anything you want in

[~firefly~]

I think 20-25 cardinals will look great, especially if you're planting, but may get a bit lost in that big tank. How about an awesome school of 50? They would look spectacular.

I big school of cory cats would also look good, and if you keep the braver species (less hiding) like the peppered or the panda cories you will have a nice active bottom feeder. I have 10/11 otos in my 120 litre tank and they hide in a group for much of the day - they do a great job keeping the leaves free of algae in my tank though.

If I had your tank I would do:
50 cardinals
20 cory catfish
15 otocinclus
and either
a pair of dwarf cichlids (like German Blue Rams)
or
shrimp (red cherry shrimp or amanos)

[Hardy85]

I think 20-25 cardinals will look great, especially if you're planting, but may get a bit lost in that big tank. How about an awesome school of 50? They would look spectacular.

I big school of cory cats would also look good, and if you keep the braver species (less hiding) like the peppered or the panda cories you will have a nice active bottom feeder. I have 10/11 otos in my 120 litre tank and they hide in a group for much of the day - they do a great job keeping the leaves free of algae in my tank though.

If I had your tank I would do:
50 cardinals
20 cory catfish
15 otocinclus
and either
a pair of dwarf cichlids (like German Blue Rams)
or
shrimp (red cherry shrimp or amanos)

I think in a tank this size, if planted a harem of apistos or two pair would be better. May be the occasional argument, but there would be plenty of places to go to get away.

[~firefly~]

Yes, actually, I'd agree with that ^^^ - one male and two or three females may work. My experience with dwarf cichlids is limited though. If you have a good, responsible, LFS you could see if you can get a bunch of them, then return the outcasts once you get two pairs.

[mrramsey]

With the exception of the otos the Corries I want to stay on a smaller scale with the fish. I also have to make the flow rate of this tank be about 500 gallons per hour. I'm still thinking about 25 to 30 cardinal tetras, 8 to 10 each of otos and Corys.

I like the idea of maybe some shrimp, but I also want some other small species I don't know if I want another school like a smaller school of 12 -15 green neons or something.

[~firefly~]

Understood - very sensible.

How about harlequin rasbora for a second school? Or rummynose tetra? They will school separately from the cardinals. I imagine if you get green neons they will all blend in with the cardinals, and arguably...be less impressive.

[Hardy85]

For small fish only I'd go

25 Cardinal Tetra
20 Rummynose (or the Harlequin rasbora)
20 Pygmy Cories
10 Otos

With these you could also add Red Cherry Shrimp, but not until the plants have settled and provided good cover

[mrramsey]

Well all I can say for sure to this point is 25 - 30 cardinals for the first addition, but probably 15 at a time since my QT tank is only 10g . Would love to be able to stock a bunch at once.

[Hardy85]

Buy a second 10g... problem solved

But you should think about a school of glass cats. In larger groups of them, they school tight, and won't stand out a ton, but be an interesting fish to see occasionally

[~firefly~]

Why would you quarantine the first batch? It's not like they'd infect anything else. Can't you buy 25-30 and stock all at once? Shouldn't be an issue with the cycle if you fishlessly cycle.