Advice On Stocking For New Aquarium

[entersandman]

I have been cycling my tank now for 6 weeks and have only started adding fish the last two weeks and all seems well so far, regular water changes every other day and levels are getting there!! ammonia 0 nitrite .25 and nitrate 40

My tank is a Fluval Duo Deep 1000, approx 180L/40Gallons.

I have the following fish in there at the moment and would like some advice as to what you experienced fish keepers would recommend i add over the next few months, i want a nice peaceful community aquarium (don't we all!!!) so any advice is much appreciated.

2x Zebra Danio
2x Pear Danio
3x Rosy Tetra
3x Pengiun Tetra

I'd like an algae eater fish, clown loach or 2 maybe? basically a nice combination of top, middle and bottom dwellers.

Many thanks for any advice!!!

 

[stang1]

You need to get the nitrite down to 0 before adding any more fish, a couple of water changes should help bring it down.
Once it's ok, you could do with upping the numbers of the fish that you already have to about 5-6. A clown loach will get far too big for your tank I'm afarid so I wouldn't add any. Maybe a Bristlenose Pleco? Pretty good when it comes to algae eating and only grow to about 6". You do need to supplement their diet with algae wafers and vegetables as they won't survive on the algae alone.

 

[entersandman]

although i said nitrite was .25 it was actually between 0 and .25, so there is just a trace, i wasn't going to add anymore fish for a couple of weeks just to make sure my levels were right!! Are bristlenose plecos quite nice easy to keep fish then?? Shame about the Clown Loach, such a lovely looking fish, why do they sell them so openly in LFS though as surely the average fish keepers tank is just not going to big enough for them when they are fully grown!!!???

 

[stang1]

One of the old age questions as far as Clown Loaches go. I think they are suitable for tanks that are about 75G but not 100% sure. A lot of people start out with a smaller tank and end up buying bigger. I started out with exactly the same tank as you but now have a 137G tank amongst others! It can get quite addictive..
Bristlenose Plecos are quite hardy and make a beautiful addition to any tank. They are pretty active too. Our female BN in our big tank always knows when it's feeding time. As soon as we drop a wafer in, you can guarantee she won't be far away!
This is our female:

 

[entersandman]

Thats one nice fish! Are they best kept in groups of 2 or 3 or are they happy on their own?
Any ideas as to some other suitable fish, i was thinking along the lines of gouramis, platys, guppies and like you said adding a few more danios and tetras into the mix!!!
Many thanks again for your help.

 

[stang1]

Thankyou!
No need to keep them in groups as they do just as well on their own.
Zebra Danios, as far as I know, are quite an active fish and can be prone to fin nipping so you'll have to be careful what else you put in the tank.
I've no experience of Platys so can't help you there I'm afraid. As for Gouramis, you are best adding a fairly peaceful one, Pearls and Thick-Lipped are quite peaceful and look beautiful. I think most people recommend at least 2-3 females to each male but I'd double check on that.
You may find that the Zebra Danios are too active to be kept with certain fish, especially if you want a peaceful tank.
Like I said before, one of my tanks is exactly the same as yours and I decided to plant it quite heavily. I have Minnows, Rummy-nosed Tetras, Harlequins and a male Bristlenose in mine. I added 3 Botia Rostrata (loaches) to mine to help combat pesky snails. They only grow to about 4" and they are funny little things. They get into every nook and cranny and are great to watch.

 

[-germ-]

Butterfly hillstream loaches?
Not sure about your other fish but they can't be kept at a temp higher than 24 celcius, you need alot of oxygen and rockwork.
However, if you can provide these conditions....
They are brilliant to watch, good in small shoals, quite good algae eaters, cheap and only grow to 2 inches (most species that is, there are a couple that can get to 6).
Also no fins that can be nipped....

 

[entersandman]

I don't have any real plants, just silk ones, i have some mopani wood, some rocks and large stones in the tank plus a couple of flower pots!!! and normal pea subtrate. I also run an air curtain from a rena air pump.
Will that still enable me to keep a Bristlenose Plec?

My tank temp is around 27 so not sure if i could keep a Butterfly Hillstream Loach? and wether the air pump plus my fluval external 205 will be enough oxygen for them??


Just noticed in Stang1's plec picture that that's the same subtrate as mine so i guess i'll be ok with the Bristlenose then??!

 

[dwarfgourami]

The bristlenose won't mind if plants are artificial, nor what the substrate is, but would like some bogwood to nibble as that adds digestion. Lovely fish, hihgly recommended.