Fish Stocking .. Hmmm Help Please

[Danny133]

Hi Guys & Girls,

I have a 4ft Rio 240. 55gal i believe? Unless i dreamt that bit! My filtration is a Fluval 305 and Vectron 600 UV.

Anyway what can i stock? I have plans to have a planted tank. Not overgrown but trimmed and basic plants ..

I MUST have a shoal of Neon/Cardinal Tetras. But how many?

I also want a single male betta. Is this possible in a tank this size?

What about guppies?

 

[Curiosity101]

It's actually 63gal, and how many neons/cardinals you can have depends on what else you want aswell as the neons/cardinals.

A single male betta is going to be alright in there, but it's deeper than I'd personally put a betta in considering they need to visit the surface for air. Also it'd severely limit your other possible stock.
So in short, I wouldn't put a male in there.

Guppies should be fine, but it depends what other fish you want (cause obviously some fish will have a go at guppies).

 

[Danny133]

I really dont know i need help and sugestions or it will be empty!

Neons are a must.
Guppies are a must.

How many of each and what else can i keep?

 

[Curiosity101]

Ah right. That helps a little bit lol.

If you want neons to be a big part of the display then I would suggest a group of at least 20...and 30 would look even better.

Then do you want male and female guppies? Or just males or what? If just males I'd get 6-10 males.

I'd then probably get a pair of medium sized cichlids as a centerpiece.

 

[Danny133]

Well my LFS who are clearly a bit .. what shall we say .. £££ orientated

said about 50-75 tetras.

I was going to aim for 30/40?
Then guppies .. erm males i guess .. 10/15?

Any other small fish i could then keep?

If my estimations are wrong .. please do shoot me down before i make a pandemonial mistake!

 

[Curiosity101]

I would say 75 tetras really isn't unfeasible if they were the only fish in the tank. But if you want a bit of variety then 30/40 seems fair.

And 10-15 guppies would be fine, but I'd personally stick to around 10...although having said that I wouldn't put guppies in a tank that big.

Do you want any big centerpiece fish or do you prefer large groups of small fish?

If so how about...
10 Guppies
40 neons
15 corys

or

10 Guppies
40 neons
15 kuhli loach

 

[Danny133]

Having come from a marine tank .. colour is a must lol

so lets say

40 tetras?
10 male guppies?
5 corys?

seriously not even 1 betta? i love them

what other fish other than corys as i wouldnt want 15 of them .. maybe 5?

 

[Curiosity101]

I'm not saying don't, I'm just saying that for a fish that needs to breath air it's quite a deep tank. If you put in plenty of places for it to rest near the surface then it should be fine. But if you want colour in a 240l tank, I'm not sure I'd be thinking of a betta when there are so many other fish open to you.

Particularly the medium sized cichlids...1 sec and I'll get a list.
Dwarf Flag Cichlid - Laetacara curviceps
Sajica/T-Bar Cichlid - Archocentrus sajica
Rainbow Cichlid - Herotilapia multispinosa
Keyhole Cichlid - Cleithracara maronii
Seven-Stripe Cichlid - Archocentrus septemfasciatus
Cutter's Cichlid - Archocentrus sp. 'cutteri'
Rio Miua Apisto - Apistogramma sp. 'Miua'
Honduran Red Point - Cryptoheros sp. 'honduran red point'
Nijsseni's Dwarf Cichlid - Apistogramma nijsseni

Check those out and see if anything catches your eye.

Also I reckon your tank is big enough for a severum. Check out 'Gold severum' and 'green severum'.
Also there is the port acara and blue acara...

 

[Danny133]

cichlids are very nice ..

so okay then ..

40 tetras
10 male??? guppies. Or a male female mix?
1 male betta (IF i can find a placid one for a community tank & provide it with suitable living space - if not ill take him out)
1 cichlid as a center piece? i am led to believe 2 (if males can fight)
A few corys?

God i really am stuck!

Could i have any platies?

 

[Curiosity101]

Lol... I'm afraid you're going have to pick between them tbh.

If you want a tank of small bright fish then go for it. If you want a large bright fish with some personality then you definitely want a cichlid.
But with the larger cichlids you need to be careful what else you put in the tank, but again (just as with marine fish presumably) this doesn't apply to all cichlids.

 

[Danny133]

thanks for your help and for putting up with my dilly dallying!

im decided

40 cardinals
10 guppies
1 cichlid
5 corys



and as for the rest .. lol pftt time will tell i spose!

 

[Curiosity101]

If you're going with cardinals then I'd suggest...

30 cardinals
10 guppies
1 cichlid
8 Corys (if you prefer them 'prettier' then check out sterbai corys)

At the end of the day it's easy to add more fish (if you find your stats holding fine once everyone is mature). But it's a pain to have to remove fish.

 

[Danny133]

very true

 

[Danny133]

Can i have red tailed sharks in a community tank?

Or Angels?

 

[BethK]

Can i have red tailed sharks in a community tank?

Or Angels?

RTS are best off as a single shark, with no other shark types in a tank. It is said, that if you wish to keep them in a community, then do so with larger fish.