36 gallon stocking. Too much or just right?

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Razzmatazz

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I think i got it down on what to stock my 36 bow. Twice a week 10 gallon wc, Tidal 55 hob and double sponge filter. Planted tank.
Currently have:
8 neon tetras
7 harlequin rasboras
5 panda cories

I will like to add to complete my stock:
2 honey gouramis
8 rummynose tetras
5 otos (maybe)

I had 3 nerites but gave them back. Those things produce way too much poop for my liking. I mean poop was everywhere. There would be no inverts in this tank.

Thanks for any advice!
 
Forgot the parameters
Temp 77F (25C)
Ph 7.4
Ammonia 0
Nitite 0
Nitrate 10-20
Gh 7
Kh 7
 
I found this chart on a local aquarium online shop. it seems to show which fish can be kept together from a community point of view.
this chart doesn't say anything about water types or PH so do some additional research first.

coexsistance chart .png
 
for stocking follow the rule and inch of fish for every 1 to 2 gallons of water.
 
Otos are otocinclus. I dont think the per inch per gallon rule applies anymore in the hobby from all the reading and youtube videos ive seen. But i could be wrong. Compatibility wise, Im pretty sure all my selected fish are fine with the Ph and gh hence no livebearers. But then again, i could be wrong
 
Sounds like a good stocking list to me! All fish with a relatively light bioload, decent sized tank with good filtration and water change schedule, sounds good!

Otos are one of my favourite fish, I love mine to bits. Couple of questions about your tank regarding them though, how long has the tank been up and running, and do you have live plants?
 
The one inch per gallon rule is pretty much outdated. There is a lot more to stocking at tank than just the total length of the fish.
Do they need the same type of water?
Do they need the same temperature?
Are they shoaling fish or solitary fish?
Will this one eat that one?
Is the tank big enough for them - length being important for mid and top water fish and footprint for bottom dwellers.
Is their swimming behaviour compatible? Fast swimmers can intimidate slow swimmers.


The fish you have all go well together and tick all those boxes, though if it was me I'd get more neons, harlequins and pandas rather than get rummy noses, but that's just because I prefer more of fewer species :)
 
Tank is going on 8 weeks. Planted tank. Not the best aquascapping job. Nothing like i see online but Im pretty satisfied with it lol!
 
Personally I'd up the school numbers too, but that's my personal preference too, not a requirement! But I'd at least get a couple more pandas, cories just show so much better and seem so much happier in larger groups. They clown about more, and it's adorable! :D

About the otos, I'm really happy that you are going for a group rather than one or two! Not enough people recognise that they're a schooling fish that need a group, so kudos to you for that :) I'd add a load of live plants before you get otos though, if you don't have them already. It provides more surface area as a food source for them (they graze algae and micro organisms from the leaves) and they feel much safer and more secure with all the hiding space that provides, which counter-intuitively means you see them out and about a lot more.

If it's a new tank, I'd wait until it's been running for 2-3 months before getting the otos, they fare better in an established tank that has grown enough soft algae and biofilm for them to munch, and they are sensitive so need stable water parameters, a new tank can still fluctuate too much while it's establishing, and as the bioload is changing when you're adding more fish.

Also when you get them, bear in mind that they're all wild caught, and losses are common. Wait until they've been in the store for a while so the store takes the losses rather than you, look for ones that have full, round tummies, and undamaged fins. If their tummies are flat or curved inwards, they're starving.

When I bought mine, they went into a heavily planted, established tank with parameters of 0/0/5, and I still lost one from each batch, so I'd suggest you get a batch of six or seven. If you get five and lose one, you'll only have four left, and mine have always done better in a group of six or more. I have five left in my school in right now, and I'm planning to buy another batch of four or five to bump them up again soon, as they don't school the same way with only the five of them.
 
I read that about the otos. I did get a massive brown algae/ diatom bloom and added the nerites. They actually did a great job! But the amount of poop drove me nuts. It was everywhere! Leaves, driftwood, rocks and substrate! I took them back. I got some repashy soilent green which i hear is good for otos. My cories love it. Also, I have a big glass jar filled with rocks and tank water with some fertilizer sitting on a window sill. I just want to see if i can grow algae on the rocks. If it works, i can toss a piece if rock with the algae to feed the otos. May work, may not. Not my idea i came up with. Just something i read somewhere lol
 
I read that about the otos. I did get a massive brown algae/ diatom bloom and added the nerites. They actually did a great job! But the amount of poop drove me nuts. It was everywhere! Leaves, driftwood, rocks and substrate! I took them back. I got some repashy soilent green which i hear is good for otos. My cories love it. Also, I have a big glass jar filled with rocks and tank water with some fertilizer sitting on a window sill. I just want to see if i can grow algae on the rocks. If it works, i can toss a piece if rock with the algae to feed the otos. May work, may not. Not my idea i came up with. Just something i read somewhere lol
I had the same problem with nerites! Some people swear by them, but the amount of poop the ones I got produced drove me batty! Way more than any of my fish created. I don't think it affected my water parameters, it was just unsightly and I hated how much I'd find with every gravel vac. I'd move my driftwood and poop would just pour off of it. Then they started laying those white eggs on everything, urgh.

Let me know if yours like the soilent green! Have been thinking of trying it. Mine like algae wafers and the odd chunk of courgette or cucumber, but mostly they live on what they find in the tank and often ignore extra food I add in. As long as they still have round tummies, I've learned not to worry. Oh! I recommend getting some Indian Almond leaves or other leafy botanicals too, they produce micro-organisms that break the leaf down, and mine seem to like sitting on and grazing the Almond leaves.

It's great that you've done so much research on how to keep them before getting them! Your tank looks awesome, and like your otos will love it :)
DSCF1275.JPG
 

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