225 Stocking Opinions

[Hamsnacks]

So starting to work on the 225 Gallon Tank and I think I know which route I want to go with.
Wanted your Opinions and thoughts.

The tank Dimensions:

72" Wide
30" Deep
24" High

Stock:

30 x RummyNose Tetras
30 x Cardinal Tetras
6 x Discus (Breeder says they are used to colder water, will have to verify)
15 x Panda Cories or Similar
15 x Pictus Catfish (I know they don't really match the look but been really into them lately)
and then the odd fish here and there, SAE, BN Pleco...

Or if you guys have better options for bottom-dwelling fish, would love Clown Loaches but those guys get huge, maybe other loaches instead.

In regards to plants, I think I'm going to keep it simple with different types of carpet plants, moss on some branches, and maybe medium length plants at most with rocks.

I currently have 6 4ft T5HO 54w Sunblasters in almost a Zig-Zag formation, do you guys think that would be overkill for the plants, should I maybe switch to LED or should be fine. In my 125, I did get a good amount of Algae but this tank is double the size.

Let me know what you guys think!

Thanks

 

[Colin_T]

15 pictus catfish and 30 rummynose tetras and 30 cardinal tetras = 15 fat pictus and no tetras.

discus can live in 24C water but most people keep them at 28C. I prefer 26C and if they get sick raise it to 28C.

If you want unusual catfish with a small mouth, Hoplosternum or Diadema catfish. Possibly even black lancer catfish.

A group of 10-20 Botia lohachata would love your tank and move around in 1 big group. Alternatively just have 2 groups of Corydoras that look completely different. Possibly panda Cories and Brochis splendens.

 

[Byron]

If the discus are a certainty here, then you will have to select tankmates very carefully. First, they must have warmth (no idea what the breeder may mean by "cooler water" but this is contrary to all the discus authorities) and this limits many other "tropical" species (panda cories for example would literally burn out). Second, discus do not appreciate active swimmers, day or night. That lets out pictus on both counts in addition to them eating smaller fish. And loaches are not advisable with discus either, same reason.

Cories in general do not like the warmer temperatures that discus should have, even the few so-called "warm" species may not be advisable.

 

[Hamsnacks]

15 pictus catfish and 30 rummynose tetras and 30 cardinal tetras = 15 fat pictus and no tetras.

I wasn't a fan of my 3 Pictus in my 125 just cause they were too skittish, but I now have them in a temporary 40 gallon and they now come to the glass when I go near, so I thought an additional 12 might look cool. I heard they can eat other tankmates, the weird thing is I have a colony of shrimp in the tank with them, and the population keeps growing. Attached a few pictures.

Might go with your Loach option though, think those would look great.

If the discus are a certainty here, then you will have to select tankmates very carefully.

Initially, I said Discus wasn't an option due to their mouths and their temp requirements, but the more I kept looking into them the more every site would say RN and Cardinals were great tankmates, and that breeders can get Discus used to cooler water temperatures, instead of their natural warmer water.

Might need to relook into that, cause I get what you're saying with the faster-moving fish and all.

 

[Byron]

Initially, I said Discus wasn't an option due to their mouths and their temp requirements, but the more I kept looking into them the more every site would say RN and Cardinals were great tankmates, and that breeders can get Discus used to cooler water temperatures, instead of their natural warmer water

Anyone can post on the internet and proclaim themselves expert, without being so. Jack Wattley knew more about discus than everyone on this forum. As does Heiko Bleher who has spent the majority of his life in places that are inaccessible to most of us. Heiko on discus [cited from Practical Fishkeeping, June 13, 2016]:

Heiko Bleher has collected data on Discus habitats for the past 40-50 years, so he knows the answer to this one...

Each species is found in waters of a specific temperature and chemistry and they have evolved to live in these conditions over millenia. This is also why they are isolated from each other, except during extreme floods.

I have collected data on the water they are found in over the past 40-50 years and used scientific equipment and taken measurements at depths of 1.5-2.5m/5-8.2’ where the Discus live.

Symphysodon discus, the Heckel Discus, lives in water with an average temperature of 28.6°C/83.5°F. The highest I measured was 31.7°C/89°F in one biotope and the lowest was 25°C/77°F. S. discus is a blackwater species.

Symphysodon aequifasciatus, the Green Discus, lived in waters with an average temperature of 28.2°C/82.7°F through 1997. Prior to 1996 the average was 27.4°C/81.3°F. The highest I measured was 31°C/87.8°F and the lowest in its biotope was 24.6°C/76.3°F. It also lives in blackwater.

Symphysodon haraldi, the Blue or Brown Discus, lives in a water average at 28.8°C/83.8°F The highest temperature I ever recorded was 32.4°C/90.3°F and the lowest was 23.5°C/74.3°F.

It is the most tolerant, as regards water parameters and temperatures, of all three species.​