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[Salam]

I am getting seriously addicted to fish. What started with a 10 gallon tank last year has now evolved to three tanks. I just got my third tank off ebay for £10 (bargain or what?). Obviously needs filter, heater etc, but still the tank itself is in perfect condition, so happy

I would appreciate you looking at my plans and maybe share your ideas / suggest stocking.

Tank 1 - 10 gallon
Currently a platy fry tank. Once the fry is big enough to survive in tank 2 it will be converted into a betta tank (one male) with 6-8 pygmy cories

Tank 2 - 30 gallon
My big community tank
Current stock:
- two platies (1m 1f)
- two guppies (both male)
- eight white cloud minnows
- one albino cory
- red cherry shrimps
- snails

When I bought my cory I didn't know they were schooling fish (LFS didn't tell me) so he will definitely get a few friends.
A few of the platy fry will also go into the tank, the rest will be given to a friend. In future I am planning on keeping the platy fry level down by letting nature take it's course and if there are more survivors than expected I shall be a bit cruel and feed them to the betta in tank 1.

I think that is enough then, all seem very happy together and there is enough to look at.

Tank 3 - 24 gallon
This is the new tank. Once it is cycled I am thinking of adding the following:
- a pair of bolivian rams
- a pair of pearl gouramis
- possibly a pair of dwarf gouramis (if I can)
- a schooling fish / small fish to add some movement (suggestions please!) (Endlers? Tetras?)

Do those plans sound ok, especially regarding tank 3? I want something a little different to my current community tank, as both tanks will be in the living room, hence I thought two to three pairs of 'bigger' fish would be a nice change. I know that the rams and pearl gouramis would definitely be happy together, could I add the dwarf gouramis on top? And is the tank big enough for those plans? Ditch the dwarf gouramis?

Any suggestions, advice, ideas are much appreciated.

 

[Salam]

Anyone?

 

[Salam]

Nobody?

 

[Salam]

80000 members and nobody can suggest anything? I shall go and sulk in a corner

 

[Tizer]

mostly sounds ok to me, although on tank 3, i would stick to one pair of one species rather than several pairs, not much space if either of them want to breed/spawn. I've got Bolivian rams, they are very cool and grow quite large and generally don't get too argumentative with other fish. so if you did want two pairs of something, i'd go with them + gourami, rather than gourami + gourami.

 

[Salam]

Thanks, Tizer. I was starting to feel lonely here

So, a pair of bolivian rams and a pair of pearl gouramis is fine for tank 3 then and I will ditch the dwarf gouramis.

Any suggestions for a smaller / schooling fish to add for movement?

 

[Tizer]

the list is quite endless, but penguin tetra, rummynose and harlequin rasboras all move in tight formation and in my opinion are a little more interesting than the normal boring option of neons.

 

[DrRob]

Don't worry, we're not ignoring you, I've just been at work. End of financial year and all that.

I'm largely with tizer. the list of shoaling fish you can add to tank 3 is endless, but remember that by their nature that like to be with good sized groups of their own species. It's very tempting to have lots of little groups but they'll be happier in bigger groups of 1 or 2 types.

 

[Salam]

Thanks both. I will have a look around, I really just want to add 1 or 2 bigger groups of smaller fish to the couple of pairs (that sounds weird, but you kno what I mean ). Are there any that should definitely be avoided? Am I right thinking that fin nippers like guppies shouldn't be put together with gouramis? Not that I want to anyway, I got guppies in tank 2, would just like to know if there are definite no-nos.

 

[Tizer]

and on the day i said neons were boring, i put 60 in my 90 litre

 

[Salam]

and on the day i said neons were boring, i put 60 in my 90 litre

Oh, can I ask another thing please.

Tank 2 has playsand, bogwood, coconut huts and live plants. I want tank 3 to look different but still natural. Can I get something like black sand? And somewhere I have seen wood that looks redish in the water, what is it called? I think that would give a nice contrast.

 

[Tizer]

Unipac Black Silica sand is probably a good call, most maidenhead aquatics sell it, or can order it in.

Redmoor or Mopani wood could look nice against it, best to do a google images search on both and see what you think

 

[Aqua Tom]

All sound great, my favorite is tank 1. Done correctly that wl look awsome.


Tom

 

[Salam]

Thanks, Tizer! Gives me something specific to look for. Googled mopani, it doesn't really look red or will it change after a while? I think the red and black contrast would look really good. Redmoor seems to come in interesting shapes.

Tom, thanks too. Once it is all done I will add pictures. At the moment only tank 2 is ready. I should really try and get a decent photograph of it, am quite pleased with it.

 

[Dieses Madchen]

Another great tetra is the Lampeye/Red Eye tetra (ive seen them under both names). They tend to shoal pretty tightly, and are very neat to watch. I have a shoal of 10 in my 55g