Soon To Be Hobbyist - Stocking And Compatability Help

[chopperheys]

Hi everyone, first post so please be gentle. We're a young family with 2 kids and want to have a tropical tank. The plan is to have a tank with live plants(plant help will be required eventually), possibly bog wood/rocks depending on space and to please the kids a couple of ornaments. We want a community tank and have drummed a list of fish together. There's an awful lot on the list, and am certain there'll be an overstocking and compatability issue. The tanks we've been looking at are fluval Roma 125 with external filters, but aren't restricted to this tank as will most probably be buying used. The list of fish are

1) dwarf yellow puffer 2) candy stripe pleco 3) Neon/glowlight tetra x6 4) Borneo sucker loach. 5)Male betta 6) assorted male guppy x6 and possibly 2 female guppy. 7) opaline gourami. 8) galaxy rasbora x6. 9) sunset Plath x3 also if it's not going to be too aggressive then a red tail or ruby shark would be liked. The daughter also would like 2 aquatic frogs but if she had to choose would pick fish over them.

I know it's a huge list. So if they was all compatible what size tank would we need? But more realistically what could go nice in say a 125 litre tank with external filter? Thanks and sorry for such a long first post.

 

[Ch4rlie]

to the forum
 
Glad to have you aboard.
 
Also good that you are researching and asking advice before buying any of these stocking for your 125l / 33 gal tank.
 
There certainly are some compatibility issues like the dwarf puffer are not a real good community fish, also a betta and guppies not recommended together really. (BTW female guppies breed prolifically) 
 
There are more knowledgeable people on this forum who is much better than i about stocking numbers and will advise accordingly.
 
Hope you enjoy the forum.

 

[508]

Hi there and welcome to the forum,
 
That's quite a list and I wouldn't recommend some of those fish for a community tank. What substrate will you be using?
 
1) Dwarf Puffer Fish are exteremely aggresive and I wouldn't recommend them for a community tank. They are very territorial and will often claim the entire tank as their own territory.2
2) Yes, a single pleco would work. Another bottom dweller to think about is the cory catfish, my personal favourite are the Sterbai Cories. Both species do much better in sand and sand looks much nicer too.
3) Yep, those would work. I recommend the Cardinal tetra over both of these, they're far more colourful than the Neon Tetra and grow a bit bigger too. Remember these are shoaling fish, so it's recommended to have more than 10. 
4) As far as I know that's a coldwater fish, so no.
5) Bettas are aggressive and should be kept by themselves.
6) Male guppies would work, but I don't think you need any females.
7) I heard they're aggressive so I wouldn't.
8) Tiny and ridiculously expensive fish. Unless you're very keen on them I wouldn't.
9) 3 sunset platies would work, don't know much about them though so I have no idea whether 3 is enough.
10) A big no-no for the shark.
 
A 125 litre tank would let create a nice community setup, although you have to be the one to make the decision whether you are willing to spend more money but have more space for fish in return.
 
Let me know what you decided on, so we can start talking about compatible fish.

 

[Blondielovesfish]

to the forum.
 

The list of fish are

1) dwarf yellow puffer 2) candy stripe pleco 3) Neon/glowlight tetra x6 4) Borneo sucker loach. 5)Male betta 6) assorted male guppy x6 and possibly 2 female guppy. 7) opaline gourami. 8) galaxy rasbora x6. 9) sunset Plath x3 also if it's not going to be too aggressive then a red tail or ruby shark would be liked. The daughter also would like 2 aquatic frogs but if she had to choose would pick fish over them.

 
There are a few problems with your stocking list....
 
1) Dwarf puffers are aggressive fish and very few people have had success with them in a community setting. Most don't accept commercial prepared foods, most do best being fed live foods, often snails. Many people report that their dwarf puffer will kill anything that moves in their tank.
 
2) Don't know anything about these sorry.
 
3) could be suitable, depends on what else is in the tank.
 
