Finally Decided On Next Upgrade, Can You Help!

[oneblondebrow]

Hi all,

I have been throwing a few posts your way over the past couple of weeks trying to decide on my next upgrade from my current (and first) 48 litre tank, I have decided on the Juwel Rio 180 aquarium and stand, Below is a list of the fish i would like to have in the tank..

2 x Zebra Danio
1 x Cherry Barb (i would add more but this guy thinks he is a Zebra Danio, Always follows them around and plays with them)
6 x Black Neon Tetra's
12 x Neon Tetra's
3 x Peppered Cory's
1 x Bulldog Pleco

This comes to around 42" Max of fish in a 40 Gallon Tank which i know is slightly over what is recommended (1" per gallon) but i think it should be ok esspecially as they all like different levels of the tank.

Anyway below are some question's i was hoping you guys could answer for me.

1. Will the Bulldog pleco and cory's get on as they all hang around at the bottom?

2. I would like to try using live plants what would you recommend for the fish i have?

3. should i add some wood to the tank?

4. Should i use a sand substrate of gravel?

5. I am planning on buying a couple of ornaments for the plec to hide during light hours, do they need only 1 place or would it be better if i add a few places, maybe even making some sort cave? Another idea is turning over a plant pot with a hole in the side would this be o.k. or would it affect the water?

Thanks lads.

 

[VaegaVic]

Hi all,

I have been throwing a few posts your way over the past couple of weeks trying to decide on my next upgrade from my current (and first) 48 litre tank, I have decided on the Juwel Rio 180 aquarium and stand, Below is a list of the fish i would like to have in the tank..

2 x Zebra Danio (Need to add more, they are a shoaling fish, just like neons.
1 x Cherry Barb (i would add more but this guy thinks he is a Zebra Danio, Always follows them around and plays with them)
6 x Black Neon Tetra's
12 x Neon Tetra's (Ideally either go for Blues or Blacks, the mixture may sound nice, but in practice, it will look poop)
3 x Peppered Cory's (Need to add more again, but if you're not having black neons, you have some space, at min another 2, but a nice shoal of 7-9 would look lovely)
1 x Bulldog Pleco (Ideally, again more is better)

This comes to around 42" of fish in a 40 Gallon Tank which i know is slightly over what is recommended (1" per gallon) but i think it should be ok esspecially as they all like different levels of the tank.

Anyway below are some question's i was hoping you guys could answer for me.

1. Will the Bulldog pleco and cory's get on as they all hang around at the bottom?
Should be fine, but bulldogs can get territorial every once in a while

2. I would like to try using live plants what would you recommend for the fish i have?
Ideally yes, the more live the better. Easy to grow things like Cabomba or egeria.

3. should i add some wood to the tank?
I don't see why not, looks nice and it'll give your plecs something to munch on when they're not busy

4. I am planning on buying a couple of ornaments for the plec to hide during light hours, do they need only 1 place or would it be better if i add a few places, maybe even making some sort cave? Another idea is turning over a plant pot with a hole in the side would this be o.k. or would it affect the water?
Ideally a few places to hide, no more than about 3 of you'll never see them. Terracotta pots are generally fine, however, make sure they don't effect water chemistry by placing them in a bucket of water overnight and testing the following day.

Thanks lads.

EDIT:
You edited it #40## you!
Sand: Sand it always better, but just add some Malaysian Trumpet snails to turn it over.

 

[Wills]

Hi good news about the upgrade it never takes long for people to want bigger I started at 33 liters and now Im at 240 liters and I want to try and get close to 1000 liters by the end of the year

Stocking sounds okay but numbers, just not big enough Im afraid. In your tank I would personally do 2 big schools. I think because of the small size and waste amount caused by most of your fish you could do more fish over all. So maybe consider doing something like

6 x Cherry Barb (2m 4f)
6 x Black Neon
12 x Neon
6 x Peppered Cory
1 x Bulldog Plec

Reasons Ive done it this way cherry barbs work better IME with the male female ratios like that and as long as thats met a school of 6 is good. The cherry barb at the moment will be schooling with the danio because its the most natural thing for them to do but its not ideal they need their own kind. I then put in more cories as they need the bigger groups than 3.

In my oppinion you could still consider adding in a feature fish like a thick lipped gourami - the orange ones are stunning they get a bit bigger than the dwarfs and honey but just as much colour

Wills