Stocking 25Gallon Tank Question

[jahodienka]

Hi all fish keepers and friends.

So I want to get some advice from you guys on stocking my tank(first 25gallon planted).It is a planted going to be a lot more plants soon.
My PH is 8 and at the moment I keep these fish:
3x Zebra Danios
6x Harlequin Rasboras
4x Neon Tetras
What I an thinking about I want to add 4x more Neon Tetras, and I am looking for some centerpiece fish for this community tank.
What comes to my mind would be a pair of some Gouramis(what type would be good for my tank? possibly 2x female + 1x male) which would be suitable for the size of the tank, and possibly one of the bristlenose pleco friends?
I do have driftwood in tank which does not drop PH(which I was hoping for), but would make the BN happy I guess.
Would this be overstocked?
I want the bristlenose to keep aquarium clean , btw I forgot to mention I have a growing colony of pond snails(don't seem to be snacking on plant so far).
Any other suggestions are welcome,Thank you very much and have all a wonderful Christmas and a happy new year.

 

[KittyKat]

If this was my tank, this is what I would do:
* 7 zebra danios
* 7 harlequins
* 1 bristlenose pleco
* 1m 1f dwarf gouramis

,,then see how this looks.

The bristlenose will not keep anything clean, they do require feeding like all other fish.

What is your tap water pH after you leave it to stand for 24 hours? The pH should drop as the set-up matures.

 

[jahodienka]

What is your tap water pH after you leave it to stand for 24 hours? The pH should drop as the set-up matures.
[/quote]

So you are suggesting that I should give up on neons?(kind of like them);
I did not check my tap water if it drops within 24hrs yet will try and post later.The tank is only over 2 months old so not mature yet.
Reason I guess for PH being 8 is that from tap GH - 4 and KH is 3 ,but in tank GH is 8-9, and KH 4-5, could be due gravel probably.At least it`s stable.

I was reading about the Colisa lalia that they are not so much hardy as they used to be, is this true?
I am a beginner and don`t want to do any mistakes.Or is there any other gourami species that would suit the size of my tank and parameters?
Maybe i will go for Colisa lalia then but want to see if there are more options from Colisa species or even another kind of centepiece fish?
I am just looking for something bigger than my other little fish and colorful.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

How long is your 25 gallon tank? If its less than 3-foot, I'd say find a new home for the Zebra Danios (who need a long tank depsite their size due to their energy levels and their enjoyment of current), then you could add another small but less energetic group of fish.

This group could be Neons if they appeal to you, but I would like to make you aware that these colourful little fish do not have a great record of surviving is tanks that are less than six months mature (past cycling).

 

[jahodienka]

How long is your 25 gallon tank? If its less than 3-foot, I'd say find a new home for the Zebra Danios (who need a long tank depsite their size due to their energy levels and their enjoyment of current), then you could add another small but less energetic group of fish.

This group could be Neons if they appeal to you, but I would like to make you aware that these colourful little fish do not have a great record of surviving is tanks that are less than six months mature (past cycling).

Thank you for your reply,
the tank is 70 cm long(2.3 feet), neons are in my tank 4 weeks,well hard to give up on my danios(my first fish),but would they be too much disturbing in the tank in case I would go for Colisa lalia? Would they bother them too much as I see that Colisa is a slow swimmer.
If I really were to find them a new home(danios) and give up on neons then I liked rummy nose tetra which is not hardy like neons I believe.

 

[KittyKat]

What is your tap water pH after you leave it to stand for 24 hours? The pH should drop as the set-up matures.

So you are suggesting that I should give up on neons?(kind of like them);

They would really benefit from the lower pH..

I did not check my tap water if it drops within 24hrs yet will try and post later.The tank is only over 2 months old so not mature yet.
Reason I guess for PH being 8 is that from tap GH - 4 and KH is 3 ,but in tank GH is 8-9, and KH 4-5, could be due gravel probably.At least it`s stable.

What is your substrate? It sounds like something in your tank is buffering the water.

I was reading about the Colisa lalia that they are not so much hardy as they used to be, is this true?
I am a beginner and don`t want to do any mistakes.Or is there any other gourami species that would suit the size of my tank and parameters?
Maybe i will go for Colisa lalia then but want to see if there are more options from Colisa species or even another kind of centepiece fish?
I am just looking for something bigger than my other little fish and colorful.

Most fancy fish are not as hardy as wild type or wild fish. The other option would be Trichogaster chuna, also a nice fish.

How long is your 25 gallon tank? If its less than 3-foot, I'd say find a new home for the Zebra Danios (who need a long tank depsite their size due to their energy levels and their enjoyment of current), then you could add another small but less energetic group of fish.

This group could be Neons if they appeal to you, but I would like to make you aware that these colourful little fish do not have a great record of surviving is tanks that are less than six months mature (past cycling).

Agreed with both, but I think neons will have a considerably less chance of success in a tank with pH that high.

