New Tank - Would Like Advice On Stocking

[Tank novice]

Hi,

Myself and my husband are very new to keeping an aquarium. We have recently ordered a Juwel Vision 180 tank and are planning to do a fishless cycle before stocking the tank. In the meantime, we have been researching the types of fish we would like to stock it with but we are unsure if the type and number we have decided on is suitable for this tank, please offer some advice to a pair of novices

The fish we have planned to keep are as follows:

1 x siamese male fighter
3 x black phantom tetra
3 x rummy nose tetra (was hoping these would school with the black phantoms)
3 x red wagtail platy
2 x cobra guppies
2 x corydoras catfish
1 x bristlenose catfish

In total, this is about 34" of fully grown adult fish, would this be suitable for this tank?

Thanks in advance

 

[kizno1]

Hi,

Myself and my husband are very new to keeping an aquarium. We have recently ordered a Juwel Vision 180 tank and are planning to do a fishless cycle before stocking the tank. In the meantime, we have been researching the types of fish we would like to stock it with but we are unsure if the type and number we have decided on is suitable for this tank, please offer some advice to a pair of novices

The fish we have planned to keep are as follows:

1 x siamese male fighter
3 x black phantom tetra
3 x rummy nose tetra (was hoping these would school with the black phantoms)
3 x red wagtail platy
2 x cobra guppies
2 x corydoras catfish
1 x bristlenose catfish

In total, this is about 34" of fully grown adult fish, would this be suitable for this tank?

Thanks in advance

The corys, rummy noses and phantoms all need to be in groups of 4+ but 6+ best. Phantoms are known for being a little nippy so i wouldnt have one with the betta
something like
1 x siamese male fighter
8 x rummy nose tetra
3 x red wagtail platy 1 male 2 female or all one sex
3 x cobra guppies 1 male 2 female or all one sex (some people do have problems with guppies and bettas so maybe get 3 more platys or 3 endlers instead)
8 x corydoras catfish
2 x bristlenose catfish 1 male 1 female would be fine IMO

 

[Tank novice]

Thanks very much for the reply, I think we will definitely stay clear of the Black Phantoms then, definitely wanted to avoid any nippers with the Betta.

I was confused by the amount of fish we could have in our tank, as I read that the general rule was one inch per gallon, but that got me wondering whether that was a US or UK gallon, so thought best to get some more experienced aquarium owners advice!

I have plenty of time to think about my fish choices though if the fishless cycle takes 6 weeks!!

Thanks again

 

[kizno1]

The one " per gallon isnt a great rule if im honest. Its better to see what works if every thing is healthy and the water is good then there cant be to much wrong and other peoples experience because they will be able to tell you what can and cant work better than a guide rule..

 

[mattlee]

the inch per gallon also depends on how much filtration you put through the tank and how much water is changed every week and what fish are kept. for example a 6 inch bristlenose will produce more waste than 3 neon tetras equaling 6 inches. its not a bad rule to guide you at the beginning though

 

[OldMan47]

The inch per gallon is flexible enough and general enough that it can be used with either UK or US gallons. The essence of it is that it is a way to estimate stock carrying capacity of a tank using small fish that will definitely be within the capacity of any reasonably well filtered tank. I often start at that level on a new tank and do not hesitate to double the stocking level over the course of a few months.
Now that we have put that subject aside, the only issue that I can see with your proposed stocking is the black phantoms, which you have already determined to not be appropriate.
Another somewhat unrelated subject that needs to be addressed is the preparation of any tank for placing fish into it. Unlike what you are likely to hear from your local fish shop, LFS, you cannot simply run the equipment on a new tank for a few days and add then fish to it. The filter that comes with a tank is nothing more than a piece of hardware. I(t cannot deal with the biological poisons created by your fish. The main poison that you will see in a tank from the fish is ammonia that comes from normal respiration at the fish's gills and from the decay of food and fish wastes. Ammonia can be dealt with using bacteria that convert ammonia into nitrites and by other bacteria that convert nitrites into nitrates. Since nitrates are far less poisonous than the other chemicals, we can easily control nitrates using weekly or even longer water changes.
A typical fish shop will tell you to set p a tank and bring in a water sample a few days later. the water is very likely to test good since there is no source of ammonia in the tank and they will tell you it is OK to introduce fish. In a purely chemical sense, they are right but in a real world sense they are ignoring the fact that the bacteria needed to process ammonia and nitrites simply do not exist in your tank or its filter. This is where the understanding of a fishless cycle comes in. By doing a fishless cycle, you will have simulated having a very heavy fish load in a tank and will have caused the bacteria naturally present to reproduce to the point where they could deal with a high biological load. Then when you add a few real fish to the tank, the bacteria will just take over and take care of the resulting ammonia and nitrites as if they were used to it, they will be.
I have a link to fishless cycling in my signature area that will take you to a place where you can read up on how we do a fishless cycle here.