Need A Few More Fish

[awilson360]

Hi guys,

My tank is now nicely cycled with 2 Dwarf Gourami, 4 Panda Corydoras and a Bristlenose Plec. Its a 24 x 12 x 15 and apparently im around 70% stocked.

I am thinking about getting a few more mid-top level fish but what could I get? My pH is steady at 7.8-8 with a water temp of 25C. I would like 6 Harlequin Rasboras but would they get chased about by my Dwarfs? I don't really want very fragile fish like Tetras so I'm open to Danios or Rasboras.

Any recommendations?

Thanks,
AW

 

[Wills]

Yeah a nice school of 8-10 harlequins would work pretty nice in that tank - the gourami may chase them but nothing major.

Wills

 

[elisew]

Harlequins would probably fit in nicely.

I have some and there`s no problems between them and my Rams or my Apistos. They generally just seem to chill with all of the fish in my tank to be honest.

 

[awilson360]

I guess I could get 8 Harlequin Rasbora, that would literally bring my stocking to 100%. But how would I go about introducing them to the tank?
I don't really want to go out buy 8 new fish and stick them in with my current fish incase they have some diseases. I only have a very small quarantine tank, its 16 x 8 x 8.

What should I do?

AW

 

[Wills]

The stock you have now with the harlequins would possibly be 100% stock with the inch per gallon rule and also according to a certain aquatic adviser but I would ignore the adviser as its going by the inch per gallon rule which is kind of applicable when adding up fish in your head quickly but when you sit down and think about it tanks can actually stretch a lot further.

Also something to consider - When stocking a tank while you need to take into account the over all bioload of the tank its also important to balance that against the need for schooling fish to have the correct numbers hence why I recommended higher levels of cories and harlequins

Wills

 

[awilson360]

Ok well I am happy at the moment with my number of Corydoras. They are a great group and tend to school together at night.
If I add 8 Rasboras I could always get air powered sponge filter to cope with the extra bio-load when the plec gets to a large size.

AW

Update: 6 Neon Tetras would bring my stocking to 93%. Are these ok as long as the pH remains stable?