Need An Extra Fish Or Two In My Tank!

[LoachLover!]

My 50 gallon (200L) aquarium is looking a bit lifeless.

I currently have:

1 x Bristlenose Pleco (+2 babies, 1 of which I will probably keep, the other will be moved on)
2 x Bolivian Rams
3 x Ottos
5 x Three Lined Cories
3 x Zebra Loaches
1 x Angelfish
6 x Bleeding heart tetras
6 x Kuhli Loaches

Looks like a lot, most of the stock is on the bottom of the tank.

I have a Fluval U4 Internal, I plan to add another filter to ensure that there is plenty of filtration, and I do 40-50% PWCs every week.

The top half of my tank is empty. My bleeding hearts hang around the bottom half, and so therefore I am trying to work out what to do to add some more life.

1 idea was to add 6 more bleeding hearts, but I worry that that will overcrowd that are of the tank. I am unsure as to whether or not I want to add another school, as I did that once and it made my tank look to "Busy". I am totally unsure as to what to do!

I want the fish to be happy, and I also want it to look less crowded.

Any input is great! Thanks!

 

[DanTheFishMan11]

get rid of some fish and get \\\\\DISCUS/////

 

[LoachLover!]

Lol! I wish!

 

[CameraGeek]

Lol! I wish!

What about some giant danios? I have four and they are beautifully coloured and chase each other across the top of the tank but aren't too busy?!?

 

[MBOU]

Four Honey Gouramis

Either Yellow or Red or a pair of each the are active bumbling about the tank, not active thrashing it from one side to the other. Colourful and cheerful little characters!

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Buying some extra Otos; Zebra Loaches; 3-lined Corydoras (although these do not suit your setup well, they are temperate catfish like Peppered from typically much cooler water than the ~25C needed for your cichlids, Sterbai for example would be a much better choice) would not go a miss, to a lesser extent the same could be said for your Bleeding Heart Tetras and Kuhli Loaches (which are very unlikely to be true Pangio kuhli, far more likely to be Pangio semicincta).

Social fish like those listed above from your stocking do far better in 10+ groups rather than limitting them to 6s, often in the hope of squeezing in another species in a fishkeepers tank. I recently bought a group of very social midwater schooling diurnal catfish from the Zaire River, absolute model community citizens, that often come into the hobby labelled as "Debauwie Catfish" (although there are at least 4 members of the Pareutropius genus, of which the true P. debauwi is very rare, I believe I have acquired another rarity in P. mandervillei)... A group of ~23 was moved out of quarantine yesterday and they look amazing as a relative big aquarium school, plus the extra numbers mean they are far more confident.

 

[LoachLover!]

Thank you! Stock Ideas below

 

[LoachLover!]

So, would I be able to increase the groups to have a stock list like this?

12 x Bleeding Heart Tetras
2 x Bolivian Rams
1 x Angelfish
8 x Three Lined Cories
6 x Zebra Loaches
8-10 x Kuhli Loaches (Or simular )
3 x Ottos (Don't want anymore, don't have much luck with them!)
2 x Bristlenose Plecos

Is that overdoing it? It seems like a lot to me? I guess with that list I wouldn't be able to add anything else?

 

[Crossfire]

You will get more kuhli loaches, and you will like it!!!!!!!!!

 

[LoachLover!]

You will get more kuhli loaches, and you will like it!!!!!!!!!

Lol! Ok! If I can fit them in, I certainly will be!