37 gal Stocking Advice

[Fiabee06]

Hey guys! I have kept fish many times before, but nothing quite as big as Im tackling now! My 37 gallon with the topfin 40 filter and live plants is still in the cycling stage (pictured on profile banner). I dont plan on adding any fish for about a month. Ive been doing lots of research about how I want to stock my tank. There sure is a lot of information out there, but lots of it contradicts! I wanted to get your opinions on this stock list- (I plan on upgrading to topfin 60 filter soon) I have been using AqAdvisor and it says its 134% stocked.

-would it be overstocked?
-will these guys get along?
-should I add live rocks?
-is 1 month the right amount of time to wait?
Any advice is welcome!!

5x Kuhli Loach
2x Opaline Gourami
5x Serpae Tetra
6x Bee Shrimp
5x Bleeding Heart Tetra
5x Gardener’s Killifish
5x Panda Cory
1x Sunburst Platy
(34 total)

 

[Essjay]

The first thing to do is find out how hard your water is. If you are mains water, look on your water provider's website for hardness - look for a number and the unit of measurement (there are several units they could use)
You have hard and soft water fish in your lists so finding out the hardness will eliminate some species.


But in general terms before we know the hardness -

Kuhli loaches do better in larger groups. In small numbers they tend to hide all the time.
Opaline gouramis are one of the colour morphs of three spot gouramis and these are one of the most aggressive gourami species. We once had a member who had a female, and she killed every other fish in the tank. There are less aggressive species to choose from.
Tetras and cories all need a group of at least 10. Serpae tetras are notorious fin nippers, best kept in a group of at least 15 in an attempt to keep the nippiness between themselves. And no long finned fish with serpaes as that's a red rag to a bull.
I'm not well up in killifish, but other members are - @GaryE
Platies are hard water fish and while not shoaling fish they do prefer company.
I'm not sure shrimps would make it with most of those fish

 

[Byron]

Welcome to TFF.

First thing we need to know is the water parameters of your source water. Especially the GH and pH. If you don't already know, check the website of your water authority if you are on municipal water. This can be crucial for many fish.

In the interim, some comments on the fish listed. First, is the substrate sand--this is critical for cories and loaches.

Some of the fish are what we term shoaling or schooling species. All tetras are shoaling, as are all rasboras, danios, barbs, cory catfish, loaches, and a few others. There has to be a decent-sized group, and ten is minimum for most species, though some need more depending upon their temperament. Obviously some of the species must be removed, this necessity would seriously overstock the tank in terms of space even more than water quality.

Serpae Tetra need at least 12, preferably 15. They have a fin nipping beehaviour in smaller numbers, and while bad enough within the species it can easily move to other fish, and this severely stresses the fish and will cause serious health issues. Also, sedate fish like gourami cannot be in the same tank as known fin nippers.

The gourami is an issue, as this is probably the most aggressive of the small and medium-sized gourami species. The opaline, along with the blue, gold, marble, cosby, 3-spot, and whatever else is just varieties of the same species, Trichopodus trichopterus. Best left out.

Cories and loaches are not good company. Cories will be out and about, kuhli loaches are often never seen during daylight, so consider this too.

As for cycling, if you do artificial ammonia non-fish cycling, there is a post of instructions on the forum. If you have live plants, including some floating, and these show signs of growth, you can skip "cycling" per say. Members can explain these.

 

[Fiabee06]

Welcome to TFF.

First thing we need to know is the water parameters of your source water. Especially the GH and pH. If you don't already know, check the website of your water authority if you are on municipal water. This can be crucial for many fish.

In the interim, some comments on the fish listed. First, is the substrate sand--this is critical for cories and loaches.

Some of the fish are what we term shoaling or schooling species. All tetras are shoaling, as are all rasboras, danios, barbs, cory catfish, loaches, and a few others. There has to be a decent-sized group, and ten is minimum for most species, though some need more depending upon their temperament. Obviously some of the species must be removed, this necessity would seriously overstock the tank in terms of space even more than water quality.

