Fish For A Communial Tank

[Rackie]

Hi,

Currently in the process of cycling my Tropical tank (65 litre - 17 Gallon - Aquastart 500) and now just spending the time researching the best fish to get for creating a communial tank.

I know this may have been asked countless times before but I would be really grateful if I could have some suggestions/reccomendations for the best species to get. I am hoping to have a mixture of top, middle and bottom dwelling species.

Some ideas I have at the moment:

Platy
Danio
Tetra's (Group of around 6)
Oto's (2 or 3)
Molly's (3 or 4)

Thanks in advance.
P

 

[n3ont3tra]

To me that sounds good. Just some alternatives are cories, a type of catfish that generally doesn't grow past 3 inches. They come in many varieties, and have a great personality. They also help clean up the bottom of your tank. They prefer groups of at least 3. Another fish is Harlequin Rasobras. They look stunning in a shoal, and are pretty active. Also, note that Danios are best kept in groups of at least 6. Once your tank is up and running, if you get a pait of livebairers, you WILL have fry. Keep this in mind when you decide whether you have the heart to let them get eaten, because 100+ fry every 4 weeks is a LOT of fish. My personal recomendation for your tank is this:

8 small tetras (maybe cardinals?)
8 Harlequin Rasboras
5-6 Cories (It's up to you what type, my favorites are Pandas, but they are a little bit... delicate. You may want to chose a small type though.)
It's true that this does exceed the 1 inch per gallon rule, but if you keep up with your water changes and have enough filtration you should be fine.

 

[dwarfgourami]

I would steer away from the mollies as they do really have rather different water requirements from most of the other fish you mention- in fact, they tend to do better with a little salt in the tank.
Platies are a good choice and one of my favourite fish- you just need to give some thought to sex ratios. You can keep 1 male with 2-3 females (don't get a pair, because the male will harrass the female non-stop)-but you will get overrun with fry. Or you can keep 5 males together (not fewer as you may have aggression problems). Or you can keep 2-3 females on your own (yo may still get fry, but they will stop eventually).

I would definitely look into corydoras as n3ontetra suggests. Lovely fish and not that difficult to keep. They need a substrate of either sand or smooth gravel. Another possbility for the bottom might be khuulie loaches.

Otos can be difficult to establish and may prefer a mature tank. They don't eat algae but they do scavenge for leftovers.

Danios might find your tank a little on the small side, as they are very active; I would look into that suggestion of rasboras instead. Very nice fish and good schoolers, too.

As for stocking ratios- a small school of corys and either a school of rasboras or tetras or some platies will pretty well stock the tank. If I were you, I would leave it at that for the first few months, and think about going overstocked when you have a little more experience.

 

[Squid]

Otos can be difficult to establish and may prefer a mature tank. They don't eat algae but they do scavenge for leftovers.

That must depend on the algae then, mine went mad for the algae in my tank, and became prolific poop machines.

I totally agree with the comment about needing a mature tank. These are sensitive little critters and suffer from stress quite easily... but great littlle things.

Squid

 

[xostrawberryox]

Careful with mollies because they do seem to prefer brackish, otherwise they tend to get ill quite often... see this info http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=137887

 

[dwarfgourami]

Otos can be difficult to establish and may prefer a mature tank. They don't eat algae but they do scavenge for leftovers.

That must depend on the algae then, mine went mad for the algae in my tank, and became prolific poop machines.

I totally agree with the comment about needing a mature tank. These are sensitive little critters and suffer from stress quite easily... but great littlle things.

Squid

Whoops what a typo!!! I meant to say that corys don't eat algae- somehow I put it on the wrong line. Of course, otos eat algae- they are well known for it. That should teach me not to try to do things with the mouse before breakfast!