Community Tank Selection?

[Daniel97]

Hi Guys,

My community tank is now underway and I need some advice as to my stock list.

I currently have

2 dwarf gouramis
2 corydoras (these are new today - do they help keep a tank clean?)

I would like to add

10 cherry shrimp
1 bristlenose plec (or do these grow massive?) - just to keep my tank clean
10 male guppies
10 neon tetras

Some snails? Assassin?

Does this sound okay or stupid?

 

[super-MAGuire]

Hi Guys,

My community tank is now underway and I need some advice as to my stock list.

I currently have

2 dwarf gouramis
2 corydoras (these are new today - do they help keep a tank clean?)

I would like to add

10 cherry shrimp
1 bristlenose plec (or do these grow massive?) - just to keep my tank clean
10 male guppies
10 neon tetras

Some snails? Assassin?

Does this sound okay or stupid?

I would add atleast 4 more cory 1st, and how big is the tank, but everything mentioned will get on fine. Just depends if the tank is large enough and filtration is good enough.

 

[Crossfire]

How big is the tank and is it cycled?

 

[Daniel97]

Sorry lol!

125 litres - 2 months old an yes it's cycled

Use a Fluval 206 as filtration with a spraybar for the surface

 

[The Taffy Apple]

Never buy or rely on a fish to keep your tank clean.... that's the job of a good fishkeeper
Cory's, no matter what type, need food and a diet all to themselves... never rely on them having enough food from the amount you would feed the rest of the tank.
I am no Plec expert, there are some available that grow less than 4/5 inches, but the vast majority of them CAN grow in excess of 10-12 inches !!
See my stocking in my signature below for a peaceful, community stocked tank, if that's what you are looking for.

Terry.

 

[Daniel97]

I love Plecs behaviour (cleaning is a bonus) I just like how they hide around in there caves and suck on the glass!

Likewise corydoras ..

I would like a small plec though not a large common!

 

[bikerfish]

Hi brn plecs are great and only grow to 4 to 5 inches but they are also a messy fish , mine gets on well with cories as I have 12 . Cories again great little fish and they are lots of fun esp when you have a few of them , would agree you need to get at least 2 more of the same species that you bought today Also have you got substrate or small round gravel in your tank? the cories have barbels which they use when looking for food and large or sharp gravel will wear them away and they will not be able to eat properly
Hope this has helped
cathy

 

[mike455555]

dont get assassin snails with cherry shrimp they'll make a quick meal of them

 

[Crossfire]

dont get assassin snails with cherry shrimp they'll make a quick meal of them

I have an assassin snail with cherries and its never gone after or nibbled on themo once. They simply are too fast to be eaten by snails if it went after them anyway.

Gouramis and guppies are a bad idea, as the gouramis will see the guppies's long fins as rivalry and they will attack them.

Does the tank have a sand substrate?

I would go:
10x Neon Tetras
1x Bristlenose
2x Dwarf Gouramis
8-10x Cories
10+ Cherry Shrimp

You will need to heavily plant the tank, as to provide the two gouramis plenty of places to claim territories and to hide if they get aggressive. Also for the cherries to hide and and breed. Moss is a good place for cherries to breed and hide. An open swimming space in the middle would be good for the neons to swim around in. Maybe a coconut cave or some driftwood would provide the bristlenose with some caves and wood to latch on to.


Personally, I would never get Assassin Snails unless you had a snail problem. I have a really bad pest snail problem, and I only have one to keep the population down. And withouth a large pest snail population to keep the Assassin satisfied and always hunting, it will eventually go after fish eggs, fish fry, and in rare instances, cherry shrimp. But they enjoy a nice snail much better over a shrimp, so you will need lots of pest snails. Apple snails don't really do anything except have lots of babies.

Good luck

 

[Daniel97]

My tank currently is half full of plants and they are growing as I took my first cutting and replanted yesterday

So should be nice and planted I hope!

Just worried that with a planted tank and not a huge amount of space on the bottom because of roots and bogwood the plec won't have swimming space?

I have a rogue guppy I rescued from a neighbour too when they bought 20 for a day old tank and about 18 of them died

Here's a pic ..

 

[Crossfire]

My tank currently is half full of plants and they are growing as I took my first cutting and replanted yesterday

So should be nice and planted I hope!

Just worried that with a planted tank and not a huge amount of space on the bottom because of roots and bogwood the plec won't have swimming space?

I have a rogue guppy I rescued from a neighbour too when they bought 20 for a day old tank and about 18 of them died

Here's a pic ..

Don't worry, the plec will have plenty of space! The algae on the driftwood will send him into a cleaning frenzy
BNs don't really need swimming space, more like sucking space.

We'll want pics for when all the fish are in

Oh, and a little more plants never hurt anyone
I can recommend any moss, moss balls, amazon swords, tiger lotus, java fern, and any anubias

 

[Daniel97]

I need plant donations and a fishkeepers help havnt a clue how you plant them so I have bits of wool floating around my tank from the roots where they were bought!

I just picked up a nice 3" plec btw! He's awesome!

3" is generous lol maybe a 2"