South American Stream Themed Aquarium?

Hey, I am setting up an aquarium. Found some neat info on this site, thought i'd ask for opinions. Does anyone see any huge problems with the setup im aiming for:


36x18x14, 50(ish) gallon tank. Backplanted with val, pygmy chain sword, java lance ferns, java moss and hairgrass. ABout 2 inches of 5mm gravel (with plantfood in it), a big chunk of nice wood and plenty of large river stones forming hiding places and a natural look. 4 x pictus catfish and 3 x Hoplo catfish in the bottom region, 7 x Bleeding Heart Tetra in the middle region, 3 or 5 x blackwinged hatchetfish in the top region and 3 x octocinclus for algae. Heavily planted at the rear, with lots of swimming space for the pictus. Will be feeding with standard flakes, frozen worms and live guppies.


I do realize i will need a larger tank in a year or so for the pictus. :)





thanks for any feedback


Steve

South American Stream Themed Aquarium?
Sounds pretty good to me. Only thing, the pictus cats get to be about 5 inches, the hoplos about 6-8 inches. I'm just wondering if that's too many for the bottom area, especially when they start growing. And I know pictus cats love swimming back and forth.





You could also get 1 or 2 more oto cats, recommended 1 for every 10 gallons.





And, I'd leave out the feeder guppies. If you get them from the store, it's a good way to introduce bacteria, parasites, or algae into your tank. You could breed them yourself, but I wouldn't. The fish will get more nutritional value out of the flakes and worms. I would also include some spirulina flakes or veggie crisps, algae wafers, frozen/thawed brine shrimp, and sometimes some cut up pieces of salad or cocktail shrimp. Sounds neat-good luck with it!
Reply:i agree with tikitiki that you may be slightly overdoing the catfish at the moment, i know you plan for a larger tank but maybe just keep what you can fit for now, the fish will appreciate it! and the hatchets will appreciate being in the larger group of 5, and never leave your tank lid open with your back turned with hatchets! they're fantastic jumpers.





other than that, the tank sounds pretty.

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