Fish Stocking Combinations?

[rowdyates]

Hi all,

I’ve bought a Juwel Vison 180 tank (180 litres) and am soon to start a fishless cycle to get it ready for some fish. I’ve been toying with various combinations of fish but I’m starting to get a bit overwhelmed by the combinations! Anyway here’s my current list of fish that I’m looking to stock up on and I would like any comments on if this would be a good selection compatibility wise or if there would be too many for the tank, I’m looking to use live plants and the tank is 91cm(w) x 41cm(d) x 55cm(h).

Rams x 2
Guppy (male) x 3
Peppered Corydoras x 3
Bronze Corydoras x 2
Golden Barb x 6
Otocinclus x 2
Dalmation Molly x 3
Either
Cardinal Tetra x 6 or
Harlequin Rasbora x 6

I really like the Rams and wondered if I could actually get 3, any comments? The guppies and the Molly’s weren’t my first choice but my 9 year old really likes them so I’ve tried to include them as well. Like I said any comments would really be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[The-Wolf]

seems a good mix there, I just have some points

Rams should be kept in pairs of in large groups to spread out their aggression, 3 will lead to all sorts of territory issues.
And I'm not sure about rams and guppies together, maybe someone with more experiance with that will help.

6 golden barbs maybe too big for your tank when at an adult size (given all the other fish planned).

otos are very sensative and should only be added to a mature tank, add these last.

don't stock you tank too much at one time, add a few fish at a time and give it a week or so before adding more; this allows the bacteria time to cope with the additional bi-load.

the secrect to sucessfully stocking a tank is patience.

 

[sylvia]

I'd skip the guppies and get platies or something less prone to being nipped instead. Platies come in many colors so I'm sure your child would like them too. The mollies would be ok though.

Also, I'd replace the gold barbs with something else. Have you considered some kind of danio? I like the humble zebra danio and they come in all sorts of variations. They stay small, are very active, extremely hardy and very beautiful. A small school would look lovely. They also happen to be a mostly top-dwelling fish which would be nice in your tank as the other fish are mid to bottom-dwelling species.

If you wanted barbs in particular, maybe get yourself a trio of cherry barbs. These are not a schooling species but have lots of character. You could always increase your tetra/rasbora shoal size to make up for keeping fewer barbs.

Oh and in my opinion you should go for the harlequins instead of the cardinals as they are better schoolers and hardier.

 

[rowdyates]

Thanks both for the advice, I'd missed the fact that the barbs grew so big when adult so they are off the list, I don't particularly want big fish at the moment. For the Rams are you saying don't keep 3, but it is ok to keep in pairs so 2,4,6 etc?

I'll check out the platies, not one I had considered, I must admit I do like the harlequins more than the tetras so they are definately in. I'll also look at the Danios, they were on one of my earlier lists but got removed.

Wolf raised a good point which I mean't to ask in my original post, which was the order to add my fish, I knew the Ottos need a more mature tank and I know Danios could probably go in first, but for the others I mentioned any preference for early or later?

Thanks,

Keith

 

[sylvia]

Your rams would be best kept as a single pair seeing as, when they breed, they'll become more aggressive and having 2 pairs may cause problems (both for each other and for their non-ram tankmates).

When it comes to what order to put them in, I'd say that the rams would also do best placed in a little later as they can be sensitive to bad water quality in immature tanks. The same would apply to guppies as the fancy types that are now often available can be very fragile. If you were to go for either danios or platies, those would be a good fish to place in first as they are very hardy. So are most cories. Other than that, all the fish on your list are relatively hardy and non-aggressive so would do fine introduced in any order.

 

[rowdyates]

OK, had a think and I'm going for:

Rams x 2
Cherry Barbs x 4 - I do like barbs and would like some in there
Peppered Cory's x 3
Bronze Cory's x 2
Ottos x 2
Dalmation Mollie x 2
Harlequins x 6
and Zebra Danios x 6

Hopefully that will be ok, filled my tank tonight and added a few plants and rocks, made a cave out the rocks as well for the Rams, getting a bit excited now. Tomorrow going to start adding some ammonia to cycle it and hopefully in a few weeks, the first residents can move in

Cheers,

Keith

 

[dwarfgourami]

I think I'd go for 5 of the same kind of cory, rather than 3+2, as that makes them more likely to school together=feel happier.

OK, had a think and I'm going for:

Rams x 2
Cherry Barbs x 4 - I do like barbs and would like some in there
Peppered Cory's x 3
Bronze Cory's x 2
Ottos x 2
Dalmation Mollie x 2
Harlequins x 6
and Zebra Danios x 6

Hopefully that will be ok, filled my tank tonight and added a few plants and rocks, made a cave out the rocks as well for the Rams, getting a bit excited now. Tomorrow going to start adding some ammonia to cycle it and hopefully in a few weeks, the first residents can move in

Cheers,

Keith

[snapback]893080[/snapback]​

 

[rixy]

i agree with wolf on the rams.i have 3 and they are always fighting.1 ram lives on the left of the tank,1 in the middle,and 1 on the right of the tank.if any of the rams stray in to each others territory,WATCH OUT i have 9 sterbai cory's in 1 tank and 3 bronze cory's in another tank.the 9 sterbai seem much happier and active.if you can,get 5 or 6 cory,s.they will be active all the time in a decent sized group.

 

[rowdyates]

No problems, I'll look at the Cory's and just get all one variety, I thought they would mix and match fine, but if they would be happier all the same then fine.

Good to hear that I'll be ok with just the 2 Rams, was in the lfs yesterday and they had some, those fish are just beautiful!

Cheers,

Keith

 

[thai]

the only thing about having 2 mollies is that if they are male/female, he will NEVER give her any peace. i have male/female and he just aggrevates the hell out of her constantly. 2 females/1 male may be better for the females, at least they'll get SOME peace I have now moved my male to another tank as they just breed constantly and i didn't want anymore babies!

 

[rowdyates]

Thai,

Thanks for the pointer, I'm sort of moving away from the mollies at th emoment so I'm not sure if they will feature in my tank, but if they do i'll make sure it's not a 1:1 ratio.

Cheers,

Keith