Order Of Stocking

[Hale9]

Hi all,

I have finally finished cycling my 33 US gallon tank, and I'm now ready to stock.

I *think* I have decided on the following stock:

* 1 x Angelfish
* 3 x Honey Gourami
* 3 x Same sex Platy
* 6 x Marbled Hatchet
* 6 x Cardinal Tetra
* 3 x Dwarf Cory (I have sand substrate)
* 2 x Oto

I will of course be absolutely sure of my final stock before I buy anything.

I know not to just put them all in together, so I wondered if you'd be so kind to recommend an order of which I should add my stock, and also how long I should leave between each purchase.

I appreciate with this list I am pushing my limits a little. But with a filter good enough for 65 gallons, and regularly water changes (with water safe and Prime - used to protect the fish from chemicals), I think they should be OK.

Thanks for your help.

 

[StandbySetting]

I'd leave the Oto's and the Angel fish out all together, Oto's will do best in a mature tank with a plentiful supply of algae, Also the Dwarf Corydoras would do much better in a group of 10. The Angel fish just get too big.

The whole point of a fishless cycle is so that you can add pretty much all of your stocking in one go, initially I'd add:

3 Honey Gourami's, 6 Marbled Hatchet's, 6 Cardinal Tetra's, 3 Platy's and 6 Corydoras. You could then increase numbers over time, for your final stocking you might want to increase the Cardinal Tetra's to 10 as well as the Dwarf Corydora's.

Just make sure you've got a tight fitting lid!

 

[KittyKat]

+1 everything above

I recommend you stock first:
* 3 x honey gouramis
* 3 x male platys
* 10 x cardinal Tetra
* 10 x dwarf Corys

Then a few weeks later, add 10 hatchetfish (they jump, so need a cover glass).

I personally believe in keeping fish at least in roughly the right water conditions they should have, so I would probably aim at soft-medium water and not have the platys.

 

[Hale9]

Getting an angelfish was one of the main reasons I took this up. My tank is 18 inches in depth, and all the research I made prior to getting the tank suggested this would be OK. So I am very keen on getting an angelfish.

I am suprised that the recommendation is to purchase them all, or at least the majority, all at the same time. I appreciate the point of cycling is to prepare the filter for on-coming waste, but is the acquiring of all the fish at the same time not putting unnecessary pressure on the filter? Perhaps this is the beginner in me shining through.

 

[StandbySetting]

The quantity of ammonia reflects the waste produced by fish on a tank with average stocking, which is why it is fine to add most of your stocking in one go.

After you've got substrate in you're left with about 16 inches, and once filled you'll lose about another 0.5-1 inches as it wont be filled to the brim, for a fish that can get up to 12 inches in height it isn't fair in my opinion.

 

[Aqua Tom]

Sorry, your tank is too small for an Angelfish.

I have an Angel in my 180 litre. The spec says it is 50cm high, this is 19.7 inches which sounds fine. When I actualy measure the available water depth, from the substrate to the water line is 14 inches which is still fine but my substrate slopes up at the back. There it is 12 inches deep. So when the angel get fully grown he will be limited to the front of the tank, this is still fine as he spends all his time there anyway.

He is currently 5-6 inches high so is roughly half grown.

I am upsizing my tank soon anyway so its not a problem & is not likely to become one.


Tom.

 

[KittyKat]

I do not recommend angels because I personally feel that they should have at least a 4ft long aquarium (or they will barely be able to turn around, when adult), which is 24 inches tall and kept in groups of 6+ (because from my experience, they are very social fish).