Compatable Fish + How Many?!

[marshy]

Hi all, I'm new to this Forum.

I've recently set up a Juwel 800 (110L/24Gal) fish tank. I Have few decorations and hiding places, 5 plants and a fairly big bit of drift wood.

I've done a bit of research and come up with a selection of fish.

5x Zebra Danios
5x Leopard Danios
10x Neon Tetras
5x Platys
5x Mollys
3x Clown Loach
1x Plec
1x Siamese Fighter
1x Albino Ruby Shark

What I want to no is if they will all be compatable together and if that is to many fish for my size aquarium.

Thanks

 

[alistairw]

Welcome to the forum

Straight away I would leave out the clown loaches and the shark. The shark will grow to around 12cm, but will be quite boisterous and the clown laches will grow to 20 plus cm. No way can you fit 3 of those in a 110litre tank.

Siamese fighting fish (bettas) can be very aggressive and re usually kept in smaller tanks on their own.

Molly's can grow up to about 10 cm.

It depends what plec you get as many of them grow really big - 20cm plus. Don't be deceived by their small size in the shops. They can become stunted in small tanks and this seriously reduces their life span. They can live for over 10 years.

I think danios should be ok, as will the neons and platys. Some danios require larger, wider tanks, even though they are small, because they are such fast little fish and need the extra space because of that.

Hopefully some more experienced members will be able to advise further.

Best thing to do is get your tank on a fish less cycle. While its cycling (growing all the beneficial bacteria to convert ammonia, nitrite and nitrate), you can research the fish by doing searches on here, the web and books.

Good luck!

 

[snazy]

Hi. Honestly, your stock list is impossible and looking for big trouble. The tank is not big enough for 1/3rd of the stock list and the following:

3x Clown Loach
1x Siamese Fighter
1x Albino Ruby Shark

are a no, no. You may fit in a small type of pleco like bristlenose but that depends what else you would put because the plecos need high filtration and the filter that comes with this tank may not be good enough on its own. The clown loaches should be housed in like a minimum 75G tank when they are babies and then double the size when they grow up. I wouldn't put a Siamese figher either, not with the platies and mollies for sure. The mollies will harass him and the colouring of the fish will stress the siamese fighter and it could lead to fish deaths. The sharks are bullies and same as the clowns need to be housed in large tanks, wouldn't even think of a shark in this tank. I'd even say the mollies grow big enough for a tank that size, but although not impossible, they prefer brackish water where the rest of the fish you want are typical freshwater.

And still, the rest are too many fish for that size of thank. When you take into calculation the substrate and other decorations, the real volume of water will be probably no more than 90L and in my opinion, if you go by the one inch per gallon rule providing the fish are suitable for a tank this size, it says maybe 24 inch of fish. If you take the size of danios for example, you can have no more than 12 danios in this tank and nothing else. Of course it is not an absolute rule and depending on fish requirements, filtration, the way the tank is arranged but it gives you an idea.

Also, keep in mind the temperature range the different type of fish require and the ammount of current(strong or slow)

 

[snazy]

Forgot to mention that platies and mollies will breed like rabbits. You only need to get a pregnant female(which most of the shop ones are) and since they are pregnant for nearly 6 months after they met a male you would end up with tons of them in your tank. I only bought two females and got overrun by them in a couple of months time. Now my females and males are separated so no more mating and they stopped giving birth eventually but generally, if you keep both sexes togehter, it seems the platies are no good in eating their own babies and many survive the snack size without any effort.

 

[Murrayjane]

Hey, I am very excited for your new tank.

However, I have to agree with the the comments above. The list of stock that you are intending to get seems more of a wishlist rather than taking a realistic approach.

People generally use a 1 inch of fish per gallon rule with a freshwater community tank. This should be taken as the absolute maximum capacity, otherwise you will face big problems with your water conditions (which will inevitably kill your fish).

If I can offer you any advice it would be to do more research before actually stocking the tank.