Serpae Tetra need at least 12, preferably 15. They have a fin nipping beehaviour in smaller numbers, and while bad enough within the species it can easily move to other fish, and this severely stresses the fish and will cause serious health issues. Also, sedate fish like gourami cannot be in the same tank as known fin nippers.

The gourami is an issue, as this is probably the most aggressive of the small and medium-sized gourami species. The opaline, along with the blue, gold, marble, cosby, 3-spot, and whatever else is just varieties of the same species, Trichopodus trichopterus. Best left out.

Cories and loaches are not good company. Cories will be out and about, kuhli loaches are often never seen during daylight, so consider this too.

As for cycling, if you do artificial ammonia non-fish cycling, there is a post of instructions on the forum. If you have live plants, including some floating, and these show signs of growth, you can skip "cycling" per say. Members can explain these.

What kind of Gourami would you recommend? Or none at all?

 

[Rocky998]

What kind of Gourami would you recommend? Or none at all?

As mentioned above, we need to know your water conditions/parameters if you want us to give recommendations...

 

[Fiabee06]

As mentioned above, we need to know your water conditions/parameters if you want us to give recommendations...

I have moderately hard water, last I tested it was somewhere between 75-150ppm. The pH is currently sitting at 7.5.

 

[Colin_T]

What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?

How are you cycling the aquarium and filter?
Normally when you cycle a tank/ filter, you add a source of ammonia and let beneficial bacteria develop. This usually takes around 4-6 weeks but can be longer.

Opaline gouramis will destroy the killfish. A small species of gourami (honey, Indian banded, etc) would do better with killifish.
Avoid dwarf gouramis (Colisa lalius) and all their colour forms because they regularly carry Fish Tuberculosis TB) and or the Gourami Iridovirus. Neither disease can be treated and once it's in your tank, it's there until you disinfect everything, including the fish.

Drop the platy and serpae tetras.

Have a coverglass and floating plants like Water Sprite (Ceratopteris thalictroides/ cornuta) for the killifish.

Corydoras and Tetras do best in groups of 10 or more.

--------------------

Depending on what the GH of your water is, will determine what fish you should keep.

Angelfish, discus, most tetras, most barbs, Bettas, gouramis, rasbora, Corydoras and small species of suckermouth catfish all occur in soft water (GH below 150ppm) and a pH below 7.0. A pH of 7.5 is fine for these fishes as long as they aren't wild caught.

Livebearers (guppies, platies, swordtails, mollies), rainbowfish and goldfish occur in medium hard water with a GH around 200-250ppm and a pH above 7.0.

If you have very hard water (GH above 300ppm) then look at African Rift Lake cichlids, or use distilled or reverse osmosis water to reduce the GH and keep fishes from softer water.

 

[Byron]

I have moderately hard water, last I tested it was somewhere between 75-150ppm. The pH is currently sitting at 7.5.

At the lower end, this is soft water. At the upper end of the range, moderate water. Subjective terms, but avoid all fish requiring "hard" water, such as livebearers, rift lake cichlids, and some others. Most soft water fish will be fine, with a very few exceptions.

Listen to Colin's wise advice in the previous post.

 

[Fishies4Ever]

Opaline gouramis are one of the colour morphs of three spot gouramis and these are one of the most aggressive gourami species. We once had a member who had a female, and she killed every other fish in the tank. There are less aggressive species to choose from.

Wish I knew that a few years back!! I got a three spot gourami which I found out a while later and a dwarf gourami. The dwarf gourami died soon after I got it but the 3 spot gourami lived for ever!!! He was soo mean. He was in a 10 gallon then we moved him into a 29 gallon with a bunch of tetras. He would chase them around but nothing too bad ever happened. I am not sure what color morph he was he was kind of like a tanish yellow with stripes nothing colorful or pretty not sure why I actually picked him up in the first place!