[...]neons are in my tank 4 weeks,well hard to give up on my danios(my first fish),but would they be too much disturbing in the tank in case I would go for Colisa lalia? Would they bother them too much as I see that Colisa is a slow swimmer.
If I really were to find them a new home(danios) and give up on neons then I liked rummy nose tetra which is not hardy like neons I believe.

Maybe start with danios and change to neons in a few months?

The main problem is that any schooling fish which is not in a school will bother other fish to some extent. Schooling fish generally occupy the mid-section of the tank, while gouramis are more interested in the top, so under good conditions, they two groups should not interact too much.

Neons and guppies are two of the least hardy fish in the trade now. I think rummy nose tetras would be a step up on the hardyness scale, but again they are quite active fish (like danios). Realistically neons are a good sized fish for that tank, and maybe you won't have any problems even if you go for them right now. They are renowned for being fragile, but I have not had any problems with them when I kept them in the past. I think it very much depends on quality of stock, if they are used to your water quality and how much care you take.

 

[jahodienka]

Si I am back,
well I did a test with two glasses of tap water let them settle down for about 30 hrs.
Now the PH dropped to 7.4-7.6 someth. between that as I find it very hard to read PH with the API kit.
The KH-3 and GH is 4.
Forgot to mention in one glass I put gravel from tank and it seems it is not buffering it at all.
So I took out stones(decoration) to see if one of them is buffering the KH and GH.

 

[KittyKat]

Let us know if there is any change..

 

[jahodienka]

Hello everyone,
So it seems it must be the gravel as I did a 70% waterchange after removing stones and the GH is at 8 and KH at 4.
Well anyway I put stones back in.Not going to change all the gravel as I really had trouble find some I liked (Living in ireland a few years now and to get someth in here is kind of a challenge not like europe lol.)anyway
Not going to mess with my pH.

As for stocking the tank I got today this boy and he looks awesome I introduced him with the drop-airline method and he was eating after 20 min so I hope he will be happy in here.
All other fish seems to have respect well hes 4 times as big (of course hehe).
Attaching a picture of him...
Kept all other fish in there so no changes yet just this one addition, I will think about more fish in february after my holidays.
So wishing you all a Happy and wet new Year.

 

[Carlovel1]

Hello everyone,
So it seems it must be the gravel as I did a 70% waterchange after removing stones and the GH is at 8 and KH at 4.
Well anyway I put stones back in.Not going to change all the gravel as I really had trouble find some I liked (Living in ireland a few years now and to get someth in here is kind of a challenge not like europe lol.)anyway
Not going to mess with my pH.

As for stocking the tank I got today this boy and he looks awesome I introduced him with the drop-airline method and he was eating after 20 min so I hope he will be happy in here.
All other fish seems to have respect well hes 4 times as big (of course hehe).
Attaching a picture of him...
Kept all other fish in there so no changes yet just this one addition, I will think about more fish in february after my holidays.
So wishing you all a Happy and wet new Year.

Nice Gourami you got there.

Personally, I wouldn't add any female gouramis in that tank.

Carl

 

[jahodienka]

[/quote]
Nice Gourami you got there.

Personally, I wouldn't add any female gouramis in that tank.

Carl
[/quote]

Thank you Carl,
Yes I was reading that they can be kept single, so probably going to keep him on his own.
I got more plants with him today for the tank and he seems to like them there.
Will keep you updated how he is doing.
My holiday will be 2 weeks but that should be no problem, I`ll ask my landlord to feed them a bit as he is in house a few days a week.
He`s swimming around the whole tank and does not seem to be shy at all so that`s probably a good sign.So glad I got him.

 

[Carlovel1]

Nice Gourami you got there.

Personally, I wouldn't add any female gouramis in that tank.

Carl
[/quote]

Thank you Carl,
Yes I was reading that they can be kept single, so probably going to keep him on his own.
I got more plants with him today for the tank and he seems to like them there.
Will keep you updated how he is doing.
My holiday will be 2 weeks but that should be no problem, I`ll ask my landlord to feed them a bit as he is in house a few days a week.
He`s swimming around the whole tank and does not seem to be shy at all so that`s probably a good sign.So glad I got him.
[/quote]

If your going on holiday, make sure the landlord knows how much to feed the fish. Many times, people tend to overfeed the fish massively with terrible consequences...

Good to know your Gourami is getting on OK and not being shy. Most Gouramis have a lot of personality.

Carl

 

[KittyKat]

So it seems it must be the gravel as I did a 70% waterchange after removing stones and the GH is at 8 and KH at 4.
Well anyway I put stones back in.Not going to change all the gravel as I really had trouble find some I liked (Living in ireland a few years now and to get someth in here is kind of a challenge not like europe lol.)anyway
Not going to mess with my pH.

But you are messing with the pH by having a buffer!

Anyway, this does mean that your choice will be restricted as most tetras and "community" cichlids (mostly SA/CA) won't live well in this water.