As for ideas regarding which fish (both species and numbers) you could consider in a 24 gallon, here are some fish that you should look into. (Remember: Research each fish before purchasing them, or you will have major problems with aggression and problems with water requirements).

Potential Tank Builds for a 24 Gallon. (Not everyone will agree but these serve as more general suggestions)

I would pick 1 or 2 fish that you consider to be MUST HAVES! Then work around those fish. For instance, you might decide that you want a Dwarf Gourami, or a Bolivian Ram. (Here are some examples of a compatible setup in a 24 gallon).

(1 or 2) Dwarf Gourami(s)
(1 or 2) Bolivian Ram(s)
(5-6) Tetras (neon, bleeding hearts.. etc)
(3-5) Mollies
(3-6) Corys

Note: so you could pick 2 Bolivian rams, 1 Dwarf Gourami, 5-6 tetras, 4 mollies (1 male, 3 female), and say 4 corys.
This would be a great tank to have.
OR: 2 Dwarf Gouramis (same sex), 2 Bolivian Rams, 5-6 tetras, 3-6 Corys

And this same sort of build will work for your zebra danios, platies (whatever you want except the fish that will be too large for the tank ex: Clown loaches, Sharks, or big Cichlids)

Some fish that I have always had a lot of joy in keeping are: Killi Fish, Dwarf Gouramis, yoyo loaches, dojo loaches

(Yoyo's will suffice for the clowns)

If you are looking for more of an aggressive tank (bigger but more aggressive fish) try getting a pair of convict cichlid's and keep them in the tank by themselves. They will grow to about 6" and can be a lot of fun to keep (Very easy to care for and if you get a pair they will almost always breed).

At the end of the day, its you who are calling the shots, but be warned that your current stocking idea wouldn't work very long and will cost you a lot with both your funds and patience.

 

[crazyforcordoras]

Honestly, i wouldnt do mollies at all. Theu are big, and produce lots of waste. They also require hard water and even brackish to thrive.

 

[Murrayjane]

Honestly, i wouldnt do mollies at all. Theu are big, and produce lots of waste. They also require hard water and even brackish to thrive.

True, they should be substituted with either platies, tetras, or danios.

 

[Questions?]

Hey, I am very excited for your new tank.

However, I have to agree with the the comments above. The list of stock that you are intending to get seems more of a wishlist rather than taking a realistic approach.

People generally use a 1 inch of fish per gallon rule with a freshwater community tank. This should be taken as the absolute maximum capacity, otherwise you will face big problems with your water conditions (which will inevitably kill your fish).

If I can offer you any advice it would be to do more research before actually stocking the tank.

As for ideas regarding which fish (both species and numbers) you could consider in a 24 gallon, here are some fish that you should look into. (Remember: Research each fish before purchasing them, or you will have major problems with aggression and problems with water requirements).

Potential Tank Builds for a 24 Gallon. (Not everyone will agree but these serve as more general suggestions)

I would pick 1 or 2 fish that you consider to be MUST HAVES! Then work around those fish. For instance, you might decide that you want a Dwarf Gourami, or a Bolivian Ram. (Here are some examples of a compatible setup in a 24 gallon).

(1 or 2) Dwarf Gourami(s)
(1 or 2) Bolivian Ram(s)
(5-6) Tetras (neon, bleeding hearts.. etc)
(3-5) Mollies
(3-6) Corys

Note: so you could pick 2 Bolivian rams, 1 Dwarf Gourami, 5-6 tetras, 4 mollies (1 male, 3 female), and say 4 corys.
This would be a great tank to have.
OR: 2 Dwarf Gouramis (same sex), 2 Bolivian Rams, 5-6 tetras, 3-6 Corys

And this same sort of build will work for your zebra danios, platies (whatever you want except the fish that will be too large for the tank ex: Clown loaches, Sharks, or big Cichlids)

Some fish that I have always had a lot of joy in keeping are: Killi Fish, Dwarf Gouramis, yoyo loaches, dojo loaches

(Yoyo's will suffice for the clowns)

If you are looking for more of an aggressive tank (bigger but more aggressive fish) try getting a pair of convict cichlid's and keep them in the tank by themselves. They will grow to about 6" and can be a lot of fun to keep (Very easy to care for and if you get a pair they will almost always breed).

