Additional Stocking

[thisguyek]

My current stock consists of 6f platies, 3m platies, 5 male guppies, and 1 pleco in a 55gal tank.

The next thing I would like to add in would be either a group of neons, danios, or barbs.

Now i know that barbs are prolific fin nippers, but I also know that if kept in a nice large group they keep the squabbles to themselves. I have always admired barbs, so thats what I'm almost thinking. If i were to get a stock of barbs, how should i go about it to get 10 or so in? also, should i stay with one strain (five banded or green) or can i mix and match?

If i were to go in the direction of the danios or neons, I would like to end up with a stock of around 15. how many should i go in one toss?

Anyone out there with other suggestions or ideas please let me know!

My Ph is right around 8 at the moment. my tap water is lower than that as we have just added a water softener to the house, so i imagine over time my Ph in the tank will fall...

 

[This Old Spouse]

I think tiger barbs are great. And you really shouldn't mix and match the different species but keep a significant number ... 10 is good, 12 even better ... so they only squabble with their own kind.

Danios and neons, at least a dozen, and you should be able to get them all in one round. Their bioload isn't huge. Just watch your stats for a few days.

Post photos when you stock!

 

[Fish Guy]

I have kept barbs in lagre groups in community tanks and have had very little trouble with them, so like you said large schools are important. Going with barbs you can mix the breeds, but personally I like having a big school of the one type. I would go with 10 tiger barbs, or odessa barbs
15 Leopard or Zebra danios
10 Pearl Danios
8-10 Sepra tetras.
These are just some personal suggestions, there are a good few options here. Only thing with these fast schoolers would be making sure the other tankmates get food at feeding time.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Five banded barbs are far less nippy than the tigers or other barbs. If you are concerned with the nippiness of the barbs, five banded barbs are the way to go. They are not nippy and look almost as good as tigers. They are also a bit smaller.


You never mentioned the size of your tank.


Be careful with danios. As I'm finding out, without proper numbers they can be nippy as well.

 

[This Old Spouse]

Five banded barbs are far less nippy than the tigers or other barbs. If you are concerned with the nippiness of the barbs, five banded barbs are the way to go. They are not nippy and look almost as good as tigers. They are also a bit smaller.


You never mentioned the size of your tank.


Be careful with danios. As I'm finding out, without proper numbers they can be nippy as well.

The OP mentioned a 55g tank.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Five banded barbs are far less nippy than the tigers or other barbs. If you are concerned with the nippiness of the barbs, five banded barbs are the way to go. They are not nippy and look almost as good as tigers. They are also a bit smaller.


You never mentioned the size of your tank.


Be careful with danios. As I'm finding out, without proper numbers they can be nippy as well.

The OP mentioned a 55g tank.

...in the first sentence.


Well, I still recommend the five banded barbs.

 

[fluttermoth]

You shouldn't mix barb species, but you could get a mix of normal, green and albino tiger barbs; being different colour morphs but the same species means that they will shoal together, and you get your 'mix' of different fish.

 

[thisguyek]

so what would other species of barbs be? like cherry barbs?

I would be ok with tiger, green, and albino barbs? Im caught between either green, tiger, or both right now, so thats good!

whats the difference between five banded and tiger barbs? arent they the same?

 

[fluttermoth]

'Barb' is a whole family of fish, like 'carp' or 'plecs' and there are many different species ranging from the 14" tinfoil barb to the 2" cherry.

Green and albino are just colour morphs of the normal, wild type tiger barb Puntius tetrazona which has four black stripes. The five banded barb, Puntius pentazona is related but not the same species

 

[thisguyek]

ok thanks!

 

[thisguyek]

i forgot, if i were to go with barbs... how many could i get away with putting in at once? should i look for juveniles or adults? does that make a difference in how many i can put in at once?

 

[fluttermoth]

In a tank that size you could add 5 or 6 juveniles easily; I've added a whole dozen (small fish!) to tanks that size before. Always buy juveniles; you don't know how much longer they've got if they're adults! Oh, ok, you can buy adults if you're getting breeding pairs or whatever, but in general getting young fish is better

Incidentally (and bearing in mind I'm not a plumber or a chemist) I think you should check out your water softener. Some of these don't actually soften the water as we'd think about it; they replace the hardness with some sort of salt, AFAIK.
Great for your washing machine but that water isn't suitable for fish, so you might want to check that out.

 

[thisguyek]

so do you think my guppies will be left alone if i get 6 juvi barbs? they gotta be a little less aggressive at a young age, right?

would a week be sufficient enough to get another 5-6?

 

[This Old Spouse]

Yes and yes. I had tiger barbs in with a bunch of male guppies, and they all got along just fine. So long as you have enough of the barbs so they keep their bickering to themselves, and their tank mates aren't so small they can be swallowed, it usually works out well.

 

[thisguyek]

Here's a photo of the newest addition. They are a little bit bigger than i would have liked, and for some reason they looked smaller at the store. oh well. Had a bit of a hard time netting them into the tank as i had two suicide jumpers on my hands! i forgot how crazy active these fish are... but i also forgot how much I absolutely love these fish!!

I might have pushed the limit a bit with putting that much in at once, but I'm keeping a close eye on stats, and ready to do a water change at will! I will be getting another batch of green barbs in a week or so.

Would I be better off trying to find some around the same size as the ones i have now? If i find smaller ones and put them in will they be harassed because of their size?