Opinions And Suggestions Re- Stocking

[haylz]

Hi, I'm still fairly new to keeping fish and havn't been given much info from lfs - I've been learning things from books and the internet. I was just wondering how many more andwhat kinds of fish would compliment my aquarium.

I have a 60l (think thats around 13 galls) and currently have 2 angels, 2 adult mollies and 6 baby mollies, 1 swordtail and 1 cory. I know the angels are too small for the tank but they are still babies atm - I have arranged for a friend to have them when thy outgrow my tank. we aren't sure whats happening with the baby mollies either. the two adults are definately female but were pregnant when we got them - so we will try and rehome the babies but would keep them if they arent rehomed.

so I just wondered what would be a good next addition? I know I deffo want some more cory - my bronze is gorgeous - but not sure how many would be best. I like the look of kribensis and bala sharks too, would these be compatable?
thanks

 

[minnnt]

Your tank is too small for the Kribs and Bala Shark unfortunatly. The sharks get quite big i think and the Kribs are very territorial. Cory's are best kept in groups of 5 or 6.

 

[hanny93]

Angels will get more aggressive as they mature, and a small tank now will stunt it's growth.
Remember Free Willy? His fin rolled up because he didn't have enough room. Small tanks for big fish are never a good idea. The friend you are giving the angels to later on - does he have a tall and long tank? They need a tall tank because they get tall and a long tank so they don't have to keep turning.

The mollies can save sperm, so just because they aren't pregnant now doesn't mean they wont be in 1, 2 or 3 months time.
Mollies also thrive in brackish water, I didn't use salt with mine, but they should really have some.

The swordtail also gets more territorial as it grows older, despite the view that they are a good beginners fish.
Some people say they need at least 40 litres per fish, and 1 metre of swimming space. Bear in mind swordtails are also a livebearer and if you get any more you could be overrun with baby mollies and swordtails (all of which you mmight not be able to get rid of!)

I'm sure you know that cories need to be in groups of at least 4-6, but more is always better. Get more cories before anything, your current bronze will be really lonely and probably not very confident.

Now, to your other suggestions:
Kribensis need at least 20 gallons, which you don't have. They are also quite large, getting to 10cm (males) They are cichlids and so if cramped as they would be in your tank,can get very territorial and aggressive = disaster for peaceful fish like cories as they patrol the same area (both bottom)

Bala sharks are a big no-no. They can grow up to 16 inches very quickly and need to be kept in groups. The tank needs to have lots of open swimming space and lots of plants, and does exactly the same as cories, swimming over the substrate picking up bits of food that have been missed by the other fish. They are also great jumpers and so a tight lid is a must.

You could get all these fish, but you'd spend a lot of money replacing them all the time.
My advice would be to rehome the angels now and the molly fry as soon as they're big enough to sell. That leaves you with 2 mollies, 1 swordtail and 1 cory. Possibly think about rehoming the adult mollies aswell, as they need brackish water and the rest don't.

Get yourself to the lfs, get 4 or 5 more cories (and sand if you have a gravel substrate, as gravel can damage their barbels and lead to infection) and possibly a school of at least 8 neon tetras or cardinals. This means you have fish on all levels of your tank without it being way too overstocked. Make sure you have excellent filtration, aeration and planting.

Sorry if i sounded harsh here, just giving my opinion and I'm sure many people will give opposing views.
Enjoy your tank anyway

 

[minnnt]

Mollies are very adaptable to most water conditions i have found.

 

[hanny93]

Yes they are adaptable but they won't thrive, and isn't that the whole point?

Would want to sit in a room with air that stank but you could still breathe it, or would you want to be in a room with the windows open and an air freshener?
My point here is you could survive in both cases, but you wouldn't enjoy the first scenario.

Mollies can survive in freshwater, brackish and saltwater, but they only thrive in brackish.

And before you say 'but mine bred in fresh', they breed like crazy anywhere, they aren't fussy. If your mollies don't breed there's something really wrong!

 

[haylz]

what about otto catfish? can a group of them live with a group of corys?

 

[MBOU]

Not ALL mollies 'thrive' in brackish water conditions... only some species do... not necessarily the best advice if you dont know which are being kept in the first place...

That said, the salt added would make the other fish less happy whereas mollies are generally happy without salt... personally, i think most are better without salt when kept with other species...

 

[haylz]

the mollies look perfectly happy tbh so I don't want to mess about with salt when I wouldn't be confident what I was doing and jepodise the health of my other fish.

 

[hanny93]

I only gave that advice based on what I was repeatedly told on this forum when i was asking about my mollies, but thanks for the put down

 

[MBOU]

Its not a put down Hanny its just new info

 

[Joshwainwright]

Cardinal Tetras, the most ideal fish for any sized community tank!

 

[haylz]

Cardinal Tetras, the most ideal fish for any sized community tank!

yeah I was thinking this - would you reccommend cardinal over neons?

 

[hanny93]

Sorry then MBOU, not very good at recognising when people are being helpful rather than nasty so I just assume nasty!

I've always been told they thrive in brackish and survive in fresh, mine seemed to thrive though and they were in fresh, i just didnt want to give wrong advice!

 

[Joshwainwright]

Cardinal Tetras, the most ideal fish for any sized community tank!

yeah I was thinking this - would you reccommend cardinal over neons?

In a heart beat, yes. Cardinals are known to be hardier, they're larger and personally I think they have a better colouration.

 

[lilfishie]

i would personally take the livebearers out, they are very active fish and in my experience a 60l is too small for the ones you have.

i'd personally stock it like this:

1 Dwarf/3 Honey Gourami
10 Cardinals
5 Bronze Cory