Restocking

[Channo]

Hello everybody,

I'm a keen hobbyist fishkeeper, and I have two tropical tanks. I'm looking to restock both tanks and wanted some advice if you kind folk wouldn't mind.

In the first one, (a 60 litre) I have two thai loaches and a barb.

In the other (a 90 litre) I have two krebs (male and female), and one lonely old black neon tetra.

The 90 litre one is set up for the L number catfish I had so it is very heavy on the bogwood, and planted.

Both tanks have a pebble base.

My Catfish died a few months ago, and ultimately I want that larger tank to be for L numbers. But I want to get these last, when all other fish are added.

My trouble is, I added a bunch of penguin tetras (on advice from the fish shop) and the tetra in the tanks bullied them relentlessly. They spent their whole time hiding by the filter, so I also wonder whether they didn't like the pace of the filter (set to high for the catfish). SO I'm wondering what would be the best way to restock - and if folk had any suggestions, as I like unusual fish if possible (hence my attraction to the L number catfish)

In the other tank, the loaches seem happy to parade around the bottom of the tank, and I love them. I don't want to stress them by putting in anything competitive, so should I just stick to adding a few more barbs? And will this upset my lonely remaining barb?

In essence, what I'm trying to say is that I'm soft on my remaining fish, and worry that they'll be upset by bringing in other fish. I've been waiting so long to restock as I thought they may 'pass on' sooner or later, but the tetra and the barb seem like they want to hold on forever!

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Wills]

Hi welcome to the forum

Right just trying to work out what all your fish are as you are using some broad terms with them. Is the Thai loach also known as Botia Kubotai? Have a Google of the name and see what the similarities are.

The "Barb" any other names to go by? There are a lot of Barbs and they come in all different sizes they are also schooling fish so you will likely need to add more rather than leave them by them selves.

When you say Krebs I think you mean Kribs which is short for Kribensis?

The Black Neon is also a schooling fish so will do well with more of its own kind. When you talk about the Penguin Tetras are you meaning that Neon is attacking the Penguins or the Penguins are attacking the Neon? I have heard of Penguins being nippy and aggressive but not Black Neons - it could be that the Black Neon is alone so has no hierarchy with its own species as is natural in a school.... The Penguins are also a larger tetra and would be better off in a tank bigger than 60 liters.

When you say your L number plec died what did it die of? And which L number was it?

My main concern with your tanks is that they are small and you obviously like to keep a variety of fish. Particularly with any plec species you need at least medium sized tanks - some are manageable in 3 foot tanks but ideally if you want to have a few species a tank in the region of 200 liters or ideally more is pretty much essential because they produce so much waste.

When you say your waiting for fish to pass on, I wouldnt because fish live for a surprisingly long time especially in well kept tanks your talking years - for example for Neon Tetras you can usually expect 3 years as a minimum from good stock.

If you dont want to keep them or you dont want to add to the school and would rather have an other species what is best for you and the fish is to move them onto a shop where they can be added to the store tank with others of their species where they would be sold on in a group and end up happier over all and you will then have the tank space freed up for more additions that you want to keep.

Hope thats helped And sorry if some of its come across as harsh but just trying to point you in the right direction
Wills

 

[Channo]

Hi welcome to the forum

Right just trying to work out what all your fish are as you are using some broad terms with them. Is the Thai loach also known as Botia Kubotai? Have a Google of the name and see what the similarities are.

The "Barb" any other names to go by? There are a lot of Barbs and they come in all different sizes they are also schooling fish so you will likely need to add more rather than leave them by them selves.

When you say Krebs I think you mean Kribs which is short for Kribensis?

The Black Neon is also a schooling fish so will do well with more of its own kind. When you talk about the Penguin Tetras are you meaning that Neon is attacking the Penguins or the Penguins are attacking the Neon? I have heard of Penguins being nippy and aggressive but not Black Neons - it could be that the Black Neon is alone so has no hierarchy with its own species as is natural in a school.... The Penguins are also a larger tetra and would be better off in a tank bigger than 60 liters.

When you say your L number plec died what did it die of? And which L number was it?

My main concern with your tanks is that they are small and you obviously like to keep a variety of fish. Particularly with any plec species you need at least medium sized tanks - some are manageable in 3 foot tanks but ideally if you want to have a few species a tank in the region of 200 liters or ideally more is pretty much essential because they produce so much waste.

When you say your waiting for fish to pass on, I wouldnt because fish live for a surprisingly long time especially in well kept tanks your talking years - for example for Neon Tetras you can usually expect 3 years as a minimum from good stock.

If you dont want to keep them or you dont want to add to the school and would rather have an other species what is best for you and the fish is to move them onto a shop where they can be added to the store tank with others of their species where they would be sold on in a group and end up happier over all and you will then have the tank space freed up for more additions that you want to keep.

Hope thats helped And sorry if some of its come across as harsh but just trying to point you in the right direction
Wills

Hello,

Thanks for the reply - not offended at all. I'd like to be more educated, and it's the only way to learn - up to now I've always just taken the advice of originally Pets at Home, and then my local fish store. Plus what I've read in books of course.

The loaches are Thai Red-Tail Banded Loaches (Species: Schistura mahnerti) - according to what I've found on the internet. There are loads of hiding places for them - I went on the store's advice and added a lot of plastic tubes to the tank, and they seem happy hiding in these.

The Tetra must be about 6 years old - that's why I keep expecting him to die! I don't want him to, and I definitely don't want to give him away, this is my predicament.

The L number was a Tiger plec I think. I don't know what happened to it to be honest. It was fine, didn't lose weight, and I'm very obsessive about the water quality and this was not off in any way. I'd had him for about two years, and then obviously something upset him. It was a number of weeks after the introduction of those peguin tetras, so I wondered if they may have brought some disease, but the Kribs and the other tetra were fine, and the Plec didn't have a mark on it. It was very odd.

I was advised by the shop, that the plec would be fine in a tank that size, with just a school of five or six tetras plus the kribs, and regular water changes. They advised that he would get bigger, but that I could upgrade the tank to a bigger size as it would take a number of years. Everything I read about it seemed to support this (I didn't just go out and get a fish like that, promise!) - is this wrong in your opinion?

The Barb is a tiger barb. As far as I know these are also Thai fish, so I thought that they would go well with the loaches? Hope that is correct.


Really appreciate any advice - don't be afraid to tell me if I'm doing something wrong! I'd rather have happy fish than fancy fish! I'm a trainee vet so their health and welfare is really important to me.


Thanks