180 Gallon: Taking Fish Suggestions!

[MyraAlam]

another option in regards to algae (along wilt TONS of other health benefits for the fish) would be the addition of a uv sterilizer. i use them on just about all of my tanks. and even the ones outside in direct sunlight, do not grow algae.

a couple of bala sharks will be fine in your 180. they average around 14", and at adult sizes, a 72" tank is suggested. and thats what you have with the 180 and theyre very peaceful fish.

blind cave tetras are usually peaceful as well. ive never heard of them being fin nippers. id actually be more concerned about the rams if they end up breeding. but with a 6' tank, they will be able to defend a small area for themselves, while leaving enough room for your other fish to retreat to.

as far as glass cats, im not sure. i dont really keep small fish, so im probably not the best person to ask about them. the only reason i know anything about blind cave tetras is because i was deciding between them and my exodons a while back. (but once i got the exodons, it was no contest). im sure there are other people here who are well versed in small fish that could help you out. i mostly keep large angry fish. lol

"large angry fish" hahaha I see Despite that, you've been giving great advice I think I'll be going with the glass cats rather than the balas. Personally, I would prefer the balas, however, if I get 5-6 and they all get to be 14", I'm sort of worried about my cardinals starting to disappear one by one. Do you think that would happen? The loaches get big too, but as you said, it takes years. Moreover, even if the loaches were of that size I've heard that they're quite nice about not snacking on other tankmates.

 

[bitteraspects]

ive never had problems with my balas attacking other fish. so i couldnt say. in my experience theyre really peaceful. maybe with smaller neons it could be a problem, but cardinals are a little bigger.
loaches are really peaceful and playful. even when they get huge they will not attack your other fish.

 

[MyraAlam]

ive never had problems with my balas attacking other fish. so i couldnt say. in my experience theyre really peaceful. maybe with smaller neons it could be a problem, but cardinals are a little bigger.
loaches are really peaceful and playful. even when they get huge they will not attack your other fish.

Hmmm...what to do....if I keep balas, I'd probably have to limit it to 5 due to their size. (I love the clicking they make during feeding time by the way, it's very amusing). On the other hand, if I went with the glass catfish, I could probably keep a nice large shoal of them. Both of them are top/middle dwellers..hmm. I'll mull it over for awhile. In the meantime, I'm on the hunt for cory species that could comfortably live in my tank. I have to say I hardly pay attention to bottom dwellers, and so would like to put a bit of effort into my bottom dwellers for this tank. I have the tendency to overcrowd the top & middle regions of a tank, while leaving the bottom bare! Since this is such a dream tank, I really want it to be nicely balanced. I think the cories would do a great job. Dropping the lemon tetra & syno catfish ideas, I think the current setup I have is pretty great. Just need to sort out the aforementioned... Any and all suggestions welcome, as usual.

 

[MyraAlam]

After some more pondering and research, I think I'm going to stick with the balas after all. They're much hardier than the glass catfish and my tank should be able to house their adult sizes just fine. Moreover, they're still friendly even at that size. I'd be worried if I had Neons but Cardinals should be alright . The only thing left to do is to sort out which cory species to get. Can't wait until my list is complete! I know it'll obviously take awhile to get everyone established comfortably but it's still ridiculously exciting for me to stare at a finished stock list

 

[Inchworm]

Hi MyraAlam

My main concern with the larger fish, like the clown loaches, is not that you would overstock your tank, but rather that given their size and activity, a group of them might overwhelm some of the smaller bottom dwellers like corys. After considering them many times, I've never bought any for just that reason.

I've occasionally heard that the blind cave tetras can be nippy, but I've never seen it happen. My pair are at least five years old and have never given me a problem. In all that time the only fish I had with them that was even afraid, was a male betta. He would back off if he saw one of them coming. Since they don't have eyes, they swim around looking for bits of food in the water and it's possible he might have been nipped accidentally if he stayed in one place. They are not aggressive fish, but take food where they find it. The other fish ignore them and have never been bothered.