At the end of the day, its you who are calling the shots, but be warned that your current stocking idea wouldn't work very long and will cost you a lot with both your funds and patience.

If you have 2 male dwarf gouramis they will fight, i would choose either 2 female or a male and female, and idk if they would be good with bollivan rams. If you have the tetras,mollies, corys, gouramis, and rams your tank will be overstocked.

 

[Murrayjane]

It's true that 2 dwarf gourami males will occasionally spar, but in a 24 gallon well planted tank, they will be fine. Any less than a 20 gallon would be problematic. As for the suggested stocking, if the setup was 1 dwarf gourami, 1-2 bolivian rams, tetras, platies, and corys I don't see that being overstocked. Especially if the overall number of tetras, platies are kept between 10-12 fish.

 

[marshy]

Thanks for the great feedback! I've come up with a new list!

4x Leopard Danios
4x Zebra Danios
6x Blue Neons Tetra
3x Agassizi Cory
3x Three Lined Cory
1x Borneo Sucker Loach
1x Half Moon Siamese Fighter (Really want one of these!)

Siamese Fighter should be ok with the smaller fish I thought?

 

[Questions?]

Thanks for the great feedback! I've come up with a new list!

4x Leopard Danios
4x Zebra Danios
6x Blue Neons Tetra
3x Agassizi Cory
3x Three Lined Cory
1x Borneo Sucker Loach
1x Half Moon Siamese Fighter (Really want one of these!)

Siamese Fighter should be ok with the smaller fish I thought?

you will have to watch the fish carefully for the first couple of days, some bettas( half moon siamese fighter) are really agressive, while other are placid.
The danios and tetras might nip the fins of the half moon betta, you might want to also get two small filter, or a big filter that can do 10 or more gallons then your fish tank is, because that sounds a little bit overcrowded, not overstocked but overcrowded

 

[snazy]

If you really want to get a betta, then keep in mind that either the betta can kill some fish, although may not be straight away but you can find them disappearing or if the betta is peaceful enough, fish nippers like the tetras can have a right munch on the betta's tail. The corys would be happier if you get 6 of the same kind, rather than 3 of different kind.
And as suggested before, you would probably want to add a second filter to this tank. Is the tank cycled and how was it cycled?

 

[snazy]

Also, I've never had danios, but temperature wise the siamese fighter would like it warm, like 26 min degrees, the danios like it on the cooler side, 24 max so these two species seem incompatible for this reason alone.

 

[Questions?]

If you really want to get a betta, then keep in mind that either the betta can kill some fish, although may not be straight away but you can find them disappearing or if the betta is peaceful enough, fish nippers like the tetras can have a right munch on the betta's tail. The corys would be happier if you get 6 of the same kind, rather than 3 of different kind.
And as suggested before, you would probably want to add a second filter to this tank. Is the tank cycled and how was it cycled?

lol i said that too, but i didnt mention the 6 instead of 3 and 3, most corys will group with others, and some species breed together, so the 3 and 3 should be fine

 

[snazy]

If you really want to get a betta, then keep in mind that either the betta can kill some fish, although may not be straight away but you can find them disappearing or if the betta is peaceful enough, fish nippers like the tetras can have a right munch on the betta's tail. The corys would be happier if you get 6 of the same kind, rather than 3 of different kind.
And as suggested before, you would probably want to add a second filter to this tank. Is the tank cycled and how was it cycled?

lol i said that too, but i didnt mention the 6 instead of 3 and 3, most corys will group with others, and some species breed together, so the 3 and 3 should be fine

Sorry, didn't see your comment. Also, which cory species interbreed? As far as I know corys of different species don't interbreed and most of them don't shoal together if there are of different type though you can see them eating together of course.