Stocking A 38G Aquarium

[neontetris]

Hi!
 
So, I've ended up with a 38 gallon (ish, a tiny bit larger) long tank that I'm in the slow process of setting up properly (it came with a filter, I need to purchase lighting and I have a heater). Cycling is coming to an end, so I'm considering the fish I want to stock it with.
 
I'd like a community tank, as the tanks I have at the moment are predominantly betta-inhabited. I was thinking of getting two large schools and one centrepiece fish, maybe a dwarf gourami or possibly even another betta. (I'm fond of blue rams as well, but I've heard that they're a bit more difficult to care for). I really like harlequins, so I was thinking I'd get those and some neons or cardinals. 
 
My question is: how many of each could I have in this tank? Are there any other suggestions as far as centrepiece fish go, or stocking in general? I am pretty new to the hobby, in spite of having had my other tanks for a little while now, so any help is appreciated.
 
Thanks!

 

[508]

Hi there, welcome to the forum.
 
38g is a great size, lots of space to work with and lots of options. 
 
You could easily get two large schools of smaller fish in there, Harlequin Rasboras or Cardinal Tetras are both very suitable. I'd say 10 or more each would be just fine. I also recommend the Rummynose Tetra, they school together a lot more than Cardinals, who in my experience just swim all over the place.
 
As for the centerpiece fish I'd go for a Gourami and/or a Ram. I have both a Pearl Gourami and German Blue Ram in my tank and for the most part they get along fine, unless the Pearl gets too close to the bottom of the tank on the left side at which point the Ram immediately chases him away. If you decide to go with a Gourami, Pearls and Honeys are the best for community tanks in my opinion.
 
Along those two you could also look into getting some catfish. In my eyes, a tropical tank is not completely without some cories or a pleco.
 
Panda and Sterbai cories look really nice, and you could easily get a group of 6 or more in your tank. Bristlenose Plecs and Otos would be good as well.

 

[Ninjouzata]

What sort of substrate do you have? While I think cories or maybe khuli loaches would be good for the bottom, they prefer sand.
 
Another centerpiece fish you might like are peacock gudgeons.

 

[neontetris]

Gosh, I seem to have more options than I'd originally thought!
 
I have black sand as a substrate, it came second hand with the tank which I was grateful for, expense-wise, although it turns out it also came with a colony of snails. I was vaguely considering getting yoyo loaches to help deal with that but I've read that they're a bit aggressive with smaller fish and that concerns me. Are there any other snail eating fish that I could consider that wouldn't be aggressive to their tankmates? 
 
I do really like Khulis, but unfortunately none of my local pet shots or fish stores ever seem to have them (I live in Tasmania, things are pretty limited). I'd like to get cories though, they seem adorable. Plecos I'm not all that fond of.
 
Those peacock gudgeons are rather stunning, I'll have a look around to see if that's an option. Regarding rams, am I right in thinking that they're a little bit difficult, maintenance-wise?
 
So, essentially, I guess I'm looking at something like this now:
 
- 10ish Harlequins
- 10ish rummynoses or cardinals
- 6 (maybe??) sterbai cories or maybe some otos (if this doesn't work I could leave out one of the other schools so that there's more room for the catfish)
- pearl gourami or a peacock gudgeon
 
Is that too ambitious a stocking list for my tank size?

Also, regarding adding fish, what kind of order should I go in? I'd assume that it should go from least to most territorial.

 

[Ninjouzata]

Why are you wanting to get rid of the snails? You could get assassin snails to get rid of them. Or putting in a piece of lettuce or zucchini at night and removing in the morning.
It's really not advised to get a fish to take care of them for you.  The yo-yo loaches would be a bit too much for your tank as they get 6" and should be kept in groups of 6+. They can be meanies too like you said.
 
Aw, that's a shame. Khulis are neat. Cories are great too though!
 
I havn't had rams so can't say. German are usually more delicate than the bolivian (from what I've heard)
 
Another pretty centerpiece fish would be apistogramma.
 
I think your list sounds good, though I'm not the best at stocking numbers so you may want to wait for someone else's thoughts on that.
 
How have you cycled the tank? You can stock all in one go if you want. But if you want to go in sections, add the centerpiece last. The gourami in particular as they can be territorial.

 

[neontetris]

I'm pretty sure assassin snails aren't available in Australia, as far as I'm aware. I'd just been going on the assumption that they'd eat any plants I put in there, which is why I've been wanting to get rid of them, but honestly I'm reconsidering adding real plants just because I don't want to complicate things (like I said, I am quite new) and might just go with silk, as there are some really nice ones at my pet stores (plus, the snails are pretty cute). Are there any drawbacks to having silk plants as opposed to real ones? Some fish require heavily planted tanks and I was wondering if fake would be a reasonable substitute. Duly noted regarding the yoyo loaches, I'll throw that thought by the wayside. 
 
I've cycled the tank fishless, with some carbon from one of my other tanks to help speed things along.
 
Goodness, apistos are nothing short of stunning. Well, I guess it'll come down to wandering around my LFS and figuring things out from there. I'll work on my schools first.

 

[Ninjouzata]

Sorry I forgot that you're in Aus It depends what type of snails you have I think. Even my ramshorns and pond snails don't seem to bother the plants.
 
Live is always good IMO, if you get hardy, low light plants, it really doesn't complicate anything, and the fish appreciate it. Real plants will take up nitrates.
You can do silk though if you like.
 
Lots of beautiful small fish to choose from!

 

[508]

If you have black sand, I would recommend panda cories over the sterbai ones. They will stand out a lot more.
 
Your stocking seems perfectly fine, I'm sure you could get a couple of otos with the cories in too.

 

[Ninjouzata]

I'd recommend albinos on the black, but I'm sure panda would look good too.

 

[neontetris]

Sterbai are the nicest looking cories as far as I'm concerned, but I do see your point and I'll probably go for albino. The albino cories that I've seen at my LFS are ridiculously active little guys, so that'll work out nicely.
 
Also, I just found out yesterday that one of the places near me allows you to order in specific fish they don't normally stock, so I've got a whole range open to me now!
 
Plantwise, I'll probably get a couple anubias and some silk in the interim see how they go, and depending on things I might change to fully planted down the track.
 
Thanks for all your help, guys!

 

[Ninjouzata]

I agree on the sterbai. I love the way they look. I have them and albinos
 
That's awesome, so glad you found a place like that!
 
Anubias and some silk sounds like a good start to me
 
Looking forward to what you come up with!