Planning For A New Tank!

Eines · Mar 2, 2008

I plan on getting a 160l (40g) tank at some point in the hopefully near future. :shifty:

I've only had my ten gallon tank for two weeks and I already want more fish!? :drool:

Soooo...I've been thinking about how to stock it, of course, and here is my idea. I'm not sure whether I will be overstocked or will be giving my fish plenty of room so any opinions whatsoever will be appriciated! Also, I haven't finished doing my research on all the species, so if there is any conflict, please tell me. (I'm not sure of the length, width, height of the tank right now, but I'll try and post it soon.)

x10 swordtails
x7 tiger barbs (3 normal, 2 moss, 2 albino)
x1 ADF
x1 shark (either rainbow or red-tailed)
x1 bristlenosed plec
x3 corys

26 degrees C, HOB filter (if I find one big enough), 7ph, sandy substrate...

Also, another random question: can one put plant pots in tanks? Are they poisenous? They would seem like the perfect hidout for fishies, so if anyone has ever tried it before...

Thanks for reading. :fun:

rdd1952 · Mar 2, 2008

I would think that would be a little heavy based strictly on 1" per gallon. The 10 swordtails (which would be 40" of fish alone) would lead to a ton of fry unless you got all makes. A normal mix of 1 male to 2 females would result in 6 or 7 females and 1 to 2 batches of fry per week. Im also not certain about the tiger barbs They are very aggressive and not the best community fish. Usually, it is suggested to increase numbers to spread the aggression. I don't know if the mix types of barbs would help that or not.

I mentioned 1" per gallon. Although that is a very tried and true method (according to a couple recent posts about old fish books, goes back into the 1930s) of calculating stocking levels, it is not set in stone but staying close to that in the beginning helps make things easy as you get the tank established. The stocking level may be fine if you ease into it but I wouldn't jump right in from the start

If you are talking about terra cotta pots, they are fine. People use them all the time.

Eines · Mar 2, 2008

Yeah, the ten swordtails does seem a little excessive. Maybe I'll stick with a trio or none at all. From the research I did on tiger barbs, they're supposed to be fine in larger groups of around 5+, so I think I'll stick with them, because I think they're very pretty. When I do get the tank, I'm planning on adding only two or three a month anyway, so easing in should be no prob. Thanks for the feedback!

rdd1952 · Mar 2, 2008

I don't know that much about TBs but my concern would be whether the 7 of mixed species would work as well at controlling aggression as would 7 of the same species if you understand what I mean.