New 125 Gallon Tank. Stocking ideas?

[Ken Sauer]

I just bought a 125 gallon tank. I plan to stock it with smallish fish. I have a 10 gallon with peppered cory's and Seprae Tetraes. They will, of course, go in. Any ideas for good mates for a nice community 125 gallon tank? Thanks. Ken Sauer

 

[HoldenOn]

I just bought a 125 gallon tank. I plan to stock it with smallish fish. I have a 10 gallon with peppered cory's and Seprae Tetraes. They will, of course, go in. Any ideas for good mates for a nice community 125 gallon tank? Thanks. Ken Sauer

What are your water parameters? I would say angels but serpae are nippy. You could do a huge shaol of tetras. Could be cool. Depending on your water you could do rainbowfish, dwarf cichlids, plecos, gourami, all sorts of options in that big of a tank. First and foremost we need your general hardness.

 

[Ken Sauer]

What are your water parameters? I would say angels but serpae are nippy. You could do a huge shaol of tetras. Could be cool. Depending on your water you could do rainbowfish, dwarf cichlids, plecos, gourami, all sorts of options in that big of a tank. First and foremost we need your general hardness.

No water in it yet. I plan to have it ready by, maybe November.

 

[HoldenOn]

No water in it yet. I plan to have it ready by, maybe November.

Ah I didn't mean like ammonia etc. I meant your general hardness. You can find it by looking up "City Name water parameters". This will give us an idea of what fish are suited for your tank. If your water is to hard, it will build calcium up in your fishes organs, if your water is to soft you will encounter skin issues.

 

[Retired Viking]

Looks like a great set up, it is important to pick out the right fish for your water. I have moderately hard water so I have 2 hard water fish tanks but use RO water to soften it for my soft water fish tank.

 

[Ken Sauer]

Ah I didn't mean like ammonia etc. I meant your general hardness. You can find it by looking up "City Name water parameters". This will give us an idea of what fish are suited for your tank. If your water is to hard, it will build calcium up in your fishes organs, if your water is to soft you will encounter skin issues.

Cool. I've always wondered what people meant by that. P.H. 6.9-7.4, CaCo3: 54-90 mg/L, Fluoride: .73 mg/L, Sodium 3.80-4.6 mg/L, Nitrate: .23-.49 mg/L

 

[Essjay]

Mg/l CaCO3 is the same as ppm so your hardness - or GH - is 54 to 90 ppm, which converts to 3 to 5 dH. You have soft water so you need to look at soft water fish.


Just a warning about serpae tetras. They are one of the nippiest tetras in the hobby. They probably leave the cories alone as they stay of the bottom of the tank but if you get fish which swim above the bottom they are likely to be nipped. It is usually recommended to have at least 12 to 15 of these nippy fish in the hope that with this many the nippiness will be confined to the group, though this does not always work.

 

[Wills]

I'd be tempted to keep the Serpae Tetras in the 10g maybe? As they are tricky, either that or put them in a massive school of 20-25? Since you have soft water South American Cichlids could be a good option. The smaller Severum species like Rotkiels or Mouth Brooders could work, smaller Geophagus like Red Head Tapajos or Pindare. I really like tanks with big groups of limited species so you could do a group of the Geos as they like to be in groups with a big school of cories, a big school of serpaes and some whiptail catfish?

 

[ClownLurch]

Welcome.
Big tank small fish is the way to go. Microdevario Kubotai have to be in pole position, they look amazing in a group.

 

[Ken Sauer]

Mg/l CaCO3 is the same as ppm so your hardness - or GH - is 54 to 90 ppm, which converts to 3 to 5 dH. You have soft water so you need to look at soft water fish.


Just a warning about serpae tetras. They are one of the nippiest tetras in the hobby. They probably leave the cories alone as they stay of the bottom of the tank but if you get fish which swim above the bottom they are likely to be nipped. It is usually recommended to have at least 12 to 15 of these nippy fish in the hope that with this many the nippiness will be confined to the group, though this does not always work.

They sure are nippy. I'd take them back to the store if my daughter weren't so attached to them. I definitely want to get Zebra Danos for the big tank. Do you think they can co-exist with the serpae?

 

[Ken Sauer]

I'd be tempted to keep the Serpae Tetras in the 10g maybe? As they are tricky, either that or put them in a massive school of 20-25? Since you have soft water South American Cichlids could be a good option. The smaller Severum species like Rotkiels or Mouth Brooders could work, smaller Geophagus like Red Head Tapajos or Pindare. I really like tanks with big groups of limited species so you could do a group of the Geos as they like to be in groups with a big school of cories, a big school of serpaes and some whiptail catfish?

They sure are nippy. I'd take them back to the store if my daughter weren't so attached to them. I definitely want to get Zebra Danos for the big tank. Do you think they can co-exist with the serpae?

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[Ken Sauer]

What about dwarf gourami? I've heard they aren't very hardy.

 

[HoldenOn]

They sure are nippy. I'd take them back to the store if my daughter weren't so attached to them. I definitely want to get Zebra Danos for the big tank. Do you think they can co-exist with the serpae?

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Zebra Danios might work. In reference to the dwarf gourami, the hardier the better. I would recommend looking at pearl gourami, gentle giants as I like to call them. Very cool fish!

 

[seangee]

I'd be tempted to keep the Serpae Tetras in the 10g maybe?

Based on my own experience with serpaes people are being nice calling them nippy. I would call them terrorists. In fact I would add another word in front of terrorists but I am not allowed words like that on this site .
I added 12 into my community tank a few years ago. I returned them the same week because every other fish in the tank ended up with shredded fins. They are beautiful and if your daughter likes them keep them in their own tank. They would seriously limit your choices in a community tank.

 

[Ken Sauer]

Based on my own experience with serpaes people are being nice calling them nippy. I would call them terrorists. In fact I would add another word in front of terrorists but I am not allowed words like that on this site .
I added 12 into my community tank a few years ago. I returned them the same week because every other fish in the tank ended up with shredded fins. They are beautiful and if your daughter likes them keep them in their own tank. They would seriously limit your choices in a community tank.

Thanks. That is very helpful.