Possible Addition of Top Dwelling Fish

[Telsiph]

Good Evening!

I'm working on putting the finishing touches on my 110G. Although SA Cichlids are the primary focus of the tank, the size has restricted the amount I can actually add (plus some of these were grandfathered in from a previous tank). The tank has been running smoothly for the last month and I'd like to think that I'm on the last steps to having everything in a position that the fish can just grow and thrive.

A little information on my setup, the tank is a 110 Gallon tall tank (so it is only 4 feet long) that is currently stocked with

4 medium silver dollars
Large green severum
Small green terror
Small salvini
Large pleco
Fully grown Red tailed shark
Fully grown Raphael cat fish

There are no current issues and everyone is living in harmony (for now, things may get a little crazy once the terror and salvini mature)). Part of me thinks I should leave the tank be, but I figure it is best to get any additions handled now rather than down the line. I am using an in tank filter, an Emperor 400 HoB filter and a SunSun 525 Canister Filter.

Basically I'm wondering if there are any fish that tend to swim near the top of the tank that I could add to this setup. The Red Tail and Raphael never leave the bottom, the 3 Cichlids mostly stay near the bottom and have various territories but they do hang around the middle from time to time, and the 4 Silver Dollars consistently stay along the middle but rarely go towards the top. This being a very tall tank unfortunately leaves little room for territory claiming Cichlids at the bottom. While there is tons of space for big mamma Severum when she decides to swim about, I'd love to have something that stays near, or at least heavily frequents, the top. Ideally this would be my last addition as I do not believe the tank can support anything else once they are all fully grown, but feel free to let me know if I'm wrong in that regard.

I've got plenty of hiding spaces around the bottom, some massive drift wood to swim through, but from then on to the top it is pretty much empty to give everyone plenty of swimming room. Unfortunately this just makes the top look barren unless it is feeding time. I have not found anything that seems like it would be a good match for this particular tank, but it's possible I'm missing something. The tank was a steal so I can't complain too much about running into this issue, but I'd love to find some way to maximize it without stressing the fish!

Thanks!

 

[jaws7777]

Whats are the dimensions of the tank ? I would leave it be. When ever i add something to my established tank there is always a problem took me a over a year to get the stocking right. I say if its working dont mess with it.

What do you nitrates look like between wc's ?

 

[Telsiph]

Yeah that thought crossed my mind. It's been running well for a month so it is "established" but if I'm going to add one more this is going to be the time to do it. It's purely for aesthetic reasons because these guys love to hide. The tank's dimensions are 48 x 18 x 30. My next water change is Wednesday, and currently nitrates are at 20 ppm and nitrites are at 0 ppm with no ammonia. I snagged my cell phone and decided to took a real quick video to give you an idea. The salvini and raphael are not shown because they are camera shy.

Hell if you have any recommendations on what I could do to make the tank look better over all (though I think it is coming together pretty amazingly right now thanks to the help of forum goers in the last month!)

Thanks for your time!

 

[Telsiph]

I've got a member on a similar forum recommending Rainbowfish. They don't seem to exclusively swim at the top, but I've seen some videos where they are fairly highly swimmers which might keep them far enough away from the Cichlid aggression. None of the Cichlids chase the Silver Dollars and they are mid range swimmers (Even the Severum whom is currently spawning. I've got a rock full of eggs right now). The Boesemani look like they get to be 3 or 4 inches and might be able to work in this tank. A lot of it is going to boil down to the GTs temperament after he reaches maturity I'd say, and if he ends up being super aggressive I may end up having to return someone.

Going forward with the assumption that he won't become super aggressive, could these fish work? I know they are schooling fish, would I be able to add 2 or 3 without too much bioload on the tank? I've got a lot of filtration but the nitrates do tend to get near the 20 ppm range right before water change time. It is likely my feeding habits to be frank, I'm still learning the proper amounts to feed so that even the bottom feeders get enough (gotta drop a lot of pellets for them to make it to the bottom!)

 

[Rocksor]

If you didn't have so much fish already, a group of festivum cichlids would complete the top.

 

[thomeski]

pink tail chalceus
I have one in my 125, stays on top never lower than 5 inches. Not moving a lot, though. Doesn't bother any body and gets away from my large chocolate cichlid

 

[Telsiph]

That's an interesting idea Thomeski, I've never seen him before! He's a very good looking fish. Gonna seriously consider him and do some research.

I see him listed as aggressive, do you think he'll pick on the Silver Dollars anymore than the grumpy Severum does when she's guarding her eggs? Looks like he will get up to 10 inches, how large is yours? I'd be concerned about the nitrates with a fish that size and the amount of fish I currently have, but I might need to look into bi-weekly water changes regardless just to keep them healthy. A lot of people recommend having some top floating plants with him, and my tank top is pretty much empty right now, do you have any top floating plants with him?

I wish there was a live plant I could put in here with the Severum. Would help with the nitrates and stress, but she tears up anything that isn't bolted to the ground so I'd be surprised if she left it alone.

Thanks for your time!

 

[Telsiph]

Also as a follow-up as I can't edit posts, did you make any special changes to your lid? Mine is solid/heavy and the front is completely covered but I have 2 huge holes in the back for the 3 filters, heaters, air pump, etc (which seems to be fairly standard). Sounds like he could easily get out if spooked in the wrong direction! I could likely come up with a ghetto covering system for some of it, but some would like need to remain open for the flow of water from the HOB.

 

[thomeski]

did quite bit of research before i bought it. I was looking for a top water fish as well, its about 10 inches more or less but fairly slender.I wouldn't say its aggressive, minds his own business. Its about same length as my male chocolate cichlid. Fairly spooky but recognise me as a food, has a small mouth and dosent really bother any body. I didnt do any changes to the lid, just regular glass tops. If you dont mind spending bit extra look for yellow fin pink tail. Gorgeous fish, they are seasonal, though.

 

[Telsiph]

Alright sounds good!

Local fish stores unfortunately don't have either of them. I might look online but I've never done any ordering online so I wouldn't even know where to start with that. But I definitely like him and think I'm going to go that route once I find one locally or on a website that seems reliable!

I just planted some water wisteria from my 10 gallon into the 110 in a few spots. The severum is already tearing one of them apart, lol, but it is in the corner near her nest so I kinda expected but wanted to see what happens. I'm hoping that some of it survives and helps with the nitrates, and if not then it will be a nice snack for the fish I suppose. Plenty where that came from as my 10 gallon is filthy with it!

Thanks again for the help!