How Many Big Fish, In 400L

[craig855s]

Plan on getting a 400L rio in september and want ot stock it with, initially...
6 bala sharks, 6 clown loaches, and 1 guibbiceps..

I will be running my current filter on it for the first few weeks alongside a big filter specifically for it (current filter is an EX1200 from my 240L, 12 months cycled)

Anwyway, ##143### says that the above stocking is way overstocked for the tank before even adding anything for variety.. Would you guys agree? or not? I know all the above fish may reach 12 inches fully grown and that means slightly more than 1 inch per gallon, but it will take a couple of years to get that bad, by which time the huge new filter will be capable of filtering it and then some, so could i get something that schools to go with them?

 

[Curiosity101]

What are the dimensions of the 400l? I don't think it'll be big enough for the bala sharks long term. Plenty of 400l tanks are ok for fully grown clowns though and may be ok for a common plec/gibbiceps.

 

[ChilliPepper]

I think the Clowns and Gibbi would be OK, but the Balas would get too big

 

[markandhisfish]

agreed 400l sounds big but its not in terms of teh fish you want to stock. my tank is 453L and is 4x2x2. sure its a nice big tank . more than enough for lots of different fish , but when you think that 6 bala sharks fully grown in the region of 12 inches , couple that with 6 clown loaches in the same size range ( granted clowns take a long time to grow that big). and a gibbicep twice that size and 10 times messier than you could imagine. things soon start to feel cramped. while they are growing out yes they will be fine in a 400l but long term you really want something much bigger , coupled with very good filtration.

another point worth considering , is that yes the filter in that timeframe will indeed be well cycled and able to handle the bioload . however a filter will only develop a bacteria colony large enough for the food provided , ie the bioload , so when more fish are added bioload is increased and the filter needs to catch up. and no matter how much biological filtering capability a filter has it cannot give any more physical space.

 

[england]

my bala sharks range from 12-14 inches and they could do with a bigger tank than my 566litre..
I had until recently a gibbicep,he was a wopping 20inches,when he died i mesured him from nose to tail tip,mahoooosive..

 

[craig855s]

OK, so if i get 6 clowns, a gibbiceps, and 6 roseline sharks, what else could i get? or would that be it fully stocked, im really struggling to think of stuff to put in a 400L....

 

[Wills]

OK, so if i get 6 clowns, a gibbiceps, and 6 roseline sharks, what else could i get? or would that be it fully stocked, im really struggling to think of stuff to put in a 400L....

Sounds quite decent to me, the gibbs might get a bit too big for the tank but if you can get a smaller large plec might be a better idea - when I say smaller I mean like one that maxes at a foot or a bit bigger.

As for other fish how about Severums? Uaru or Chocolate cichlids would work nice in there as well, all large growing very peaceful fish. The Uaru need to be in groups of 3 or so but the chocs and sevs are okay on their own or pairs 2 should be happy in your tank. You could also consider some geophagus like geophagus tapajo sp red head or geophagus altifrons any really, again peaceful fish but these need a sand substrate as they pick up loads of substrate in their mouths then fire it out their gills keeping the food in their mouths and if the do it with gravel it can get stuck in their gill flaps.

Wills

 

[craig855s]

Sounds interesting, if i were to get 4 panda uaru would i get 2m2f or 1m3f? and could i get both species of geophagus? 2 red heads and 2 of the others? may take the clowns down to 4 if i done this?

A gibbicpes is a must though.

 

[craig855s]

Can't have the uaru and the geophagus, PH in my local water is very high, like 7.6 at its lowest and potentially nearer 8..

So need more neutral PH fish, or fish that can adapt to the high PH

 

[craig855s]

clowns have been subbed out for yoyo loaches, ill get 5 of those.

I'll probaby have 2 pairs of keyhole cichlids as my centrepiece fish and get loads of shoalers like rasboras or tetras to fill the tank out

 

[arobinson1984]

Hi,

I agree that the tank won't be big enough for a gibbiceps for very long, they very often reach almost 2ft in length and also grow fairly quickly.

Am I right in thinking that the rio 400 is 5ft in length? Even at then a fully grown gibbi will be not far off half the length of the tank, you also have to think about how it would turn around in the tank so it would have to be at least 2ft wide.

In my opinion gibbis shouldn't be in tanks smaller than a 6x2ft footprint


Andy

 

[stang1]

I agree with others about the tank not being big enough for a Gibbiceps. I've got a 5x2x2 tank and wouldn't even consider putting one in that. Not only due to the size they grow but also the amount of waste they produce.
There are so many beautiful Plecs out there that only reach a fraction of the size. Why not go for smaller ones that max out at about 6", that way you could have 3 or 4 assorted ones instead.

 

[kizno1]

what about one of these instead of a gippi
http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=151 they only get to about 14" and look alot nice IMO.
or one of these
http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=161
or one of these its not a plec but i have always wanted to have a tank big enough to keep one
http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=98

 

[craig855s]

Ok, the latest plan is to keep the common plec i already have, and go for only a handful of cichlids that can handle my high PH,and schaolers for the rest...

So.... how many kribensis pairs, keyhole pairs, and juwel cichlid pairs, could i have in a 5ft by 2ft 400L tank, will get a good few rocks, and fake plants, And for the schoolers i'll have rummy nose tetras for the lower-mid section of the tank and harlequins or something similar for the upper reaches, maybe some yellow panchax..

 

[Wills]

Why not go for Central American cichlids in there like Texas Cichlids and Jack Dempseys, Green Terrors would be okay in there as would Salvinis. They would deal with the high ph really well and are suited to them

I would say your plan is a bit flawed the jewel cichlids would be too aggressive to go with the keyholes and possibly the kribs and definatly the schoolers.

Wills