4)Borneo suckers aren't really tropical fish, they require cold/sub tropical temperatures with high oxygen and strong flow. They wouldn't do well in your tank.
 
5) Could work, though they can be aggressive and wouldn't be suitable with your guppies (some have success with them but I wouldn't risk it.
 
6) I would stick with just males, as females breed a lot! If you do want females, they need to be kept in a 2:1 ratio of females : males.
 
7) Can be aggressive but could work.
 
8) Could be eaten by the bigger fish. Could work.
 
9) Do you mean platies? If so, it would be best to stick with all males as they're like the guppies and are big breeders.
 
10) No, sorry the sharks are aggressive and need at least 200L tanks.

 

[chopperheys]

Wow, thanks for the replies so quickly.

Hi there and welcome to the forum,
 
That's quite a list and I wouldn't recommend some of those fish for a community tank. What substrate will you be using?
 
1) Dwarf Puffer Fish are exteremely aggresive and I wouldn't recommend them for a community tank. They are very territorial and will often claim the entire tank as their own territory.2
2) Yes, a single pleco would work. Another bottom dweller to think about is the cory catfish, my personal favourite are the Sterbai Cories. Both species do much better in sand and sand looks much nicer too.
3) Yep, those would work. I recommend the Cardinal tetra over both of these, they're far more colourful than the Neon Tetra and grow a bit bigger too. Remember these are shoaling fish, so it's recommended to have more than 10. 
4) As far as I know that's a coldwater fish, so no.
5) Bettas are aggressive and should be kept by themselves.
6) Male guppies would work, but I don't think you need any females.
7) I heard they're aggressive so I wouldn't.
8) Tiny and ridiculously expensive fish. Unless you're very keen on them I wouldn't.
9) 3 sunset platies would work, don't know much about them though so I have no idea whether 3 is enough.
10) A big no-no for the shark.
 
A 125 litre tank would let create a nice community setup, although you have to be the one to make the decision whether you are willing to spend more money but have more space for fish in return.
 
Let me know what you decided on, so we can start talking about compatible fish.

Substrate wise I was thinking of a black sand but I know the other half would much rather a nice colourful gravel...

I hadn't listed any cory catfish because I'd read on a site that they do beat in groups of 5 and my list was already huge. However I do like the sterbai cory you mentioned and also the three lined Cory. A website we was using to look at fish, not where we'd buy them, listed the Borneo sucker loach under tropical fish as an algae eater, seeing as 2 people have already stated that they're not tropical then I'm more inclined to go with the majority. The reason we listed 2 female guppys was because I'd read that the males colours are much better when there's females in with them. The opaline gourami was one of my favourites, if it was added last in a well established community could that help? I hadn't actually noticed the price of the rasbora's, they are a shoaling fish aren't they? That's why I listed 6, I'd read 6 was the minimum for a shoal.

In reality the minimum size will be 125 litres but depending what pops up for sale then there's space for anything up to 200 litres, I would say its best to decide purely on the intentions of a 125 litre tho.

to the forum.
 
There are a few problems with your stocking list....
 
5) Could work, though they can be aggressive and wouldn't be suitable with your guppies (some have success with them but I wouldn't risk it.
 
7) Can be aggressive but could work.
 
9) Do you mean platies? If so, it would be best to stick with all males as they're like the guppies and are big breeders.

I think considering a betta can do well by themselves in a much smaller tank then it's just not worth the risk.

Same as above really. The gourami was one of my favourites, so would introducing it a later stage help reduce the risk?

Yes sorry meant platies, typing on my iPad so it got autocorrected.

So a new list based on my replies is -

1) candy stripe pleco
2) cory catfish, if not needed in groups of 5?? (possibly a three line cory)
3) cardinal/neon/glowlight tetra x10 - can mixed tetra make a shoal or does it need to be same type of tetra?
4) assorted male guppy x10
5) hopefully a opaline gourami??? Lol
6) sunset platy x3

How is that looking for a list? Other recommendations are welcome. As an end result we was hoping for fish that swim at different levels of the tank and different speeds, with the hope of a couple of larger fish than the what the shoaling fish will be. Thanks again.

