Bigger Tank

[sarah86]

in a week or so i will have a new tank set up which will hold approx 100L. Currently i have 5 corys (4 peppered 1 bronze) 3 guppies and 3 harlequin rasboras. I love corys and was thinking about some pygmy's as our lfs has some in but i dont know much about them. I would also like some feature fish, but really dont know what to get. ive looked at gourami's but dont know alot about them and all the different ones starts to get confusing! i dont know whether a couple of slightly larger feature fish will be better or whether to get some more guppies and harleguins and maybe something else.

anyone got any advice?

 

[SJ2K]

Well you'll have alot of options to you firstly to inhance your current stocking list you could certainly do with a few more harlequins, id say another 3-5 would be nice. A few more cories as your a fan wouldnt hurt, ideally you should get 2-4 more bronze so your current one will feel more comfortable. As for feature fish, well again you have plenty of options, Gourami are popular choice and would be nice in your setup, you can also concider other popular fish such as a pair of Blue/Bolivian rams, a shoal or 2 of certain tetra's etc

Good luck and if your unsure about a fish, ask here first

 

[sarah86]

Well you'll have alot of options to you firstly to inhance your current stocking list you could certainly do with a few more harlequins, id say another 3-5 would be nice. A few more cories as your a fan wouldnt hurt, ideally you should get 2-4 more bronze so your current one will feel more comfortable. As for feature fish, well again you have plenty of options, Gourami are popular choice and would be nice in your setup, you can also concider other popular fish such as a pair of Blue/Bolivian rams, a shoal or 2 of certain tetra's etc

Good luck and if your unsure about a fish, ask here first

never heard of blue/bolivian rams before what are they? i'll definatly get some more harlequins as they are lovely fish to watch and i think some more bronze corys will do well. my bronze cory seems to love the peppered it is always shoaling with them. the guppys are good to watch too, they are only small but are so nosey and bold

 

[xxBarneyxx]

I would get a couple more bronze corys and a few more harlequins to go with yours.

For feature fish you might want to take a look at Dwarf Cichlids. A pair of Rams or Kribenses would make a nice addition.

Zebra danios are very active and look quite pretty and would go in ok. Some tetra's might be ok and add colour but they can be a bit nippy with long finned fish like your guppies. Neon Tetras and Glowlight tetras would be my recommendation for a pretty but calm shoaling fish (get at least 6).

I would go for something like:
4 pepper corys
3 bronze corys
6 harlequins
pair of blue ram's (read up on these first to see how to get a bonded pair).
6 Neon Tetras
3 guppies

Edit: lol someone beat me too it and said exactly the same thing. Great minds think alike I guess

Edit2: couple of pictures of my Blue rams, the pics dont do there colours justice. The back part of them have bright/neon blue scales that seem to "flash" on and off as they catch the light.

My Male:

My Female:

I love these fish, despite being cichlids they are very peaceful. They are very, very pretty and have very interesting breeding habits (and are fairly easy to breed). They are also quite inteligent, when I'm close to the tank looking into they always swim right up to the close in front of where I'm looking

 

[SJ2K]

German Blue Ram

Rams are very popular as there small, peaceful and very attractive aquarium fish Im sure the bronze is happy with the peppered but if you were to get more, thats my recommendation to make the most of what you already have

 

[sarah86]

I would get a couple more bronze corys and a few more harlequins to go with yours.

For feature fish you might want to take a look at Dwarf Cichlids. A pair of Rams or Kribenses would make a nice addition.

i have a pair of kribs at the moment but they are being rehomed in the next week hopefully as one of them really does not like my corys or the other krib, they are being rehomed togehter but to a much bigger tank with other kribs so hopefully they'll pair up. dont really want kribs again, didnt know enough about them first time round and should have done some reading up.

just looked at some blue rams, they look gorgeous

 

[SJ2K]

I would get a couple more bronze corys and a few more harlequins to go with yours.

For feature fish you might want to take a look at Dwarf Cichlids. A pair of Rams or Kribenses would make a nice addition.

i have a pair of kribs at the moment but they are being rehomed in the next week hopefully as one of them really does not like my corys or the other krib, they are being rehomed togehter but to a much bigger tank with other kribs so hopefully they'll pair up. dont really want kribs again, didnt know enough about them first time round and should have done some reading up.

just looked at some blue rams, they look gorgeous

Just to clear up, dont let the fact that the Rams are cichlids put you off, I keep mine with cories and they couldnt be happier together I swear she thinks she's a cory really.

 

[sarah86]

I would get a couple more bronze corys and a few more harlequins to go with yours.

For feature fish you might want to take a look at Dwarf Cichlids. A pair of Rams or Kribenses would make a nice addition.

i have a pair of kribs at the moment but they are being rehomed in the next week hopefully as one of them really does not like my corys or the other krib, they are being rehomed togehter but to a much bigger tank with other kribs so hopefully they'll pair up. dont really want kribs again, didnt know enough about them first time round and should have done some reading up.

just looked at some blue rams, they look gorgeous

Just to clear up, dont let the fact that the Rams are cichlids put you off, I keep mine with cories and they couldnt be happier together I swear she thinks she's a cory really.

was just reading about them and it said they like corys so sounds like a good match. i'll keep reading up and speak to my lfs to see what they can get hold of

 

[xxBarneyxx]

BTW my rams are kept with Peppered cory's, silvertip tetras, flame tetras and cherry shrimp. They are not yet fully grown and will probably eat the baby shrimp when they are (if they could catch them) but they do leave everyone else in the tank alone (except when they are spawning or have eggs/fry, at these time they will chase other fish away but not do any harm).

I have kept and breed kribs as well and find the Blue rams to be much more peaceful. With both Rams and Kribs it is important to try and get a pair from the start. This is harder with Kribs then with rams (rams pair off with little to no problems). I have had female kribs that I tried to pair with 5 or 6 different males and not get her to except any of them.

With the Rams I could see a lot that where paired up in the tank at the LFS. If you watch them for long enough in the LFS you will see which ones are paired as they will stay close together and chase anyone that gets close away. You will also notice that one will most likely have a pink belly (the female) and the other will have the longer dorsal spines at the front.

I would go for german/Blue rams over the bolivian rams as they tend to be healthier and easier to keep.

 

[sarah86]

thanx for all the advice everyone. xxBarneyxx your rams look beautiful. I definatly think these might be the fish for me. I just need to find a store nearby which stocks them. anyone know? im in birmingham but can travel

 

[SJ2K]

Veeeery easy fish to buy, if for some odd reason your LFS doesnt have any, give them the heads up you want a pair and im sure they'll get some in Probably one of the most popular in this area, all our stores have them.

 

[xxBarneyxx]

Strangly enough I had problems getting them in SE Kent. Most of my LFS stock bolivian Rams and only one had blue rams. They are normally pretty easy to get though, It is normally easier to pick a pair when most of the stock has been sold and the tank is less crowded. You also know then that they have had a little longer to acclimitise and for any illness to show up.