Advice Required Re: Increasing Stocking Levels

[moeldner]

Currently I have the following in my 57G (moved from 30G last night. Seeded with filter media and gravel).

• 6 mccullochs rainbows
• 2 dwarf gouramis
• 1 common bristlenose
• 8 cardinals
• 1 zebra danio
• 3 ottos
• 2 harlequins

I plan on increasing my stocking levels slowly over the next few months, and would like someone with more knowledge than I have to confirm I'm not making any drastic mistakes.

My plans are to have the following:

• 6 mccullochs rainbows (12 inches)
• 6 neon rainbows (9 inches)
• 2 dwarf gouramis (8 inches)
• 1 common bristlenose (5 inches)
• 16-20 cardinals (do these count??)
• 6 ottos (6 inches)
• 10 harlequins (15 inches)
• 4 bolivian Butterflays (Rams) (16 inches)

This gives me a total of 71 inches + the cardinals. I know this is over the 1 inch per gallon rule, but I'm not sure how far i can push the limit on a tank this size.

I'm fairly attached to all the original fish, plus the Bolivians rams, so any suggestions around this combination are welcome (if my plans are too optimistic).

EDIT: BTW the tank contains only real plants, drftwood, and a 260G/Hr filter (in the hood).

Thanks for the advice.

 

[Lynden]

If you have plenty of plants, filtration, and aeration, thats a great way to stock it.

 

[CatLover]

What do you plan to do with your zebra danio? If you're keeping it, get it some friends! Danios need to be kept in groups of at least 6.

Other than that, I think your future plans for stocking are great! Just be sure to put some good filtration on that tank - always better to over-filter than under-filter. The one incher per gallon rule works sometimes, but if you're careful and know what you're doing, you really don't need to go by it. However, I have noticed it's good to keep in the back of your mind (especially for beginners).

Your selection of fish is good too. Very interesting, beautiful species, and none of them will outgrow your tank. Very well done

 

[moeldner]

The zebra will go to my girlfriends brothers place who has an 8ft tank with a few zebra danios in it.

I was thinking of adding further filtration as stock levels increase (Fluval 204). the biggest maybe on the list is the neon rainbows. They may be changed for 2-3 thick lipped gouramis instead.

I was also considering 2-3 small clown loaches (for snail cleanup) that the pet shop is happy for me to keep swapping for smaller ones as they grow. This is a lot further down the track though - maybe 12 months and will require the extra filtration.

Ohh yeah - and the plants - I currently have an amazon sword, a couple of anubias variants on logs, selection (about 6) small crypts, and am planning to get another amazon sword or two, and some more smaller growing crypts/grasses. I will also will be looking into some taller growing plants (low light requirements) to kepp the gouramis happier too.

I will post pics up as soon as the water has cleared. It is a little cloudy at the moment from the new gravel.

 

[CatLover]

Good deal about the danio.

If you don't want to keep switching out the clown loaches, you can try to find batik loaches, polka-dot loaches, or skunk loaches. All of them love snails, but only get half the size of a clown. Also, try dojo loaches. I love these guys; very full of personality. They only get 6 inches long, except the golden ones. The golden dojos are a man-made species, and reach a foot in length. Don't worry about confusing golden and regular dojos because they look very different.

 

[moeldner]

Thanks catlover. I was told by a LFS that anything but Cowns and Kuhli loaches were very hard to find in Australia.

Had a quick look on the web, and I like the polka-dot loaches, so will see what I can find.

Edit: Hmmm - just found out that we can now import Pakistani and dwarf loaches into Oz as of the start of this month. A coupld of LFS are getting them in, so I will be considering these as well.

 

[moeldner]

pics can be found here:

pics thread

 

[Barracuda518]

Pakistani also know as YoYo loaches are great. I have 4 of them and they are very active. Just make sure you dont have any very slow moving fish, as the yoyo's active nature could stress them out. Have you ever thought about adding some cories? Sounds like that tank is going to look really good. Keep us updated with the progress

 

[Lynden]

Most loaches are pretty nice, as well as docile.