 

[MyraAlam]

Hi MyraAlam

My main concern with the larger fish, like the clown loaches, is not that you would overstock your tank, but rather that given their size and activity, a group of them might overwhelm some of the smaller bottom dwellers like corys. After considering them many times, I've never bought any for just that reason.

I've occasionally heard that the blind cave tetras can be nippy, but I've never seen it happen. My pair are at least five years old and have never given me a problem. In all that time the only fish I had with them that was even afraid, was a male betta. He would back off if he saw one of them coming. Since they don't have eyes, they swim around looking for bits of food in the water and it's possible he might have been nipped accidentally if he stayed in one place. They are not aggressive fish, but take food where they find it. The other fish ignore them and have never been bothered.

Hey there Inchworm

The balas and the clowns seem to have firmly found a place in my heart and are rather determined to stay there A friend of mine was suggesting that if I were to get them, that I'd probably have to separate them off into a much larger tank once they reach a bigger size. I do understand your point, even though neither of them would take a snap at any of the little ones, they may just as easily be terrorized by their very large presence.

Oh, and someone suggested that I keep the temperature of the tank to 78 since the keyholes and rams would prefer that, but the rainbows and others would not tolerate anything higher. If I were to do that, then would the sterbai & adolfo corys be alright? In place of adolfo though, I was considering getting bronze corys. I hear they're much less fussy about water parameters.

Thanks again

 

[Inchworm]

Oh, and someone suggested that I keep the temperature of the tank to 78 since the keyholes and rams would prefer that, but the rainbows and others would not tolerate anything higher. If I were to do that, then would the sterbai & adolfo corys be alright? In place of adolfo though, I was considering getting bronze corys. I hear they're much less fussy about water parameters.

All corys have a range of temperatures that they can survive in. For most of them, however, the higher temperatures are not optimal. They seem to thrive in cooler tanks. C. sterbai are an exception and I've even known of them spawning in a discus tank that was over 80 F.

C. aeneus (both the bronze and albino) are excellent corys, but are as fussy about water parameters as any of the others. All corys require clean, well oxygenated water to remain in good health.

There are somewhere around 300 species of corydoras, with new ones still being discovered as South America is being explored. Some are very rare and just about impossible to find, but there are many different species available regularly or on a seasonal basis. I'll add some pictures to your cory thread to give you some more ideas. You might consider allocating room for corys, but not making a final decision about which ones to get, until the time actually comes to get them.

 

[MyraAlam]

Oh, and someone suggested that I keep the temperature of the tank to 78 since the keyholes and rams would prefer that, but the rainbows and others would not tolerate anything higher. If I were to do that, then would the sterbai & adolfo corys be alright? In place of adolfo though, I was considering getting bronze corys. I hear they're much less fussy about water parameters.

All corys have a range of temperatures that they can survive in. For most of them, however, the higher temperatures are not optimal. They seem to thrive in cooler tanks. C. sterbai are an exception and I've even known of them spawning in a discus tank that was over 80 F.

C. aeneus (both the bronze and albino) are excellent corys, but are as fussy about water parameters as any of the others. All corys require clean, well oxygenated water to remain in good health.

There are somewhere around 300 species of corydoras, with new ones still being discovered as South America is being explored. Some are very rare and just about impossible to find, but there are many different species available regularly or on a seasonal basis. I'll add some pictures to your cory thread to give you some more ideas. You might consider allocating room for corys, but not making a final decision about which ones to get, until the time actually comes to get them.

Oh no I hope my cory dreams don't have to die because I'm keeping the temperature too high for them. C. sterbai is definitely on my list. I like your advice and will take it- I'll make sure to book reservations in my tank for the corys but probably won't firmly decide on a species until the time comes. In the meantime though, I'll dive into research. I also noticed that most corys prefer cooler water which is a shame, because I really did look forward to keeping quite a large number. I'm pathetic when it comes to bottom dwellers, and so finding the corydoras catfish was a big deal.

