Advice Requested - Species Compatibility

[Jennifer3]

Hello and thank you in advance for your time and advice
 
We have a 50 gallon - 36" x 12" x 18" running a fluval 306 with 2 air stones, it is currently stocked with Jack Dempsey's but we are upgrading to a 125 gallon and are looking to restock the 50 with a happy tropical community
 
The internet has so much conflicting advice and I find pet store employees not necessarily as informed as they could be, at least in our region - we have no local fish specialty stores
 
I'm looking for advice on what can live with what and not have fins nipped etc - I'd like a variety of inhabitants at different levels and schoolers and individual fish - a really pretty tank - lots of bright colours
 
I want to ensure we don't put together conflicting species so everyone can live happy lives so I'm reaching out to the experts on compatibility, because after a couple of hours of research I'm totally confused - every page seems to disagree on options
 
Thank you so much - I'm new to the world of happy communities but am kind of excited to have a tank with some variety - my husband insists that I can have my tank of aggressive Jack's as long as he gets the 50 for 'friendly' fishes
 
Thanks! 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

[StarfireGraves]

I know personally I am particularly fond of live bearers such as platys and guppies, they are all small fish with lots of colors and variety and in my experience are very friendly fish.

Molly's are nice as well, I dont have any personally though.

 

[the_lock_man]

You've left us with a very broad canvas to paint - and I'd go so far as to say that it's too broad. If you got 50 responses to what you've asked, I guarantee that all 50 will be different, and you'll be left even more confused.
 
So, first off, please let me ban any more answers to this until we get the answers to two sets of questions.
 
Set 1) What is the pH of your tank water? and What is the KH? Most people will have a test for pH, but you might not have one for KH - if that's the case, then can you tell us if your kettle is prone to limescale, in other words do you have hard or soft water?
 
The reason I ask is that obviously different regions of the world have different water chemistries. Fish that are naturally found in softwater areas can generally thrive in hardwater, but not vice versa. This is because the fish that are found in hardwater have evolved the need for the minerals in the water - if you then put them in softwater, there are no minerals for them to absorb, so they don't thrive and usually die fairly quickly.
 
As it goes, this applies to the fish that Starfire Graves recommends - they are hardwater fish. Whilst platies and guppies are lovely fish (I've kept both species previously), they may be completely unsuitable for your tank.
 
The other question is 2) What do YOU like? After all, it's your tank, you and your husband are the ones who have to sit and watch it. I could sit here and wax lyrical about my favourite fish, but you might think that you don't want small and pink, you want big and blue, and more importantly, you might not be able to easily obtain it. Therefore, use this as an excuse to go round the local fish shops at the weekend (and frankly, which of us needs an excuse), see what is available, make a note of the names of those that you like, and then post them on here, we can put together a stocking list.

 

[Jennifer3]

we do not have hard water and currently the pH is around 7.5 but we can work to adjust that if it is not appropriate - it is what the Jack's like so that is where we have it
 
I personally like fancy guppies, swordtails and mollies but I've read different things about their compatibility.  I'd love to get a male betta but I understand he will not get along with the guppies
 
Our local pet store is about an hour away but I'll be in the region on Thursday for meetings so I'll pop in and let you know what I like and look forward to your help
 
Cheers!

 

[the_lock_man]

If you have softwater, then my advice would be to stay away from guppies, swordtails and mollies, but obviously, it's your choice.
 
I would also advise just letting your pH stay where it wants to stay - trying to artificially adjust it can be problematic, and if it goes wrong, it can fatally shock the fish.

 

[Jennifer3]

ok, it was a nice night so we went for a drive.  My husband is definitely partial to molly's and gourami's
 
we can get:
 
cardinal and neon tetras
zebra danios
ghost shrimp
red tail platy
panda tetra
dalmation lyretail molly
dwarf gourami
red mickey mouse platy
sunburst wag platy
gold and opaline gourami's
cherry and tiger barbs
peppered cory catfish (they had a variety of catfish and plecos' but we found this one rather striking)
beta
guppies
 
any stocking advice is much appreciated
 
Thank you so much
oops I meant he's partial to gourami's and platy's

 

[the_lock_man]

If it were me doing it, given you have softwater, then I would get
 
1M, 2F Dwarf Gourami
10 Cherry barb
10 Cardinal Tetra
8 Peppered Cory
6 Ghost Shrimp
 
Platies will not thrive in softwater.

 

[Lillefishy]

I like Lock man's suggestion, a nice selection of fish for all levels.
The only thing I would change is the species of cory, of all the corys peppered need the coolest temperature being happiest at around 20-22c

 

[the_lock_man]

Interesting point, not one that I had considered. I advised the peppered, because that's what Jennifer had identified as her & hubby's preferred species.
 
Planet Catfish advises anywhere from 15-25C, (http/www.planetcatfish.com/common/species.php?species_id=271) so I would say having the water temperature on the cool side, say 23 or 24C should keep all species reasonably happy.

 

[Jennifer3]

Thanks so much for the advice
 
We'll do a bit more research on the catfish and see if we can find a more compatible species that we have available in the region
 
This definitely gets us started and in the right direction
 
Much appreciated
 
Cheers