Need More Fish, Any Help?

[bristolsparks]

Hi guys and gals,

I have a 200 litre planted tank and was wondering if peeps would give advice on stocking

At the monet i have a pleco, 2 peppered cory's, 2 silver sharks, 1 medium angel, and a couple of rams. Would like a few more fish but would like some advice about which ones would work wit the fish i have.

I would like some kinda bright coloured fish if possible

thanks fr your help in advance

 

[sami the cichlid]

how big r the other fish?

 

[bristolsparks]

pleco is 2-3 inches,
silver sharks are around 2 inches
angel is a little bigger than a £2 coin
rams and cory's around an inche

 

[sami the cichlid]

k, take i mind how big these fish will get, my 74g is curretly heavily stocked and look how many fish i have in it! i think i got carried away!

 

[bristolsparks]

so i shouldnt get anymore? am i over stocked?

 

[sami the cichlid]

well, im no expert but dont silver sharks get fairly large, and i no angels will. so, come on the expert of experts! we need advice! I just wanna help people!

 

[Harlequins]

Is it a common plec?

 

[Curiosity101]

What type of pleco is it? Considering you just said 'pleco' it makes me think it's more than likely a common pleco. These get upwards of 20" so obviously far too big for your tank.

Silver sharks aka. Bala Sharks, need HUUUGE tanks, and should also be kept in shoals. I would really suggest re-homing these an replacing with something a bit more appropriate for your sized tank. There are plenty of fish that are a similar shape and colouration that would make a perfect addition.

The angel in itself should be fine in a 200l tank. But it doesn't limit you to what fish you can put in, anything with long fins will get nipped at, and anything small such as neon tetras would eventually be eaten.

Corys should be in a much larger group, especially in a 200l tank, I would recommend upping them to a group of at least 6, with 8-10 being better

Finally, what type of rams are they? If they are German Blue Rams (or the gold variety), then they need a temp of at least 28C to really thrive. Below this they tend to have digestion issues which lead to a shorter lifespan.

 

[Harlequins]

I would say yes you are overstocked,

2 silver sharks grow up to 13 inches each,
Pleco if its a common 18 inches
Angels 6-8 inches
Peppered corys 3 inches each
rams upto 4 inches each.

Apart from the corys and rams and maybe the angel, the others do need a bigger tank

 

[bristolsparks]

right, looks like i will have to re home the silver sharks and the pleco (yes its a common plec)

any ideas on how to re home, will pet shops take them back?

when i rehome the above, i take it i will be able to add more fish or just up the cory's?

 

[Curiosity101]

You have plenty of room to add more fish once the silver sharks and plec are re-homed!

Some fish shops will take fish back, alternatively we have a classified section on the board that you can use for free.

Really need to know what type of rams you have...
German Blue Ram?
Bolivian Ram?

If you plan to keep the corys long term then my first suggestion would be to up them to anything from 6-10...
Once you confirm the type of ram if you could list what you will have

IE.
1 x Angelfish
(the number you're going to get) x Peppered Corys
2 x (the type) Rams

From there if you just say what types of fish you like the looks of etc then we can start making suggestions.

 

[bristolsparks]

right, when i rehome my common pleco and 2 silver sharks i will be left with

1 x angel fish
6 peppered cory's
1 x german blue ram ( missing one, can not find it, so maybe 2 if hes hiding)

fish i like are bright coloured, like kribensis, zebra plec etc

 

[sami the cichlid]

that sounds sensible, have fun choosing other fish. i love gettin new fish!

 

[thefubar]

Just to add a bit of balance to the "get rid of your fish" advice so far.

These fish are currently small and have the potential to grow larger and out-grow the tank, this you already know. At the moment at current size you are not over-stocked.

IF (big if) you manage to bring all these fish thru to maturity then they will be too big for your tank. That situation is a few years off yet. Don't feel you have to re-home some fish just because someone has told you to - its only advice.

Stocking levels are fuged and manipulated however people see fit, some quote length, height, inch per gallon (but can't decide between US and UK!) and some ask what filter you've got.

As long as the new additions don't attack/bully/eat your current fish (or vice versa) then choose away. I'd look into adding more angels (maybe with different colours to what you have) and some more corys. That way they fit with future re-homing problems too. But nothing is too urgent here chief.

 

[Harlequins]

right, when i rehome my common pleco and 2 silver sharks i will be left with

1 x angel fish
6 peppered cory's
1 x german blue ram ( missing one, can not find it, so maybe 2 if hes hiding)

fish i like are bright coloured, like kribensis, zebra plec etc

Zebra plec are fab although are pretty expensive,kribs are great to but are better as a 'pair',although i read on hear that cories don't do to good if kribs come into breeding condition,has they like the bottom of the tank and may hound/bully/kill cories.