 

[Blondielovesfish]

So a new list based on my replies is -

1) candy stripe pleco
2) cory catfish, if not needed in groups of 5?? (possibly a three line cory)
3) cardinal/neon/glowlight tetra x10 - can mixed tetra make a shoal or does it need to be same type of tetra?
4) assorted male guppy x10
5) hopefully a opaline gourami??? Lol
6) sunset platy x3

 
Corys do need to be in schools of at least 6, sorry. You could go for one of the dwarf varieties? Pygmy, habrosus and hastatus.
 
Tetra will only school with their own kind, unless closely related.
 
With that stocklist, you would be quite overstocked in a 125L
How about.......
 
7 dwarf corys
7 tetras (whatever you choose)
3 guppies/platies (whichever one is your favourite)
1 candycane pleco.
 
Alternately, you could swap out the tetras or corys or guppies/platies for the gourami.
 
With a bigger tank, you could have more fish.

 

[508]

 
 
Corys do need to be in schools of at least 6, sorry. You could go for one of the dwarf varieties? Pygmy, habrosus and hastatus.
 
Tetra will only school with their own kind, unless closely related.
 
With that stocklist, you would be quite overstocked in a 125L
How about.......
 
7 dwarf corys
7 tetras (whatever you choose)
3 guppies/platies (whichever one is your favourite)
1 candycane pleco.
 
Alternately, you could swap out the tetras or corys or guppies/platies for the gourami.
 
With a bigger tank, you could have more fish.
 

 
I don't think he should go for the opaline gourami, they're the most aggressive type.
 
About the substrate you could try for a compromise with your family and just go for regular sand.

 

[Blondielovesfish]

I don't think he should go for the opaline gourami, they're the most aggressive type.

 
Through further research, I believe you are right.
 
Chopperheys, have a read of THIS link.

 

[chopperheys]

@508 - I think when my other half is presented with the option of black or standard sand, she'd choose sand. Is there a fine gravel that will be suitable and perhaps either placed on part of the sand or mixed with the sand? I am pretty sure black sand will be fine but it's worth checking all my options.

How about.......
 
7 dwarf corys
7 tetras (whatever you choose)
3 guppies/platies (whichever one is your favourite)
1 candycane pleco.

 

I do want to try and have one centrepiece fish as well as shoaling fish if possible. I've been doing some more searching and reading today. I actually stumbled upon a site called Aqua advisor, it lets you input your tank and filter, then as you add your fish it tells you the stocking level. This is the list I inputted, and got an estimated stocking level of 93%-
1) Guppy x7
2) Sunset platy x3
3) Candystripe pleco x1 (actually had to choose Leopard frog pleco which is slightly bigger than a Candystripe)
4) Zebra Loach x4 (I believe these are bottom dwelling? And minimum count should be 4?)
5) Neon tetra x7
6) Pearl gourami x1 (centrepiece fish)

No idea if that site is accurate on stocking levels....however how does that list look in terms of compatability and stocking levels? Is there any other fish that would make a good centrepiece fish other than the pearl gourami?

 

I don't think he should go for the opaline gourami, they're the most aggressive type.

 
Through further research, I believe you are right.
 
Chopperheys, have a read of THIS link.

I read that and it's a little confusing as it states it's a peaceful fish that can be kept in community tanks, but then goes on to say they have an aggressive nature and should only Be kept with more robust fish. Obviously you guys are saying it isn't suitable which is good enough for me, just found that article a little contradicting/confusing.

Thanks again.

 

[Blondielovesfish]

I can see how it could be confusing, it means that it can be in a community with bigger fish that can stand their ground.