Pick My Fish!

[adam98150]

I want to upgrade to a larger tank, because i currently have a 24", 15g UK tank. I was thinking of upgrading to L36", W15", H18" which would approx be

litres: 159.282262
Volume in imperial gallons: 35.041747
Volume in US gallons: 42.082501

My stock is in my sig which will be carried over to the new tank, is their enough room for anymore (fish)? If so is their any you could recommend? They must be colourful and active.

Also im attempting to get hold of a spiny-eel, so keep that in mind.

 

[Spooky76]

Hey - yeh in a tank that size you could have some more.
Firstly you need to get your new tank up and running. Alot of your stocking depends on filtration, plants, substrate and other factors.
Personally I am a huge Ram fan. I love them, but they are terrotorial so you need to keep that in mind. There are loads of different types of ram / cichlids around. German Blue, or my fav is the golden / fire RAM, they look fantastic.

You could also have tetras with them, emporers are a lovely fish and so are lemons, phantoms and neons in a large shoal are still great to look at.

 

[adam98150]

Thanks for the suggestion!
Would i have to cycle my new tank as im basically transferring all the things from my old one into it? E.G. Decor, Water, Filter.

 

[wendywc]

Are you going to put a spiny eel in with them? I've never kept a spiny eel, but I doubt that they can be kept with small tetras, kuhli loaches, and shrimp.

 

[xxBarneyxx]

If you transfer everything over in one go you wouldnt have to cycle it again (assuming your filter is up to the job on a larger tank). I would however not add all your new fish in one shot.

Two things I cant help on is the red tailed shark and clown plecos, I know very little about these fish and their needs so this might need to be adjusted.Same goes for Spiney eel's (I'm not sure these will be safe with small tetras but I could be wrong).

I would first have a look at increase the numbers of some of the fish you already have, a lot of the fish you have are shoaling fish and would be better in bigger groups. My list (assuming your filtration is up to the job and taking the above into account).

Top
**8 Neon tetras (Also mid) = 12"
**8 Glowlight tetras (Also mid) = 12"
Mid
2 Amano shrimp (Also bottom)
4 Glass shrimp (Also bottom)
**4 Bronze cory (Also bottom) = 12"
1 Dwarf gourami (Female) = 2-3"
**1 Betta ------ Is this a male or a female?? Betta's generally do not do well in a community setup. = 3"
1 Red Tail Shark (Also bottom) = 3"
Bottom
**4 Kulhi loaches = 12"
2 Clown Pleco = 6"

So that is around 63" of fish length in total (at least at face value). The 1" of fish per gallon rule is a good guideline but is not set in stone. The glowlight tetras, neon tetras and Kuhli loaches are all small bodied so I personally would count them as half their size.

So about 45" of fish in total like this, which I would say is about right for this size of tank.
Personally if possible I would rehome the betta and bring both shoals of tetras up to 12 each. (Most) Tetras really do look best in large groups.

The real question is, what to do with the spare 15g you are now going to have

 

[adam98150]

If you transfer everything over in one go you wouldnt have to cycle it again (assuming your filter is up to the job on a larger tank). I would however not add all your new fish in one shot.

Two things I cant help on is the red tailed shark and clown plecos, I know very little about these fish and their needs so this might need to be adjusted.Same goes for Spiney eel's (I'm not sure these will be safe with small tetras but I could be wrong).

I would first have a look at increase the numbers of some of the fish you already have, a lot of the fish you have are shoaling fish and would be better in bigger groups. My list (assuming your filtration is up to the job and taking the above into account).

Top
**8 Neon tetras (Also mid) = 12"
**8 Glowlight tetras (Also mid) = 12"
Mid
2 Amano shrimp (Also bottom)
4 Glass shrimp (Also bottom)
**4 Bronze cory (Also bottom) = 12"
1 Dwarf gourami (Female) = 2-3"
**1 Betta ------ Is this a male or a female?? Betta's generally do not do well in a community setup. = 3"
1 Red Tail Shark (Also bottom) = 3"
Bottom
**4 Kulhi loaches = 12"
2 Clown Pleco = 6"

So that is around 63" of fish length in total (at least at face value). The 1" of fish per gallon rule is a good guideline but is not set in stone. The glowlight tetras, neon tetras and Kuhli loaches are all small bodied so I personally would count them as half their size.

So about 45" of fish in total like this, which I would say is about right for this size of tank.
Personally if possible I would rehome the betta and bring both shoals of tetras up to 12 each. (Most) Tetras really do look best in large groups.

The real question is, what to do with the spare 15g you are now going to have

Thanks for the advice.
The half-banded spiny eel only grows 8" max, and their is also another spiny eel which only grows around 4" i think (Zebra something)?

Well my filter is 800/lph, i think thats enough yes? If not i can purchase another, if need be. (suggestions)
Ill use the other tank as a hospital tank maybe? Not too sure yet. (suggestions)

Right, now. All the tetras seem to shoal together, maybe add another two of each type? And i was thinking of adding another varient of the cory (Another two but not bronze), Ill add two more kulhi loaches also as said. The betta seems fine, havent seen any aggression issues (except when first bought) if anything 'goes wrong' ill return him straight away!
Also my shrimp count is now, 1 amano: 3 glass:

Is this OK? And thanks again for your help.

 

[adam98150]

?

 

[adam98150]

Final bump.

 

[freshwaterfishlover]

I have a tank 171L 45G.

Stocking is Max

1 Bristelnose Pleco
3 Clown Loaches
2 Angels
2 Banded Gourami
6 Black Skirted Tetras.


I think you should add like 4 more of each Tetra and you'll be good.

 

[xxBarneyxx]

Ideally for the Cory's I would add another couple of Bronze ones as they tend to do much better in groups or at least 3-4. If you get 2 other cory's they "might" shoal with your current ones but sometimes different cory's will not shoal together.

If your betta has been fine then you should be ok. If it is a male then keep a watch on his fins as tetras can be very nippy with long finned fish.

A couple more of each species of tetra to make each group up to 6 would be the min (in my opinion). I personally dont think tetras really look at their best until there is a good sized group of them. This is my own personal preferences though (In my tanks with shoaling fish I tend to only have a couple of species of fish in large shoals). They will be ok in groups of 6 though.

 

[adam98150]

Thanks for the replies, Ill purchase the tank and get back to you! Ill probably get at least 2 more bronze cories, also.

 

[Davo86]

Are you keeping the original tank running? if so i would keep the betta and the shrimp and possibly the kuhli loach in that tank, and transfer the rest to the new one, reason being, with the spiny eel there is a risk of the shrimp and smaller loach getting eaten, also if you are adding a larger variety of tetras to your tank there is a chance that the bettas fins will be nipped.

 

[adam98150]

Are you keeping the original tank running? if so i would keep the betta and the shrimp and possibly the kuhli loach in that tank, and transfer the rest to the new one, reason being, with the spiny eel there is a risk of the shrimp and smaller loach getting eaten, also if you are adding a larger variety of tetras to your tank there is a chance that the bettas fins will be nipped.

Thanks for the help.
Well the eel which i may purchase will be a Mastacembelus pancalus or a Mastacembelus zebrinus, which doesnt grow at all big. I doubt it can 'eat' my shrimp as they are adult and quite large (Some of my glass shrimp are almost 2"!) Im not adding more variety of tetras just 4 of the same type, to equal six in each group. (2 Neons, 2 Glowlights) they are not aggressive, and my betta is in perfect health.

Im transferring everything from my 24", including the water, filter/media, and decor. In order to mature my new tank. So, sadly, it wont be running.

Thanks again for the advice.