A pile of qs on re-stocking

[Alien Anna]

Hi,
[Forgive the repeat if you are on some of the newsgroups]

I'm planning to re-stock a couple of my depleted schools in two tanks: cardinal tetras, Beckford's pencilfish, cardinal tetras and rummy-nosed tetras. Plus, I'm thinking about getting a couple of corys. But I have a ton of questions:

* Because local water is rock hard and alkaline, I pre-filter all my water through peat. The tanks now have a pH of about 7.0-7.5. This means I might have to acclimatise my new fish to the lower pH. How long do fish need to cope with a drop from about 8.4 to 7.5?

* I intend to buy 1 black neon tetra, 1 cardinal and 4 pencilfish. Since these are all schooling fish, would they tolerate quarantine in such low numbers?

* I accidentally bought two different species of rummy-nosed tetras (they look virtually identical), 3 of each Petitella georgiae and Hemigrammus bleheri. I hoped the fish couldn't tell the difference and would school together, but mostly they stick to their own although sometimes they swim together. Is this a problem or should I be looking to make them up to two schools? (Note: this would mean getting rid of another species, probably the pencilfish, due to lack of space and no
corys).

* I only have 5 black neon and 5 cardinal tetras in two tanks at the moment. Is it true that 6 is the bare mimimum for a school and is it OK to introduce a single fish to the group? Does gender balance matter for tetras?

* I only have 2 male Beckford's golden pencilfish (Nannostomus beckfordi) left. Since they are probably quite old, would it be better to re-build the school or just let them die off. I'm worried I'll end up with a lonely individual. Again, does the gender mix matter? It is hard to tell male from female until they are in breeding condition (unlikely in the LFS).

* I would like to buy some dwarf corys if I can fit them in. My main tank (110L, 25 US gallons) has and bottom-feeding/algae-crew of a bristle-nosed pl*c (juvenile, probably female) and two apple snails. 5 cherry barbs also occasionally bottom-feed. What is a minimum school size for corys and how much substrate do they need? I don't want anything too shy or too large.

Thanks for any ideas/answers/opinions.
:love:

 

[Davy Reynolds]

1. A two week period is really safe. It's less than 0.1 per day.. But 0.1 a day is fine. This will give a good quarintine peroid.

2. I'd think they'ed get by. At least they'll be in numbers afterwards.

3. They should get on fine, they like fish of simmilar size. Although there from diffrent areas I cant see much of a problem.

4. A minimum number is not always nessary. Give or take one is not a problem, several would be another case.

5. the beckford. Rebuild it would be your option. Do you want more or would you like a change. Most fish adopt ather shoals so It may be okay. As for sex. There hard to tell, same for Tetras

6. Bottom dwellers are best left to pete and mac

 

[Macquatic]

There are lots of cories to choose from, but one of my favourites is the Panda. They reach about 45mm and should be kept in a shoal of 6 or more. They are cute, gregarious and pretty active. Mac.

 

[Davy Reynolds]

Yip love the panda :love:

 

[Alien Anna]

Thanks everyone. I'm in two minds, but I think a shoal of pencilfish would be a shoal too many in my main tank - at least of mid-water swimming fish. I already have the cardinals and rummy-nosed, plus cherry barbs at that level. The last two remaining pencils do seem to be in good health and coping with their lack of shoal (then again, there is plenty of cover and all the inhabitants are gentle).

I like the idea of a shoal of panda cories, particularly as they will be on the bottom and not crowding the middle and upper layers of the tank. My only concern is the lack of space on the bottom and I'm wondering if pandas might not be a little too large? My tank is an odd shape (it's a corner tank) - basically a 23" square with one corner cut off. I estimate the floor area at just under 3 sq ft (417 sq ins).

Maybe some dwarf or pygmy corys would be better?

 

[Davy Reynolds]

Panda corys are one of the smallest corys.
http/www.tropicalaquariums.btinternet.co...hind....nda.htm

 

[Alien Anna]

At 5cms/2ins they are pretty diddy, agreed. However, if I've got to squeeze 6 in there, that makes another 12ins of fish in my tank, which is a little over-the-top.

There were some species if really tiny corys in Baensch: Corydoras pygmaeus, C.gracillis, C.hastatus and C.griseus, for instance, none of whom grow to more than 2.5cms/1 ins.

I'm also concerned about the gravel. I have 3mm pea-gravel and my tank is very heavily planted. Putting in a sandy substrate would be a major disruption. Hmm, maybe I'm talking myself out of the idea?