This does bring me to something else though, do you think it'd be wiser to give up the cory idea entirely and maybe search for other bottom dwellers instead? I'd hate to keep corys if it was too warm for them in there, suffering a cory massacre is not my idea of fun....and since my rams and keyholes are here to stay, lowering the temperature wouldn't make them happy either. Let me know

 

[MyraAlam]

While my internal cory struggle continues, I just wanted to post that I've officially (yes, officially) taken balas off the list. They're gorgeous and I'd even have room for a group of adults- not to mention they're so peaceful- but I think their very size may end up overwhelming and unsettling a lot of the tiny fish in here, such as *Cardinal raises tiny fin and waves*, yes, you.


On the upside, this gives me a chance to look into another top/middle dwelling fish. The following fish have been suggested by friends and the like:

Gold Barbs
Cherry Barbs
Blind Cave Tetras
Glass Catfish
Flame Tetras
Lemon Tetras
Rummynose Tetras
Scissortail Rasbora
Giant Danios
Bloodfin Tetras

Anyone else have any other ideas? You know I love to hear from you.

 

[bitteraspects]

Clowns enjoy the warmer waters, so you shpuld stay away from fish that can't handle at least the standard 78-82 degree application.

 

[MyraAlam]

Clowns enjoy the warmer waters, so you shpuld stay away from fish that can't handle at least the standard 78-82 degree application.

Thanks, that narrows down the list. After filtering through and doing some more research, I'd say Inchworm was right in suggesting the Blind Cave Tetra and the Glass Catfish. The internal cory struggle has also subsided as I'm most likely going to stick to C. sterbai, they can tolerate higher temperatures much better than other cory species. Now the question is, how many glass cats and how many blind cave tetras?

 

[MyraAlam]

All done!



6 Boesemani Rainbowfish
20 Zebra Danio
20 Harlequin Rasbora
4 Keyhole Cichlids
4 Blue Rams
30 Cardinal Tetra
8 Clown Loach
10 Kuhli Loach
2 Blind Cave Tetra
probably 6-8 Glass Catfish
10 Sterba's Corydoras
15 Diamond Tetra
10 Swordtails
5 Pearl Gourami


A huge thank-you to everyone who helped me out on this list! I'm so glad I found this forum, otherwise I'm sure my dream tank would've turned into a nightmare. I'm going to work on setting it up, cycling, and in the meantime, get more research done. You guys helped a lot A few special thank-you's...


Inchworm- for helping me choose the right cory, and for posting those lovely cory pictures!
bitteraspects- for being an enthusiastic clown loach supporter and also being nice enough to reply to all my posts
superman1- for sticking up for me regarding carpet threading LOL and for suggesting kuhli's!
nel5on- for coming up with a very-much-improved first draft of my stock list at the very beginning
loraxchick- for being the first to suggest corys!
Miah002- for being the first to mention clown loaches
puppyjess123- for giving great advice throughout my fish-searching-adventure..I love that display pic
simonas- for taking me by surprise completely when you suggested discus...it never even crossed my mind
minxfishy- for helping out on my order of introduction thread, I really needed that
pammy172- someday I hope that you'll be looking at your own enormous tank in absolute amazement
joshjames- I sincerely hope I have your luck with cardinals, let me tell you, that was certainly something!
rdd1952- for bringing up the possible ram vs. cory war that may break out, I've taken that into account now
San O Fisher- for making me look up a syno catfish, hahaha otherwise I probably would've gone on with the blank look I used to give people when they mentioned one


Thanks to all of you, I think my dream tank will end up being positively gorgeous. I look forward to getting it all established. Hope I didn't miss anyone up there! It's a big deal to take time out of your day to help someone else out, and so I thought I'd make my gratitude known. Happy fishkeeping!

 

[superman1]

All done!



6 Boesemani Rainbowfish
20 Zebra Danio
20 Harlequin Rasbora
4 Keyhole Cichlids
4 Blue Rams
30 Cardinal Tetra
8 Clown Loach
10 Kuhli Loach
2 Blind Cave Tetra
probably 6-8 Glass Catfish
10 Sterba's Corydoras
15 Diamond Tetra
10 Swordtails
5 Pearl Gourami


A huge thank-you to everyone who helped me out on this list! I'm so glad I found this forum, otherwise I'm sure my dream tank would've turned into a nightmare. I'm going to work on setting it up, cycling, and in the meantime, get more research done. You guys helped a lot A few special thank-you's...


