New 50Gal Stocking

[Luna0341]

So I found a good deal on a 50gal long at PetSmart for around $136. It's not cycled yet, so it'll be awhile before I can stock it, but I'm going to really plan ahead this time. I got 3 bronze Cory right now, I'll move over to 50gal and probably but 3 more. I was thinking 5-6 Rainbows, 11-15 Cardinal Tetra and then 6 Bronze Cory. Y'all think this will be okay? Understocked? Overstocked? Will the Tetra be okay with the Rainbows? What y'all think?

 

[Luna0341]

6 Boeseman rainbow, 15 Cardinal Tetra, 6 Bronze Cory

 

[Rocky998]

I would not move any fish over to the tank until it is cycled and ready to go.
Sounds like good stocking but I would increase the corydora school to 10

 

[Essjay]

6 Boeseman rainbow, 15 Cardinal Tetra, 6 Bronze Cory

Boeseman rainbows are hard water fish, cories and cardinal tetras are soft water fish so this is not a good mix, I'm afraid.

 

[Rocky998]

Boeseman rainbows are hard water fish, cories and cardinal tetras are soft water fish so this is not a good mix, I'm afraid.

Oh really I thought they were softwater?

 

[Essjay]

The majority of rainbowfish are hard water fish, with a few soft water species.

From Seriously Fish

Water Conditions​

Temperature: 81-86°F (27-30°C). Strictly a tropical species.

pH: 7.0-8.0. It will not do well in soft, acidic conditions.

Hardness: 10-20°H

 

[Rocky998]

The majority of rainbowfish are hard water fish, with a few soft water species.

From Seriously Fish

I knew that but I thought that species was softwater... Guess not

 

[Essjay]

Dwarf neon rainbows (M. praecox) is OK in soft and hard water, pH below and above 7. Were you mixing up the two species

 

[Rocky998]

Dwarf neon rainbows (M. praecox) is OK in soft and hard water, pH below and above 7. Were you mixing up the two species

Yuuuup. They do look similar... I guess my brain switched em around ... Dwarf neons yes

 

[Luna0341]

I'm not going to put any fish in before it's done cycling, like I said it'll be awhile before I can put any fish in it. I'm in Florida my waters hard.

 

[Luna0341]

So already having hard water. The Rainbows will do fine. Can anyone recommend a small schooling fish to replace the Tetra, that like hard water and a group of bottom dwellers to replace the Cory that like hard water. What are some of my options?

 

[Luna0341]

The Cory I got seem to being doing fine so far.

 

[Rocky998]

I personally do not know many hardwater species so I can't help you there but what I can tell you is that softwater fish will slowly get a build up of minerals in their organs which can lead to organ failure.

Water Hardness and its Effect on Your Fish - Biotope One

Water quality has a direct impact on the health of aquarium fish. One very important aspect is water

biotopeone.com

"For the small fish which are adapted to live in the soft water conditions, it is possible that when they come in contact with the minerals in hard water they may suffer from blockages in some organs and damaged kidneys. Since they fail to adapt to the hardness of the water and the many types of minerals they fail to breed and their life span gets reduced. Although depending on the species of the fish, many of them might adapt to the hardness but successful breeding won’t happen as the thick egg shells won’t adapt to hard water."

 

[Colin_T]

What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?

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What is the GH (general hardness), KH (carbonate hardness) and pH of your water supply?

This information can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).

Depending on what the GH of your water is, will determine what fish you should keep.

Angelfish, most tetras, barbs, Bettas, gouramis, rasbora, Corydoras and small species of suckermouth catfish all occur in soft water (GH below 150ppm) and a pH below 7.0.

Livebearers (guppies, platies, swordtails, mollies), rainbowfish and goldfish occur in medium hard water with a GH around 200-250ppm and a pH above 7.0.

If you have very hard water (GH above 300ppm) then look at African Rift Lake cichlids, or use distilled or reverse osmosis water to reduce the GH and keep fishes from softer water.

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I wouldn't keep big rainbowfish with narrow tetras like cardinals because rainbowfish will eat small narrow fish. I have seen a group of 2 inch long Melanotaenia boesemani eating 1 inch long cardinal tetras.

Virtually all rainbowfish do best in water with a GH above 180ppm and a pH above 7.0. The exceptions are Iriatherina werneri and Rhadinocentrus ornatus. These 2 species are regularly found in soft acid water.

The following link has all the known rainbowfishes from Australia and New Guinea and might interest you.

Melanotaeniidae and Pseudomugilidae

A website dedicated to Rainbowfishes of Australia and New Guinea

rainbowfish.angfaqld.org.au

If you do keep rainbowfish, make sure at least half their diet is plant based.

 

[Luna0341]

Thanks for the info. I appreciate it. So I need something larger than Cardinals, so they won't get eatin, and your saying live bearers like harder water. So maybe mollies? Platys? I really want a tight schooling fish though. For the bottom..... I already got 3 Cory. They will eventually out grow the 10 gal thier in, maybe instead of rainbows, I figure out a way to soften my water, still go with Cory and Tetra, I just need a nice colorful fish for the mid to top water coloum. Gourami maybe? What kinda water they like? How do I soften my water?