Please Help Me With My Stocking Idea

[frida]

Hello!

I'm stuck at home feeling ill and getting bored of looking at my sky-high nitrite and nitrate levels and so started looking up what fish I could keep once my tank is finally cycled.

My tank is a 60cm x 30cm x 30cm Juwel Rekord 600 with the provided filter, lights and heater.

My tap water parameters are
nitrate: 20~30ppm
pH: 8.0~8.2

Currently, this is what I would love to have in my tank, but I'm not sure if I am over stocking or whether I still have room for more fish. (I'm just not clear on how much shrimp add to the bioload...) Also, if there are any compatibility problems, please let me know.

5 Sparkling Gourami (Trichopsis pumila) OR 3 Dwarf Gourami (Trichogaster lalius) OR any centre piece fish you would recommend...

5 Pygmy Corydoras (Corydoras pygmaeus) I love these fish!

6 Cherry shrimp (Neocaridina heteropoda) I really want shrimp

Thanks

 

[Carlovel1]

I wouldnt mix Cories and shrimp with Sparkling gouramis, Sparkling Gouramis need a temp of 25C-28C. In that temp, the shrimp will probably be jumping out of the tank lol
If it was me I would do:
3 Dwarf Gouramis
4 Cherry Shrimp
4 Black Crystal/Bumblebee Shrimp
6 Salt & Pepper Corys (Corydoras habrosus) or 6 Dwarf Corys (Corydoras Hastatus) instead of the usual Pygmy Corys
6 Green Neon Tetras
Carl

 

[frida]

Thanks for your input! Oops, I was hoping that all the species would be okay at around 25C.

Bumblebee shrimp look lovely!

I wouldnt mix Cories and shrimp with Sparkling gouramis, Sparkling Gouramis need a temp of 25C-28C. In that temp, the shrimp will probably be jumping out of the tank lol
If it was me I would do:
3 Dwarf Gouramis
4 Cherry Shrimp
4 Black Crystal/Bumblebee Shrimp
6 Salt & Pepper Corys (Corydoras habrosus) or 6 Dwarf Corys (Corydoras Hastatus) instead of the usual Pygmy Corys
6 Green Neon Tetras
Carl

 

[Curiosity101]

Definitely avoid dwarf gouramis in a 60l tank. They often cause far too much trouble. I'd definitely opt for honeys, or a group of sparkling gouramis.

Do you know what type of fish you like? Colours...shapes...activity levels...

How about...
2-3 Honey gouramis (1male 1-2females)
6 Cherry shrimp
6 pygmy (or other small) corys
8 small tetra or rasbora

 

[frida]

Thanks for your reply. I'll avoid the dwarf gourami - I was just reading about DGIV and it has put me off!

What I definitely want:
pygmy corydoras (I find their big dark eyes really cute)
shrimp
+ some colourful fish for the mid/top area

I initially thought sparkling gourami would be great but unfortunately it seems like they are not temperature compatible...

I think the honey gourami sound like a good suggestion as they seem to be more peaceful and also very pretty. But don't these need a fairly high temperature too, like the sparkling gourami?


Anyway, if it does work, I might go for something like:

3 honey gourami
6 pygmy corydoras
6 cherry shrimp or black crystal
7 green neon tetra

Definitely avoid dwarf gouramis in a 60l tank. They often cause far too much trouble. I'd definitely opt for honeys, or a group of sparkling gouramis.

Do you know what type of fish you like? Colours...shapes...activity levels...

How about...
2-3 Honey gouramis (1male 1-2females)
6 Cherry shrimp
6 pygmy (or other small) corys
8 small tetra or rasbora

 

[waterdrop]

Agree with C101, dwarf males can be feisty little devils at times and that's better dissipated with more tank volume (not to mention two females!)

 

[frida]

Agree with C101, dwarf males can be feisty little devils at times and that's better dissipated with more tank volume (not to mention two females!)

