Need Some Advice On Community Fish (Colourful)

[uaeast]

Hi all, I am just starting out with my tropical aquarium, but am doing research before rushing into it!

Have got a 150l tank, set up with a fluval external filter.

The fish I definately want are: a pleco and a shark, either albino or red finned black shark.

My question is what 'colourful' fish can I put with these that are going to be managable for a beginner and are going to be suitable long term.

I personally don't like the fan tailed fat type of fish. just bright and contrasting colours.

And what order do these fish go in the tank?

Thanks in advance from a newbie,
Joshua.

 

[fish_tank0311]

I dont think there is any order required for these fish your suggesting, but what about dwarf gouramis, angelfish, pearl/gold gouramis.

Hope that helps and good luck on your tank.

 

[uaeast]

I have considered angelfish yes, do they come in pairs or more? What's the recommended amount for them?

How big do guarani grow?

Joshua.

 

[waterdrop]

Hi joshua and Welcome to the beginners section,

Sounds like you are getting off to a nice start on your plan with a large 40G/150L and a Fluval external (what model?)

Can you give us the dimensions of your tank? Angels need a minimum of about 17 inches of height as they grow to be quite tall fish!

Also, what is your media plan? Have you thought about which types of media you want to use in the Fluval?

How do you plan to "cycle" the tank? Have you read our Nitrogen Cycle article in the Beginners Resource Center?

~~waterdrop~~

 

[uaeast]

I haven't read the nitrogen cycle article, will have a look! What is a cycle?

Filter is the fluval 205. Am using the basic filtration of foam, carbon and biomax.

Tank is 36l x 18d x 17h. So this might be too short for angels?

Joshua.

 

[uaeast]

Edit: have had a read on the cycle and understand quite well!

What kits are out there to test for ammonia, nritrite and nitrate? Are they tested for together or individualy?

 

[fish_tank0311]

They are all individual test. I had another idea for a colourful fish, dwarf rainbowfish. And if you like them you could get a school of some type of barbs, i have golden barbs and they are awesome, but cherry or rosy barbs are also colourful.

 

[waterdrop]

Hi Joshua,

If those dimensions are in inches and are correct then our tank calculator tool at the top of the web page gives me a 181L/48USG (US gallons) tank and 17" - nearly 50g is plenty of tank to have some Angels (although I believe that was fish_tank0311's suggestion, not yours.)

The topic you and fish_tank0311 are actively discussing is what we refer to as a "stocking plan" and is indeed a good thing to be working on all along during the startup of a new tank but its important to understand that in a well-planned and executed startup it (the introduction of the tropical fish to the tank environment) is something that should be fulfilled on down the road -after- the environment has been created and the stocking plan greatly refined. (I'm one of the old guys here (by which I mean a parent type rather than a teenager!) and I may be -too- patient for you , but us old guys like to try and counterbalance the influence to rush in!)

It just happens that if you take your time and work on lots of questions, refinements, learning etc. while the environment of the tank (the water and filter) are maturing and getting ready for fish, it can all come together in a really nice way! Personally, I found it quite fascinating that you can dose the tap water with this simple household ammonia and that there will be these tiny ever-present types of bacteria that will see the ammonia as "food" and will kick off the natural nitrogen cycle of nature and begin getting tank ready to be a real environment. Years ago I had had many things go wrong with my tropical tanks because I knew nothing of this cycle, but now it all works like a charm, and because I understand it, its much more fulfilling overall.

I also feel, philosophically, that the hobby itself, the tanks, plants and fish and the processes you learn and carry out are all about slowing down, relaxing and doing something completely the opposite of most of the fast-paced stuff we all do at work and school. Anyway, sorry to go on...

Yes, the ammonia, nitrite(NO2), pH and nitrate(NO3) tests needed are individual tests. Salifert makes the very best of these and sells them individually. API make the API Freshwater Master Test Kit, which is what I and many of the others use and find adequate. Nutrafin also make the Mini-Master Test Kit, which is also fine. There are some others out there that we have a few more quibbles with. You'll also find it helpful to have a couple of graduated syringes (largish eyedroppers with milliliter markings, sometimes to be had at the pharmacy.) You may also want to do some searches on "media" and "filter" and such to look up old discussions of what functions a filter performs and the functions of the individual media (you can use my ID in an advanced search as I've discussed it many times in the past years.)

~~waterdrop~~

 

[uaeast]

Yes I am young and although not a teenager, am new to fishkeeping.
But I have patience and am letting this tank mature!

Have added ammonia, it's still sitting high after 2 days!! Just a waiting game now

I think I worked the tank out to be around 120 litres, it's actually 15" high, not 17".


How would the following fish suit each other?? :

1x plecostomus catfish
1x albino or red finned shark
2x guarami (do these have to be the same colour when in pairs?)
5~ x cherry barbs (or different barbs, what barbs are the gentlest?)

thanks for advice guys!

Joshua.

 

[Assaye]

Yes I am young and although not a teenager, am new to fishkeeping.
But I have patience and am letting this tank mature!

Have added ammonia, it's still sitting high after 2 days!! Just a waiting game now

I think I worked the tank out to be around 120 litres, it's actually 15" high, not 17".


How would the following fish suit each other?? :

1x plecostomus catfish
1x albino or red finned shark
2x guarami (do these have to be the same colour when in pairs?)
5~ x cherry barbs (or different barbs, what barbs are the gentlest?)

thanks for advice guys!

Joshua.

Massively glad to hear you are cracking on with a fishless cycle! Woop!

Right, your stocking.

Plecs - be careful here. Many plecs (especially plecs that are just referred to as "plecs"), get BIG. We're talking lengths in feet, not inches. There are some excellent plecs for smaller tanks though, you just have to do your research. Try these on for size - golden nuggest, bristlenose, bulldog, blue/green phantom. Try Planet Catfish for species profiles. Google knows where to find it

With plecs, you don't want anything that gets to over 6-7 inches.

Sharks - in 120 litres, these guys are going to cause problems. They are notoriously terriatorial and will get to around 6-8 inches. Not small fish. In all honestly, I would avoid one until you can get a 40-50 imperial gallon tank (200 litres +). However, if you plan to stock VERY lightly and make it a centre-piece fish, it could be done. If you want to do that, I'd suggest just him, the plec and one school of fast, robust barbs or tetras. 8 fish in total.

Gourami - do best in species pairs. In most cases, the different colours are different species. Can also bicker like hell. What kinds were you thinking of? Some will get too large and some might be too small for your tastes. I also wouldn't stock these if you want to squeeze a shark into your tank.

Barbs - cherrys are very cute, fairly peaceful (as barbs go) and get to about 2 inches when full grown. Nice and colourful, especially bredding males. I'd suggest 6 as a minimum. You could also consider tiger barbs. More boisterous but come in three lovely colours - albino, green and classic tiger stripes. I'd go for all the same colour to make them feel more secure.

Hope that's given you a taster!

 

[waterdrop]

 

[uaeast]

So how does this sound:

bristlenose catfish.
Albino shark.
6cherry barbs.


They all sit well together?



What's the nature of loachers?

Joshua.

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, now your stocking plan is sounding much better than initially and don't forget, you may have up to a couple of months to continue to study the individual species, get different opinions and potentially refine the plan.

I've seen nice red cherry barbs populating tanks that are pretty densely planted and it can be a really beautiful effect!

~~waterdrop~~