Looking For New Fishes

[Amavi]

Hey guys,

I have recently decided to change my stocking because well I am fed up of live bearers. I love my bottom feeders which I will be keeping but all the mollies and platys are now leaving for new homes which is a shame within itself because the babies that have been produced are stunning! (I will never use a breeding net again it is far too easy to find yourself with too many fish!)

Anyway. I have a Rio 180 what would you suggest for the midwater fish? I was thinking of rams or gourami's? I saw an Oscar the other day and he was beautiful yet I am very aware of these fish and my tank is not suitable The tank they are in is well planted and full of wood and a sunken ship! I want some that are very pretty/ eye-catching types

Get your suggestions in please

 

[garyspence84]

Discus

Always been a fan of dwarf gourami, rainbow fish are nice too. Or a good old shole of rummys and bleeding hearts always look nice.

G

 

[Zante]

I just LOVE amazon fish, so i would shout rams and tetras at you, BUT, they are soft water fish. You'd need to check your water parameters.

Otherwise, something I was thinking of trying at some point was a male betta, three female bettas, a male dwarf gourami, three female dwarf gouramis and a largeish shoal of harlequin rasboras.

What bottom feeders do you have?

 

[sadguppy]

You can't keep male and female bettas together long term so please don't do that! Dwarf gouramis are lively and great fun until they get ill which they do a lot How about rainbow fish? Really want some myself. Or angels?

 

[Zante]

You can't keep male and female bettas together long term so please don't do that!

I would have thought that in a big enough tank (180 litres) and a small number would be ok...

 

[sadguppy]

You can't keep male and female bettas together long term so please don't do that!

I would have thought that in a big enough tank (180 litres) and a small number would be ok...

I don't keep bettas myself so I am not an expert, but I have read many times that you cannot keep them together as they will kill each other. I am always willing to be proven wrong but that is the generally accepted advice!

 

[Amavi]

hmm interesting. My pH sits at around 7.5/ 7.6. I am not really interested in Bettas if im honest

 

[tomtomtom1230]

My dwarf gourami trio are quite happy in a pH of 7.8 - 8.1 I don't see how these conditions are ideal for plants or fish in theory but it's working with my setup. A word of caution though, I found that the females are much more aggressive than the males. I may have to separate these fish sooner or later, the females are simply too pushy and the male is being bullied. No torn fins or anything that physically harms the fish, just bossiness from the girls! Amazing looking fish though, especially the males. It's a real treat when he's out and about doing his morning rounds, looking for food under the leaves of my plants! I've seen him make a bubble nest, too but no babies yet. Very interesting to watch, too. Their tendrils apparently help them navigate through the tank and all my gouramis seem to be somewhat left 'handed'. They will ALWAYS reach out with their left tendril first before stretching the right one out, without fail! It's incredible!

 

[prankster705]

Most "soft" water fish do fine under most tap water conditions. pH swings are far more detrimental than simply keeping them at a tap pH level. Most of them have been captive bred to the point that they have zero problems. Extra caution applies to wild caught fish.

You could try a number of smaller cichlid species; keyholes, bolivian rams, countless apistogramma species come to mind.

 

[Amavi]

I have heard rams dig up your plant tanks and only prefer sand? I have the soft pebbles and sand substrate mixed together and a very well planted tank.

All my mollies left for a new home today and went together which was nice. I was sad to see one of the baby mollies go as she wasn't a great swimmer because of a birth defect. I am not sure if it was her fins that were too small, I couldn't really see the initial problem but none of the other fish bothered her. She mainly rested at the bottom and would come up to feed and have a little swim about. Very pretty little thing and silver body with black and the odd orange spot. Oh well I am sure she will be fine!

I really cannot decide what I want and I would like to go fish shopping tomorrow but its too hard a decision. I was thinking of a shark and possibly a couple more corys. I do have 5 cory babies growing in an ice-cream tub that's floating in the tank at the moment lol

I have only platys and guppy fry remaining (the fry being in a breeding net that I cannot wait to get rid of!) in the tank now which are going to a new home hopefully this week! This is a too hard of decision but I want to get it right this time as I ended up with far too many fish and high nitrates and orange water because of the amount I had. Yet every new fish keeper tends to make that mistake I suppose

help me decide! Something pretty but not Angels and I don't think my tank would be deep enough with the sunken ship in there.

 

[Amavi]

Bump

 

[garyspence84]

Rams would be fine in your substrate, but they do prefer softer ph, of around 7. at highest.
Think your doing the right thing getting rid of all your live bearers. As pretty as they are, there a pain to keep on top of.
What about a ghost knife? There nice looking oddballs. Not sure just how big they actually get right enough.

G

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

I have heard rams dig up your plant tanks and only prefer sand? I have the soft pebbles and sand substrate mixed together and a very well planted tank.

All my mollies left for a new home today and went together which was nice. I was sad to see one of the baby mollies go as she wasn't a great swimmer because of a birth defect. I am not sure if it was her fins that were too small, I couldn't really see the initial problem but none of the other fish bothered her. She mainly rested at the bottom and would come up to feed and have a little swim about. Very pretty little thing and silver body with black and the odd orange spot. Oh well I am sure she will be fine!

I really cannot decide what I want and I would like to go fish shopping tomorrow but its too hard a decision. I was thinking of a shark and possibly a couple more corys. I do have 5 cory babies growing in an ice-cream tub that's floating in the tank at the moment lol

I have only platys and guppy fry remaining (the fry being in a breeding net that I cannot wait to get rid of!) in the tank now which are going to a new home hopefully this week! This is a too hard of decision but I want to get it right this time as I ended up with far too many fish and high nitrates and orange water because of the amount I had. Yet every new fish keeper tends to make that mistake I suppose

help me decide! Something pretty but not Angels and I don't think my tank would be deep enough with the sunken ship in there.

I would definitely rule out any "shark minnow" in a Rio180 (they tend to be too territorially aggressive and big), but for something similar looking but suitable in a general community, either a single or three (not two, likely to have bullying) Panda Garra.

Just for clarification, what fish (species and quantities) are left free swimming in the Rio180, plus any other fish you already have (like say the Corydoras you mention) that are planned to move into this tank?

 

[Amavi]

I have 4 corys (5 babies in an ice-cream tub floating and growing rapidly) 2 yoyo loaches which are due to drop eggs soon, 4x adult platys and plat/guppy fry remaining (about 10 or 11 in the net). All the gups and plats are moving hopefully today to a new home (soon as my brother gets round to pick them up) So only the bottom dwellers will be staying.

The yoyos are very active and lively so I am not going to up the numbers as I am aware they will need to move, so will be going to my brothers 5ft tank soon who has other loaches (please don't worry as I have sorted it all out ).

It is strange having the tank light on and not seeing all my fishes swimming about as active as it was! If my exam goes well today I shall be taking a trip to the fish store

 

[prankster705]

Vietnamese loaches will be fine in a 180l .

As far as "sharks" go; you could try some true sae (Crossocheilus oblongus). But they are borderline (if you are very conservative with stocking) as far as size and activity goes.

pH is really not that big a factor with most tank bred fish as they have usually been in non acidic water for generations. In any case, most people report keeping even fish such as captive bred discus at slightly basic pH levels with no problem. Problems arise if only with egg development, but adult fish usually don't mind most specific pH levels, as long as extremes and rapid fluctuations are avoided.