Stocking Advice needed

[Janntom]

hi, I'm new to this hobby and would appreciate some advice...
I have a 125 gallon tank (450 litres). It's lightly planted with gravel over sand substrate. I currently have
8 neon tetras
6 mollies plus a good few fry perhaps 10
8 guppies plus a couple fry
4 shrimp
8 golden barbs
4 cherry barbs
3 sucker fish who's name beings with a
A few small random snails who snuck in with the gravel...
So, I'd love some bigger type fish over time who won't annoy my current fish, but I'd like to have the number of fry controlled too but not to risk my current guys. Any suggestions? Was thinking small angel fish but that seems to be a future death sentence for my neon tetras...

 

[Janntom]

To answer the unasked, dimensions are 1500 x 50 x 50 cms
Temperature 26*c
Kh 7.25
Ph 7
Other parameters good

 

[Byron]

Welcome to TFF.

Angelfish would not do well in this tank with many of the present fish. Angelfish are sedate, cruising among branches and plants. All barbs are active swimmers (the cherry perhaps less so, an exception), and this annoys sedate fish to no end. There is also the possibility of grown angelfish eating neons, true, I had this happen many years ago. And shoaling fish do tend to become fin nippers when in the presence of sedate fish, and barbs are notorious for this.

Do you have the GH? KH is stated as 7.25, am I correct assuming this is in degrees, not ppm or mg/l? The GH is important for fish because of the minerals calcium and magnesium, with some fish needing more (mollies in particular heree) while soft water fish (neons) need none or as low as possible. Barbs are sort of in the middle, but on the soft side if anything. "Sucker fish"...you didn't say which.

I think your tank length of 1500 cm should actually be 150 cm? I had a 5-foot (150 cm) 115g for 20 years until I got rid of it because I was afraid the brace would give out one day. Finding larger fish is not easy. I used mine as an Amazonian river with 150 or so fish. Angelfish or discus would be good, or gourami like the Pearls, but not with the present tankmates.

Byron.

 

[Janntom]

Thanks Byron. My kit doesn't measure gh so can't tell... yes meant 150cm...
Thanks for the info. Was hoping for a community tank but would still like a few bigger boys of some description in there if it's possible. Perhaps it's not.

 

[Janntom]

150 x 50 x 60

 

[Janntom]

Ancistrus is the sucker looking guys

 

[Byron]

Thanks Byron. My kit doesn't measure gh so can't tell... yes meant 150cm...
Thanks for the info. Was hoping for a community tank but would still like a few bigger boys of some description in there if it's possible. Perhaps it's not.

You may be able to ascertain the source water GH (and confirm the KH and maybe pH) from the website of your municipal water authority. Many give water data. Or they can tell us if asked directly. No need for a kit to measure GH unless one intends adjusting the parameters which is another matter and not something I am suggesting. Once you know the GH you can work from that. And we can consider suitable fish species. There are some, but we need to know the parameters. There are some lovely larger cyprinids for example, or rainbowfish, or gourami...but each of these depends upon the GH/pH as they vary.

 

[Byron]

Ancistrus is the sucker looking guys

OK, fine. Bristlenose plecos (Ancistrus sp.) will not be problematic.

 

[Janntom]

Hi Byron, I'm in Ireland so they don't tell us anything about the water. The water in my area is generally hard and very tasty but bad for kettles. Water from our taps here is all drinkable from the Shannon river with fluoride added. Good enough I would think.

 

[Byron]

Hi Byron, I'm in Ireland so they don't tell us anything about the water. The water in my area is generally hard and very tasty but bad for kettles. Water from our taps here is all drinkable from the Shannon river with fluoride added. Good enough I would think.

Well, good maybe for some fish, not for others, though until we know the numbers... do you have a reliable local fish store that would test GH and KH? If yes,be sure to get the numbers, not some vague "medium" that is meaningless. I'm hesitant to suggest fish without knowing the parameters.

 

[Janntom]

18 gh

 

[Byron]

18 gh

Is this 18 degrees (dGH or dH), or 18 mg/l (which = ppm)? I would assume the former if as you said the water is hard.

 

[Janntom]

Degrees I think

 

[Byron]

Given the hardness, I would consider some of the rainbowfish.