Not Sure Where To Go...

[coldcazzie]

Have (reluctantly) decided with our impending house move I can't upgrade my tank yet, so am sticking with it for the moment.

240L tank, temp 26oC, Fluval 4+, soon to be replaced with an Eheim external (pending birthday money!) Current inhabitants are 12 rummy noses tetras, 1 red-tailed sand loach and 2 pearl gouramis.

Cant decide whether to up the rummy noses, or get another different shoal, or both. Could do 16 rummys, and 16 something elses (not too big - I like cardinals but they are a bit cliché, I loved some midnight emperor tetras I saw in LFS a few months back, I'm open to most things with interesting colour really!), then 8 sterbai corys, and another gourami and I think that would be done yes?

Or I could skip the other shoaling something and go for 20 rummys, 12 corys and another gourami?

Or something completely different.

They need to be fish that would theoretically be able to be transferred over to a larger tank with discus as at the moment I think that's what I'm going to do next year if all goes to plan, so need to be alright with the higher temps (hence the sterbais rather than any other kind of cory).

Any thoughts/suggestions please, I'm terrible at fish stocking!

 

[Gilli]

Instead of setting your heart on something the fish shop wont have why dont you do what I do? I go round all my local shops with a pad and pen and jot down all the ones I like the look of, then I go home and research them on the net to see if they are suitable for my tank! That way I dont make a mistake and I enjoy the whole process

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

I've just been reading about your Schistura mahnerti, what a lovely looking loach! It reminds me of my Indian Red Tail Squirrel Loach (Aborichthys elongatus) females.

Like my Squirrels, these fish need a specialist, high current setup...
http/www.loaches.com/articles/hillstream-loaches-the-specialists-at-life-in-the-fast-lane

Without the high current; low temp; high oxygen saturation; these fish can technically sufficate. Their evolution is so specialised that you need to either focus the tank design around them in a community (and I'm not sure if your Gouramis would enjoy 2400+ litre per hour currents) or house them seperately.

 

[Twinklecaz]

LOl. I'm laughing at you upgrading a 240l tank yet my dream tank is a 200l!

Bless my 60l.

Get Diamond Tetras. I think they're lovely!

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Get Diamond Tetras. I think they're lovely!

As nice as Diamond Tetra look, they are completely unsuitable to live in the same tank as the Red Tail Sand Loach.

That loach needs water that is colder (I would highly advise you aim for 23C, just like any other "Hillstream Loach" found in stores), to increase the potential oxygen saturation of the water.
The loach needs high current water, to make the actual oxygen levels get even close to the potential oxygen saturation levels.
Both the above are likely to highly stress Diamonds, as well as the Pearl Gourami tankmates.
Whichever Rummynose species owned (there is at least three), should be fine in a specialist riverine setup.

Some viable options (although I would exclude the energetic Opsarius and Barilius who need a 5-footer) that will happily share the loach's needs are in my sig, from any of my three tanks, although some of them can be predatory on any sub-adult fish like Pearl Danios.

 

[coldcazzie]

I know this - but the problem is that I didn't realise until I had already bought her (I think it's a her) - another one for the trap of not researching before you buy! D'oh!

Currently Dinky (thats the loach) spends the majority of her time in the flow of the filter and loves it, what she really needs is a really fast flow and a really long thin tank - a small tank is totally unsuitable, and although she's only 2 inches long I couldn't rehome her to a tank smaller than mine. Problem is I don;t know anybody with such a specialised tank, and I'm pretty sure my hubby would be very unhappy at the suggestion of 2 large tanks - one hot and one cold. Although beleive me that would be wonderful and I'd love to do it - one tank at 30oC with discus, slow flow etc and one at about 22-23oC with very fast flow, and lots of small fast moving fish, danios etc. I could ask, but I'm pretty sure I'd get a very disapproving look!

Can I ask - where are you Goat?

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

I'm in Southampton, in the Bitterne suburb.

I have to confess that I currently have a "compromise" situation going on in the Korall60, which houses my Squirrels; Pearl Danios (tried to move them back to the Rio240 with disasterous consequences last week, with a 4-month 3+cm fry being dicapitated by my Lionhead Cichlid parents, strongly thinking of moving them to 540l today); Filament Glassfish; Rabbit Snails...

My new Glassfish are not riverine in the slightest, so I have had to manipulate the position of my two filters, so that one half of the tank has a current while the other half is calm. Rather than try and explain it, I'm going to quickly do a quick video clip, back in a fwe minutes...

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQez3EMxDfM (awful camera skills, but hopefully shows the setup)!

 

[coldcazzie]

Ah. Southhampton is a bit far from me really, otherwise I'd say you could have her!

Actually my intention is not to keep the loach, but until I find a suitable tank then she'll have to stay with me. I could move the gouramis into the two footer I have spare, as they are still small, but I've no heater for it.

In the meantime I'm trying to find fish which I can keep currently without issue but that will be happy with the changes later, do I don't have to rehome and change stock.

Or... I need to buy my husband a motorbike, and then sneak another tank into the house while he's distracted! :evil: