New Tank

[Nicole29]

ok I'm getting a new 33g tank (well used anyway), so I want to have a stocking plan in mind
I really want glass catfish so I was thinking about doing a Southeast Asian theme. Would this work:

-8 Glass cats
-6 Harlequin rasboras
-4 cherry barbs
-5 kuhlis
-SAE
-Betta or dwarf gourami

Feel free to comment on stocking numbers, tankmates for the glass cats, etc. Thanks in advance.

 

[Dwarfs]

It looks ok to me (Just make sure you have a strong filter), but how large do the glass cats get? I'm prone to overstocking but I think that you should cut the number of catfish to 4-6

And if you are stuck between choosing a betta or dwarf gourami, get the gourami, it will do better in a community with tetras.

 

[Nevergone815]

glass cats get to 6" each i beleive.

my concern would be the cherry barbs. i would lower the number to 2 of them. maybe even 1. the reason for this is that cherry barbs, though reclusive and docile to every other fish known to man, they are demons to each other. they are known to get very territorial and it's recommended to get like 1 per 15 gals (at least that's what i was told)

the glass cats need large open space to jsut chill out there so make sure there is a nice spot they can jsut sit around. i would loweer their number also as they can get big to maybe like 5 or 6.

my option would be for you to get a single male dwarf guorami instead of the betta (unless the betta is a female). they can get beat up pretty badly by the rasboras. or other fish like them.

as for the SAE make sure it's a SAE and not a CAE. CAE become devils as they grow and SAE are much more of a good thing than another fish. they (SAE) actually help with leftover foods and algae as it gets bigger. the CAE won't even touch algae as it grows. i learned this from personal experience.

i too am one to overstock tanks bad. i am trying to get you set up so people don't yell at you if you post something bragging about your tank. to some it's better to be undersocked than overstocked. in my opinion as long as the fish are happy why should people care.

i hope i helped

 

[Dwarfs]

My father keeps cherry barbs (I think around 5 or 6), I haven't seen them fight, they school or swim in the same general area of the tank.

 

[Nevergone815]

My father keeps cherry barbs (I think around 5 or 6), I haven't seen them fight, they school or swim in the same general area of the tank.

ok works for me. i never owned more than one at a time because i was advised not to have mroe than 1 in a 10 gal, nd it would geteten in my 55 gal now so i don't own any at the moment. maybe i'll get some more.

like i said i was jsut told that, i don;t know from personal experience

 

[Nicole29]

i've heard kuhli loaches tend to hide alot and are rarely seen, does anyone have any actual experience with them? Is there another type of loach that would fit well that is more active??

Thanks for the help so far

 

[Nevergone815]

i've heard kuhli loaches tend to hide alot and are rarely seen, does anyone have any actual experience with them? Is there another type of loach that would fit well that is more active??

Thanks for the help so far

from my understanding khuli loaches tend to only hide if kept single or in small groups. i would say get like 4-5 and you should be fine. i owned one a while ago (when i was a little kid) and it hid ALL the time because it was scared. i NEVER saw it. but now i learned on this forum that bigger groups tend to be more active and less shy. this is same with peacock eels and corydoras cats. there are more species but this is to jsut name a couple.

but i'm sure someone with more experience will come along, and if not you could try the loach section on this forum and get some help there.

i hope i helped

 

[fishwatcher]

As for the cherry barbs, get 1m and 3 fm. (You should have at least 2 fm per m.) I'd also go for the D Gourami... bettas are too iffy to chance, unless you have another place to home him if he's too aggressive/gets nipped.
I have 6 kuhlis, 3 black, 3 striped. The black ones are a bit more out than the striped ones, but they all kind of hide in the day time. The black ones come up more so when it's eating time, so you do get to see them some. Those are the only loaches I've ever had, so I can't suggest any others to you.
I think you'll be happy with the harlies... they are nice fish. As with the gourami, they'll like a bit of floating plants, plus it brings out their colors more.
HTH!

 

[Nicole29]

with the glass cats...would an Aqua Clear 300 be adequate filtration?