Inchworm- for helping me choose the right cory, and for posting those lovely cory pictures!
bitteraspects- for being an enthusiastic clown loach supporter and also being nice enough to reply to all my posts
superman1- for sticking up for me regarding carpet threading LOL and for suggesting kuhli's!
nel5on- for coming up with a very-much-improved first draft of my stock list at the very beginning
loraxchick- for being the first to suggest corys!
Miah002- for being the first to mention clown loaches
puppyjess123- for giving great advice throughout my fish-searching-adventure..I love that display pic
simonas- for taking me by surprise completely when you suggested discus...it never even crossed my mind
minxfishy- for helping out on my order of introduction thread, I really needed that
pammy172- someday I hope that you'll be looking at your own enormous tank in absolute amazement
joshjames- I sincerely hope I have your luck with cardinals, let me tell you, that was certainly something!
rdd1952- for bringing up the possible ram vs. cory war that may break out, I've taken that into account now
San O Fisher- for making me look up a syno catfish, hahaha otherwise I probably would've gone on with the blank look I used to give people when they mentioned one


Thanks to all of you, I think my dream tank will end up being positively gorgeous. I look forward to getting it all established. Hope I didn't miss anyone up there! It's a big deal to take time out of your day to help someone else out, and so I thought I'd make my gratitude known. Happy fishkeeping!

wow... good luck and hope it goes well... maybe once your all set up and looking at your tank you might rethink the balas.. lol

 

[MyraAlam]

All done!



6 Boesemani Rainbowfish
20 Zebra Danio
20 Harlequin Rasbora
4 Keyhole Cichlids
4 Blue Rams
30 Cardinal Tetra
8 Clown Loach
10 Kuhli Loach
2 Blind Cave Tetra
probably 6-8 Glass Catfish
10 Sterba's Corydoras
15 Diamond Tetra
10 Swordtails
5 Pearl Gourami


A huge thank-you to everyone who helped me out on this list! I'm so glad I found this forum, otherwise I'm sure my dream tank would've turned into a nightmare. I'm going to work on setting it up, cycling, and in the meantime, get more research done. You guys helped a lot A few special thank-you's...


Inchworm- for helping me choose the right cory, and for posting those lovely cory pictures!
bitteraspects- for being an enthusiastic clown loach supporter and also being nice enough to reply to all my posts
superman1- for sticking up for me regarding carpet threading LOL and for suggesting kuhli's!
nel5on- for coming up with a very-much-improved first draft of my stock list at the very beginning
loraxchick- for being the first to suggest corys!
Miah002- for being the first to mention clown loaches
puppyjess123- for giving great advice throughout my fish-searching-adventure..I love that display pic
simonas- for taking me by surprise completely when you suggested discus...it never even crossed my mind
minxfishy- for helping out on my order of introduction thread, I really needed that
pammy172- someday I hope that you'll be looking at your own enormous tank in absolute amazement
joshjames- I sincerely hope I have your luck with cardinals, let me tell you, that was certainly something!
rdd1952- for bringing up the possible ram vs. cory war that may break out, I've taken that into account now
San O Fisher- for making me look up a syno catfish, hahaha otherwise I probably would've gone on with the blank look I used to give people when they mentioned one


Thanks to all of you, I think my dream tank will end up being positively gorgeous. I look forward to getting it all established. Hope I didn't miss anyone up there! It's a big deal to take time out of your day to help someone else out, and so I thought I'd make my gratitude known. Happy fishkeeping!

wow... good luck and hope it goes well... maybe once your all set up and looking at your tank you might rethink the balas.. lol

haha definitely a possibility, knowing me. Thanks!

 

[bitteraspects]

bitteraspects- for being an enthusiastic clown loach supporter and also being nice enough to reply to all my posts

youre very welcome

i think supporter is a bit of an understatement though. lol. more like a crazed loach nut.

glad you got your stock in order. though im sure once you see those 8 clowns in action, youll be hooked like me.