Need Suggestions For Stocking My 260l Community Tank

[sandra_may]

Hi, I'm all new to this and just about to order my first tank which is 260L but already we've hit a problem. All the fish that I like and would want to put in the tank when its eventually ready have now been deemed too small by my partner. He would prefer to have fewer numbers of larger fish.

The fish that I was considering are Neon Blue Dwarf Gouramis (this is the only fish we agree on), Dalmation Mollies, Long Fin Zebra Danios (small ish school) , Sunset Platys (another small school?), Boesemani Rainbow fish, Kuhli Loaches and/or Polka Dot Loaches and a Bristlenose Catfish. I saw a Golden Severum and Corydora Juliii today for the first time and liked these too. I'm not entirely sure if these would all go together anyway or in what numbers I would get them if I did but these are the ones I like right now, don't forget I don't even have a tank yet, lol.

My partner likes Silver Dollars and Pim Pictus and he quite likes Bala Sharks. I've tried to read up on these and it seems that they aren't compatible with most of the fish that I like (but I may be wrong).

Can anyone make any suggestions on some not so small types that I can look into to see if we can reach a compromise. Any suggestions/tips very much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

San.

 

[matchstickman47]

does your bf know alot about fish?

imo 260 isnt big enough for balas... they are very active fish and can get over 30 cms

er bn would be fine..
khulis are ok
mollies are ok (lotsa fry tho)
cories r fine but wait a bit 6 months b4 you put them in as some cories are a bit sensitive
sevs are a no , they get to 30 cms and prefer larger tankmates
wouldnt go for platies or mollies realy ... they will breed soo much.

have you looked at opalines.... they r one gd looking fish
i like your blue dwarf gourami idea ... i had one ... LUVED it (may have issues with opalines and territories)
for your small schooling fish i reckomend black phantom tetras.... such a cool fish
my stocking reckommendation
another 'bigger' fish is the kribensis cichlid colourful and can be kept in comunity

6 x julii cories
1 x bn plec
1 x opaline gourami
10 x black phantoms
2 x kribs (1 mal 1 female) the breeding is realy fun to watch

 

[natalie265]

Silver Dollars are one of my favorites! Supposedly they do fine in community tanks (mine were in a tank by themselves so i cant say from experience), but like most fish, they will probably eat another fish if it is small enough to fit in their mouth! They're a schooling fish, so you should plan on getting several, but don't get Silver Dollars if you have any inclination to keep live plants--they will decimate them! I believe that Bala Sharks are too aggressive to be kept w/some of the other fish you mentioned and i think severums get too big to keep w/some of the fish you mentioned. Also, mollies should really be kept in brackish water.

What about a small school of angel fish? Or a pair of Bolivian Rams? Or, there are a lot of different varieties of rainbow fish of medium to large size. Maybe instead of the dwarf gouramis you could get a bigger type of gourami (Blue or Opaline gourami)?

 

[sandra_may]

Matchstickman - My bf is all new to this too, he just likes the look of the Sharks. We both like the look of the Kribensis

Natalie - We both really like the Opaline Gourami and the Bolivian Ram too I also love the German Blue Ram but they aren't recommended for beginners so I'll give them a miss till I know more.

Would it be ok to keep Opaline Gourami, Bolivian Ram and Kribensis all together and if so just one of each? Also would there be anything from my original choices that could live with them? Sorry if I sound dim.

 

[matchstickman47]

opalines and kribs should be fine .... opalines can get a bit agressive but wen i kept mine i didnt see them show agression too any other fish except eachother

they shold b fine, i would get 1 opaline and 2 kribs .. leave the rams out for now .. u dont wana put too many fish in at the same time