Compatibility Question

[Fishrockmysox]

I'm getting $410 for Christmas from my mom and I plan on buying a 50 Gallon. I know some of the types of fish I'm getting but not sure if they go together. I am making a chart on Microsoft Works SpreadSheet(Excel) and I have listed everything just about. Their names, pH, Hardness, Water Temp, their Temperment, Adult Size, their tank levels and even their life span... But I'm still a little loosy-goosy on if the'll go together... I know that I have until December to plan the whole thing which is quite a few months and I can still get in more research(I am familiar with all the types really) but I like having opinions...

This is so far the fish I plan on getting... I will find more later on the


Angelfish
Peppered Cory
Zebra Danio
Cherry Barb
UpsideDown Catfish
Clown Loach
Queen Pleco
German Blue Ram
Kribensis


Any ideas about how they'll "live" together? And any ideas about numbers? I know I'll be getting at least 2(maybe 3 or 4) Clowns, and at least 2 Peppered Corys but should I get like 3 Corys? Basically any idea about how they'll be together and if I should put some in groups-if so what fishes should I?

I will come up with more I garuntee

I'll also take suggestions on other fish too!

Every opinion counts!

Oh, one more thing... can I mix in any type of plecos?


*EDIT*
I'm getting 50/55G tank.

 

[dwarfgourami]

Hi!
The main problem I see is with the size of the clown loaches; they grow far too big for the 40 gallon. I would leave them out and get a good school of the half-banded ones instead- you're going to see a lot more of them if you've got good numbers. Don't forget to provide plenty of hiding places; it makes them bolder and more confident if they know they can easily get back to safety. I would get 5 or 6 khuulies and at least 3 corys, but more is merrier. Danios are also group fish- at least 6 should go in a school. The angel should be all right on its own. It is many years since I kept an angel, and I don't remember how it got on with danios- maybe you could ask people in the New Cichlids forum.

About the plec- yes, you could add a dwarf plec (clown or bristlenose), but your tank is already quite bottom-heavy, plecs poop enormous amounts and corys are sensitive to bacteria in a dirty substrate, so I don't think I would. I would make it either a dwarf plec or the corys.

 

[Fishrockmysox]

I have this on another fish forum website and no one has commented on teh Cory & Pleco. . . I'll look more into it though to make sure I get a positive "thinking" on it...

 

[dwarfgourami]

I have this on another fish forum website and no one has commented on teh Cory & Pleco. . . I'll look more into it though to make sure I get a positive "thinking" on it...

Yes, it's not a definite no-no - as long as you don't go for a common plec or a sailfin or a royal or any of the other big ones. Plecs are not incompatible with cories, and there are plecs that stay small enough for this tank. I was just thinking of the balance of this particular tank. If you do go for it, you will want to be meticulous with gravel vacuuming.

 

[Fishrockmysox]

I have this on another fish forum website and no one has commented on teh Cory & Pleco. . . I'll look more into it though to make sure I get a positive "thinking" on it...

Yes, it's not a definite no-no - as long as you don't go for a common plec or a sailfin or a royal or any of the other big ones. Plecs are not incompatible with cories, and there are plecs that stay small enough for this tank. I was just thinking of the balance of this particular tank. If you do go for it, you will want to be meticulous with gravel vacuuming.

I will... I do wnat a more so Carnivorous Pleco becasue the tend to produce less waste. I know there will be a lot of bottom dwellers with Corys, Clowns, and 1 Pleco. I hope it works.

 

[Fishrockmysox]

Thanks for all the suggestions! Keep them coming!!

 

[Miss Wiggle]

Sounds like your going about things the right way doing your research, keep it up adn I'm sure you'll be a marvelous fishkeeper few comments about the fish you've suggested below

Angelfish - Get quite tall, need a tank at least 18" tall, allow 5g in your stocking for each one.
Peppered Cory - Get a group of 6, they're sociable and prefer to have friends, you'll see a lot more of them if you have a few
Zebra Danio - Fine, again get a group of 6+ - like a lot of swimming room so allow a little extra space in the stocking for them.
Cherry Barb - Check out the m/f ratio, I can't remember it off the top of my head but I think you may need to be careful how many boys and girls you have
UpsideDown Catfish - should be fine
Clown Loach - get to 12" and need to be kept in groups, gonna be too big for your tank I'm afraid
Queen Pleco - Nice choice!! As someone said you will need to be careful with it and the cories.... not that you can't do it but you will have to be meticulous with vaccing, I have a royal which is oen of the messiest plec's around with my cories and it's fine, but I have v good filtration and vac twice a week on that tank. If you don't mind a bit of work it can be fine.
German Blue Ram - They can be a little sensitive, don't add them at the start, wait until your tank is at least 6 months old. The bolivian ram is a slightly harider alternative
Kribensis - Fine I think, I'm not a Krib expert.

Other than that sounds quite good. Do you know the inch per gallon rule for stocking. Not a rule really just a guideline, but you need to aim for the same number of inches of fish (worked out on adult size) as you have us gallons in the tank. This really only applies to fish under about 3/4" over that and you start to need to allow more/less than they're size based on how much waste they produce and they're agression.