Need More Fish, Any Help?

cool, thanks for the advice Harlequins,

i have just brought 4 more cory's so im up to 6, then next week maybe look at some different fish after some research

thanks guys and gals
 
I personally would disregard most of what the fubar has said. It seems they don't quite understand the level of thought that goes into advising someone on there 'stocking'.

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.

^^ This is a fair point, and is true.

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.

^^ I don't think it's a few years off until they will be getting to the point where they need a bigger tank, but it could be up to one year. And although it is only advice to re-home them, we advise this because it's hard to tell when the fish starts to be affected by being in too small an environment (be it temprement change, stunting or other things that can happen)

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.

^^ This particularly shows an unclear understanding. Most people on here that give you sound stocking advice will advise you in 2 ways. 1. For if you are a new keeper and/or your tank is less than 6months old and 2. For when your tank (and filter) is 6months old.

For 1. the following factors are taken into account... Tank dimensions (length, width, height), Volume (should be easily from dimensions...but sometimes people measure incorrectly), the body size of the fish (not just length, but also width, shape and diet are all considered) and it is normally presumed that you have a bog standard filter that is suitable for your tank (seeing as most new people buy a 'kit' it's normally fair to presume that).
From all of the above information, along with what is currently in the tank, and what type of fish you like people come up with a suggested stocking.

For 2. It is all of the above, but in addition we will ask how long the filter has been running (due to the size of your stock I estimated there was no way the tank had been set-up for 6months), from there we will ask what size filter it is, and what your weekly water stats are, aswell as your water change routine. Then what fish you have, and if neccesary what sizes they are. Often we will enquire to whether it is planted or not.
From the above answers people will be able to estimate if your tank is suitable to have more fish added, what fish would be suitable, and then advise what you might want to keep an eye on once they're added.

So as you can see...a bit more complicated than what thefubar suggested...

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.

^^ This is bad advice, this is the kind of advice that will set you up to fail. Easy example...if you took a liking to the green terror cichlid, they are extremely docile as juveniles, and once you got them home you would see absolutely no agression issues. But then as it matures you could easily find yourself in the situation where half you fish go missing overnight...killed by the green terror. By the way that is just one little example....there are many more fish where the same problem can occure.

Aside from that, and this is just my person opinion which you may or may not share, I don't think it it right to buy a fish knowing full well you cannot keep it for the entirety of it's life. And know that it will be forced to go through the stress of re-homing again. It has been well documented that older fish tend not to travel as well as fry.

Also depending on your tank dimensions you may be able to add another angel. Problem with angels is, they tend to pair up, and a mated pair can live happily in an average 200l tank. But 2 non paired angels could fight, and 1 single angel with a mated pair of angels would almost definitely be killed by the pair.

Apart from that I do agree more cories certainly wont hurt (though aren't a neccesity) and nothing is super urgent. But I figured if you know they'll need re-homing anyways, why not do it now and replace with something more appropriate?

Now I've said my piece, I'll go see what stocking plans I can come up with.
Could you give tank dimensions please?
 
right first off the tank is around 1 year old and the filter (fluval 205 external) has been running since then, just been really busy with work so have not had the chance to stock tank apart from what i brought when i started out.
water stats are spot on, i check every 2 weeks, sometimes the ph can rise to around 8ish

im looking at re-homing the 2 silver sharks and the common plec to make more room for fish i can keep.

Tank size is 100x40x50 (lenght x width x hight)

just so u know i have got 4 more cory's today ( 6 in total in tank now)
 
Your filtration is a bit low in my opinion. It circulates the water about 3x per hour (if that after you take into account filter media and mulm). If it were me I'd be aiming for something with a turnover of 1000l per hour.

And although the tank is over 6months old, the filter hasn't been fully stocked (roughly 1" per us gal), for those 6months.
So right now I'd suggest slowly stocking it up to a level that will give roughly 1" of adult fish per US Gal, then leave them all to mature for 6months or so. And once they're all hopefully getting near full size you can then check your water stats again, and if they're still holding good and nitrates aren't skyrocketing then you will be in the position to add a few more fish.

At the moment you have roughly 28" of fish, so plenty of room to play with.
I wouldn't add a krib with the german blue rams, german blues are very very docile fish and could easily be bullied by a krib. However the German blue rams really need to be kept at 28C to avoid any digestive problems...it is up to you really, but I would re-home them (or get them a seperate tank?) because the peppered corys definitely couldn't handle those temperatures.

Also I wouldn't go for another Angel, 100cm is only just over 3ft, you could give another angel a go...but it could result in a fight.
If it were me I'd go for some nice dither fish, perhaps some dwarf neon rainbow fish?

So the stocking could be something like...
1 x Angel Fish
8 x Dwarf Neon Rainbowfish (1 male to 3f)
1 x Krib (Male or female) or 2 x German Blue Rams
6 x Peppered Cory

What do you think?
 
You don't need to buy a new filter. But if you were to then the one up from your model would be good. :)

Also what do you think about the GBR's? (german blue rams)?

And to my stocking idea generally?
 
yeah cool, i think ill leave th filter for now seems to be doing a good enough job.

