Another Stocking After Upgrade Question

[matt p]

Hey everyone

I've just gone from an elite 90 to a Juwel vision 180 with a new Aqua one 1250 external
Filter to work along side my old aqua one 750 external filter. I swapped over half of my filter media from each basket into my new one and vice versa with the new media from my new pump. So I now have two maturing filters again, I also put 70ltrs of mature water into the new tank and topped the rest up with fresh water at the recommend dose of API stress zyme+

I've upgraded finally after working out where the load bearing Walls were in my first floor maisionette

Current stock is

1x Royal plec
1x leopard frog plec
1x Golden nugget plec
1x Black ghost knife fish ( who is still as good as gold! )
5x Cory julies
8x Cardinal tetras
7x Lime green tetras
2x Golden rams
5x Pearl danios

There is 6 large pieces of bogwood for the plecs to hang around on and I made a cave out of two pieces which the bgkf has taken over
But the smaller fish look lost in there now and I'm unsure of what plants and fish I can add in a months time.

All ideas will be greatly appreciated.

Kind regards

Matt

Ps - I'm a massive catfish/plec fan!, so any recommendations for these would be brilliant!.

 

[Wills]

The BGK, Royal plec and Golden Nugget plec will all outgrow a 180 liter tank with the BGK being more suited to life in a 180 gallon tank. There are tons and tons of small plecs that would be suitable for that tank however no knife fish that would work in there.

A trio of Synodontis Nigriventis would be good in there nice interesting catfish, tatia catfish would be good as well.

But the Royal Plec and BGK are massive fish and really do need a bigger tank at least 3 times the size of that one.

Wills

 

[Too Fast]

It may be worth upping the numbers of the different tetra by 2 or 3 of each and leaving it at that.

The reason I say this is IMO alot of people make the mistake of adding lots of different species to there tank and it ends up looking like a collection of there favourite fish as opposed to the more natural underwater snapshot that IMO appears more natural.

 

[matt p]

The BGK, Royal plec and Golden Nugget plec will all outgrow a 180 liter tank with the BGK being more suited to life in a 180 gallon tank. There are tons and tons of small plecs that would be suitable for that tank however no knife fish that would work in there.

A trio of Synodontis Nigriventis would be good in there nice interesting catfish, tatia catfish would be good as well.

But the Royal Plec and BGK are massive fish and really do need a bigger tank at least 3 times the size of that one.

Wills

Hi Wills,

The thought about the bgk did go through my mind, I think i went about it the wrong way. As in a years time myself and the other half will be moving into a house and I'll move the larger fish into 6ft tank that would be in the living room.

Think it maybe a good idea to return him/her to the LFS and purchase another one when the tank size allows for it.

I was under the impression the royal and golden nugget were slow growers as opposed to some other species?.

Thanks for the heads up about the other cats, I'll google them and do some reserch in my lunch break.

Regards

Matt

 

[matt p]

It may be worth upping the numbers of the different tetra by 2 or 3 of each and leaving it at that.

The reason I say this is IMO alot of people make the mistake of adding lots of different species to there tank and it ends up looking like a collection of there favourite fish as opposed to the more natural underwater snapshot that IMO appears more natural.

Thanks To Fast, I'll try with those for now and seeing how it goes. Im pretty sure that I can get some more lime greens easy enough from my LFS.

Regards

Matt

 

[Wills]

Good call, I really would not recomend the grow out situation, I am in that now and anticipated a 6x2x2 by now paid a deposit for one turned up to pick it up and it was chipped so I didnt take it and now Im stuck with fish that need a bigger tank very soon but now Im in a situation where I cant do it for a number of months and Im starting to worry.

The plecs are quite slow growing especially the royal but you could still expect 5-6 inches in a year and they are very stocky fish very stocky and as with all plecs create an obscene amount of poo....

Wills

 

[matt p]

Good call, I really would not recomend the grow out situation, I am in that now and anticipated a 6x2x2 by now paid a deposit for one turned up to pick it up and it was chipped so I didnt take it and now Im stuck with fish that need a bigger tank very soon but now Im in a situation where I cant do it for a number of months and Im starting to worry.

The plecs are quite slow growing especially the royal but you could still expect 5-6 inches in a year and they are very stocky fish very stocky and as with all plecs create an obscene amount of poo....

Wills

Tell me about it, you sure known when he/she has been on the munch overnight!. That's partly the reason I run the filters I do, as this setup should be able to cope with the waste. The 1250 is rated upto 250ltrs and the 750 upto 150ltrs as this was more than enough for my old 90ltr tank. I'll double check the total turnover when I get home tonight. Also inside I've put a size 6 API active carbon pouch in each filter.

In the four months I've had the royal and L134 they have packed on some size indeed . Ill let them settle in for a while and see how it goes with the levels and stock from there.

Can you reccomend any others that might suit my setup?.

Regards

Matt

 

[Wills]

Carbon does not actually do anything to aid the cycle its more used to take out tannins from bog wood and also to take out excess medicine after a treatment, you would be better off with more bio media like rings and balls etc.

The L134 is a good fish for the tank but yeah consider the Royal and what you want to do. I recently swapped my plecs for whiptail cats and made the right decision for me and my tank, the whiptails are always out especially my largest male Sturioma Aurem. But its not a good idea to mix whiptails and regular plecs.

In a 180 liter a few kind of larger fish that you could keep could be things like golden panchax which are surface dwelling killi fish and bright yellow

And me being me would probably add in a group of cupid cichlids - they should get on with your rams and a 40g tank is big enough to handle the rams and a group of cupids.

Wills

 

[matt p]

Carbon does not actually do anything to aid the cycle its more used to take out tannins from bog wood and also to take out excess medicine after a treatment, you would be better off with more bio media like rings and balls etc.

The L134 is a good fish for the tank but yeah consider the Royal and what you want to do. I recently swapped my plecs for whiptail cats and made the right decision for me and my tank, the whiptails are always out especially my largest male Sturioma Aurem. But its not a good idea to mix whiptails and regular plecs.

In a 180 liter a few kind of larger fish that you could keep could be things like golden panchax which are surface dwelling killi fish and bright yellow

And me being me would probably add in a group of cupid cichlids - they should get on with your rams and a 40g tank is big enough to handle the rams and a group of cupids.

Wills

That's not so good to hear as that's £30 down the drain and I was recommended it by my LFS too. I'll google the panchax and cupids when I get home work has been manic today!. There are three suppliers to me that are all in reasonable distance so I'll keep my eyes peeled for the above

Thanks for the help wills

Regards

Matt