Help Me Decide What Next Please

[JoanneH]

Just started fish keeping, have 27.6 gallon tank with 5 platies, 2 honey gouramis, 6 glowlight tetras, 5 five banded barbs and 1 panda cory (did have 2 but 1 died) Want to keep it a community tank - any suggestion what would be a good choice next?

 

[dthoffsett]

I would suggest adding more panda cories, they really need to be in groups of at least 3, preferably 5 or more. I woulnd't add anything else, sometimes in smaller tanks too many species are just too many, and look confusing IMO.

 

[JoanneH]

Mmmm ... I thought about more panda's but have read that they are more sensitive, my other died the day after I bought it, I have been told that any cories will stick together, so I wondered about 3 bronze one's, but would the panda happily join them?

 

[dwarfgourami]

Bronze cories grow quite big, I'd watch that bioload. Though different cories sometimes join together, for real schooling you usually (not always) need the same species (the reason albinos and bronzes so often school together is that they are the same species). Pandas are sensitive to water stats, so I would make sure your ammonia and nitrites are totally 0, and your nitrates not too high, and then give it another go with 2 more pandas. And then your tank is full.

 

[JoanneH]

I've been given conflicting advice with regard to how many fish it would be ok to put in my tank - depending on full grown size, I've been told around 30??
So far I've only got 19 and nothing that grows large - now I don't know what to do :unsure

I would suggest adding more panda cories, they really need to be in groups of at least 3, preferably 5 or more. I woulnd't add anything else, sometimes in smaller tanks too many species are just too many, and look confusing IMO.

I like to see a good variety of different species in the tank, I think that is just a personal choice thing, but I do take your point about more pandas

 

[dwarfgourami]

I've been given conflicting advice with regard to how many fish it would be ok to put in my tank - depending on full grown size, I've been told around 30??
So far I've only got 19 and nothing that grows large - now I don't know what to do :unsure

I would suggest adding more panda cories, they really need to be in groups of at least 3, preferably 5 or more. I woulnd't add anything else, sometimes in smaller tanks too many species are just too many, and look confusing IMO.

I like to see a good variety of different species in the tank, I think that is just a personal choice thing, but I do take your point about more pandas

Thirty fish might be ok- if they're tiny like heterandrias. But bronzes can easily get to 3 inch. It also depends on how long your tank has been established for. If it is a relatively new tank (not older than 6 months) and you have no extra filtration, then I would stick to the inch/gallon rule: that is 1 inch of smallish fish/US gallon of water. If you get a couple of pandas, you will be very slightly over this rule, but nothing drastic.

Thirty 2-inch fish would be quite a lot for that tank; you would need to add extra filtration and would probably find yourself running out of space- fish need to move around too.

 

[JoanneH]

Oh ok thank you, I'll bear that in mind