As i said in one of my previous posts i seem to have lost one of the GBR, down to 1 now so may aswell get rid of it of keep it till it dies

but i like the stocking advice in gerneral
 
Well if you were to re-home the GBR with the sharks and plec then my suggestion would be

1 x Angelfish
8 x Dwarf Neon Rainbow fish or 6 x Boesemani Rainbowfish
1 x Krib (male or female)
6 x Peppered Cory

Then what would you like? Another centerpiece? To try with a second angel?
Or do you prefer tetras? Or rasboras?

Or would you like a plec?

Need some ideas as there is still a bit of room to play with :)
 
Zebra plecs retail at around £100-200 depending on who you buy from...

Also I need your opinion on the stocking suggestion I gave you. Also need your opinions on anything you don't like...
What types of other fish you might like instead...

Would you like another larger fish? Or just want a plec?
You could go for the Chocolate Zebra plec, or King tiger plec if you fancy something a bit bigger...
 
wow alot money but could be worth it as they look lush.

I like the stocking list you gave, snmall shoals of bright coloured fish is always a great idea

i just like bright coloured fish to be honest
 
Okies, well check these out on www.planetcatfish.com

Chocolate Zebra Pleco - L270
Tiger Panaque - L002
King Tiger - L066
Queen Arabesque - L260
Monte Dourado - L411
Unset Orinoco Angel Pleco - L201
Candy Striped Pleco - L015

All are relatively cheap, maximum of £30, and all should be suitable for your tank.

And as for your tank...the rainbowfish are very colourful, but you could then go for a large gourami...or another shoal of bright fish?
 
I personally would disregard most of what the fubar has said. It seems they don't quite understand the level of thought that goes into advising someone on there 'stocking'.

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.

^^ This is a fair point, and is true.

blink.gif



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.

^^ I don't think it's a few years off until they will be getting to the point where they need a bigger tank, but it could be up to one year. And although it is only advice to re-home them, we advise this because it's hard to tell when the fish starts to be affected by being in too small an environment (be it temprement change, stunting or other things that can happen)

You are seriously suggesting a 2" long Common Plec is going to have stunted growth in a 200l tank inside 12 months
blink.gif



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.

^^ This particularly shows an unclear understanding. Most people on here that give you sound stocking advice will advise you in 2 ways. 1. For if you are a new keeper and/or your tank is less than 6months old and 2. For when your tank (and filter) is 6months old.

For 1. the following factors are taken into account... Tank dimensions (length, width, height), Volume (should be easily from dimensions...but sometimes people measure incorrectly), the body size of the fish (not just length, but also width, shape and diet are all considered) and it is normally presumed that you have a bog standard filter that is suitable for your tank (seeing as most new people buy a 'kit' it's normally fair to presume that).
From all of the above information, along with what is currently in the tank, and what type of fish you like people come up with a suggested stocking.

For 2. It is all of the above, but in addition we will ask how long the filter has been running (due to the size of your stock I estimated there was no way the tank had been set-up for 6months), from there we will ask what size filter it is, and what your weekly water stats are, aswell as your water change routine. Then what fish you have, and if neccesary what sizes they are. Often we will enquire to whether it is planted or not.
From the above answers people will be able to estimate if your tank is suitable to have more fish added, what fish would be suitable, and then advise what you might want to keep an eye on once they're added.

So as you can see...a bit more complicated than what thefubar suggested...

So in "For 1..." you agree it depends on all these things
blink.gif


and in "For 2...." Erm i read back and ... nope you didn't even hint on asking any of this stuff - you were basing it purely on a 200l tank and an assumption.
blink.gif
laugh.gif




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.

^^ This is bad advice, this is the kind of advice that will set you up to fail. Easy example...if you took a liking to the green terror cichlid, they are extremely docile as juveniles, and once you got them home you would see absolutely no agression issues. But then as it matures you could easily find yourself in the situation where half you fish go missing overnight...killed by the green terror. By the way that is just one little example....there are many more fish where the same problem can occure.

Erm ... How is >>>"As long as the new additions don't attack/bully/ eat your fish" << bad advice
blink.gif
What planet are you on? I would have thought that is essential advice. You give the reason why yourself.
laugh.gif




BTW I'm almost done
rolleyes.gif




Also depending on your tank dimensions you may be able to add another angel. Problem with angels is, they tend to pair up, and a mated pair can live happily in an average 200l tank. But 2 non paired angels could fight, and 1 single angel with a mated pair of angels would almost definitely be killed by the pair.

Apart from that I do agree more cories certainly wont hurt (though aren't a neccesity) and nothing is super urgent. But I figured if you know they'll need re-homing anyways, why not do it now and replace with something more appropriate?

Now I've said my piece, I'll go see what stocking plans I can come up with.
Could you give tank dimensions please?

Thats exactly what i suggested could be the next additions
blink.gif
.


So go ahead and Ignore TheFubar but follow exactly what Curiosity said because its the same thing. Only I didn't steam in and try to run your tank for you!

All the best with YOUR tank and what YOU decide is best for YOUR house, not someone else. I wouldn't let anyone else spend my hard earnt cash for me.
huh.gif
 

Most reactions

Back
Top