Thanks for your input too I'm definitely not going for dwarf gourami after reading more about them. Seems too much hassle and definitely not suited for my small tank!

 

[Curiosity101]

Hmm...

2 Honey Gouramis (1male 1female)
3 Endlers (stick to males)
6-8 Tetras/Rasboras/Barbs (something around the 4cm mark would be good)
6 Pygmy corys

..??

 

[Carlovel1]

How about
2 Banded Gouramis 1M 1F
4 Cherry Shrimp
4 Black Crystal/Bumblebee Shrimp
6 Salt & Pepper Corys (Corydoras habrosus) or 6 Dwarf Corys (Corydoras Hastatus) instead of the usual Pygmy Corys
6 Green Neon Tetras/Ember Tetras

 

[frida]

Hmm...

2 Honey Gouramis (1male 1female)
3 Endlers (stick to males)
6-8 Tetras/Rasboras/Barbs (something around the 4cm mark would be good)
6 Pygmy corys

..??

Never really considered endlers - they are very pretty

How about
2 Banded Gouramis 1M 1F
4 Cherry Shrimp
4 Black Crystal/Bumblebee Shrimp
6 Salt & Pepper Corys (Corydoras habrosus) or 6 Dwarf Corys (Corydoras Hastatus) instead of the usual Pygmy Corys
6 Green Neon Tetras/Ember Tetras

Hehehe, why do I get a feeling you don't like pygmy corys?
banded gouramis look nice but aren't they going to get a bit too big for my tank? (it's 60cm long)

Thanks for your input though - I'm going to look up the other fish you suggested

 

[kizno1]

What about a type of Apistogramma as a centre piece? My favourite are apistogramma agassizii you could have a pair of them or a trio of a smaller type like apistogramma panduro.
I would go for something like
2-3 Apistogramma
6 Pygmy corys
6 Tetra/rasbora ect
6 Marble hatchets

 

[frida]

What about a type of Apistogramma as a centre piece? My favourite are apistogramma agassizii you could have a pair of them or a trio of a smaller type like apistogramma panduro.
I would go for something like
2-3 Apistogramma
6 Pygmy corys
6 Tetra/rasbora ect
6 Marble hatchets

Dwarf Apistogramma are stunning
But the shrimp I want probably won't last long with them...

 

[Carlovel1]

How about
2 Banded Gouramis 1M 1F
4 Cherry Shrimp
4 Black Crystal/Bumblebee Shrimp
6 Salt & Pepper Corys (Corydoras habrosus) or 6 Dwarf Corys (Corydoras Hastatus) instead of the usual Pygmy Corys
6 Green Neon Tetras/Ember Tetras

Hehehe, why do I get a feeling you don't like pygmy corys?
banded gouramis look nice but aren't they going to get a bit too big for my tank? (it's 60cm long)

Thanks for your input though - I'm going to look up the other fish you suggested
[/quote]
Banded gouramis get to 10CM but more commonly reach 8CM.
Read this website about Banded Gouramis where it stated 10 gallons/38 litres as the min tank size for these fish

 

[Curiosity101]

They don't more commonly reach 8cm.

Males pretty much always hit 10, females are more around the 8cm mark.

Just because you can keep the fish in 38l doesn't mean that you SHOULD keep the fish in 38l. In my opinion the only reason you would keep them in a 38l is as a species only tank with a single specimen, or as a conditioning/spawning tank for a pair.

In a community there are alot more things to think about than just the size of the fish. (Although for the record there aren't many 10cm fish I'd be happy putting into a 60l tank...).
Eitherways, like I said, in a community tank you have to think about it as a whole, those fish with their tempremant really are (again...in my opinion) not suitable for a 60l

 

[frida]

might give banded gouramis a miss then...


How about:

1 betta
6 pygmy corydoras
6 shrimp
8 green neon tetra

or will the tetras nip the betta?


Anyway, I quite like this for now:

3 honey gourami
6 pygmy corydoras
6 cherry shrimp or black crystal
8 green neon tetra