Stocking A 120Ltr Tank.

[Weew]

My mum has a new tank and is wondering what to stock it with. And how many of each fish she should get.

Shes thinking of having guppies, mollies, platys and tetras. If there is any other peaceful fish that could make the tank more interesting please let us know.

Thanks.

 

[Crossfire]

Will the bottom be gravel or sand? Plants or plastic plants?


It would be inconvinient to have mollies, guppies and platies in one tank, as they will interbreed and have thousands of babies. I would suggest picking one of the three.

Also, is the tank cycled?

With this information we can help you along the path of healthy fishkeeping, and suggest a good stocking for you.

 

[BerryAttack]

powder blue gourami.
African butterfly fish.
killifish.
bumblebee gobies.
angelfish.
rummy nose tetras.

 

[Weew]

Will the bottom be gravel or sand? Plants or plastic plants?


It would be inconvinient to have mollies, guppies and platies in one tank, as they will interbreed and have thousands of babies. I would suggest picking one of the three.

Also, is the tank cycled?

With this information we can help you along the path of healthy fishkeeping, and suggest a good stocking for you.

At the moment its half gravel and half sand. But i think shes going to turn it into all sand.

Plants are plastic.

No, its noy cycled. We are following this; http/www.tropicalfishforum.net/showthread.php?t=1574 as a guidline.

x

 

[Crossfire]

Live plants would be the best thing to do. Provide oxygen, cover, and security for fish. There are many low light plants that could grow in your tank (especially in the gravel part) Like anubias, crypts, java fern, and most mosses. Tiger lotus, too.

When your tank is fully cycled, this is the stocking I suggest. You don't have to follow it, but it's just a general idea.

4x Liverbearer Males (guppies or platies, up to you)
6x Livebearer Females (same species as male)
12x Cardinal Tetras
or
12x Zebra/Leoperd Danios
or
12x X-ray Tetras
or
12x Espeis Rasboras
Maybe (if you want)
1-2x Bristlenose Catfish (need driftwood, though)
A good centerpiece fish could be
A pair of Bolivian Rams (male/female)
or
1x Badis

Or if you're looking for bottom feeders, bronze cories could go.

So look at this list and tell me what fish you like or some others that aren't on the list and we'll see what we can do

 

[Weew]

Live plants would be the best thing to do. Provide oxygen, cover, and security for fish. There are many low light plants that could grow in your tank (especially in the gravel part) Like anubias, crypts, java fern, and most mosses. Tiger lotus, too.

When your tank is fully cycled, this is the stocking I suggest. You don't have to follow it, but it's just a general idea.

4x Liverbearer Males (guppies or platies, up to you)
6x Livebearer Females (same species as male)
12x Cardinal Tetras
or
12x Zebra/Leoperd Danios
or
12x X-ray Tetras
or
12x Espeis Rasboras
Maybe (if you want)
1-2x Bristlenose Catfish (need driftwood, though)
A good centerpiece fish could be
A pair of Bolivian Rams (male/female)
or
1x Badis

Or if you're looking for bottom feeders, bronze cories could go.

So look at this list and tell me what fish you like or some others that aren't on the list and we'll see what we can do

Woah, that seems like alot more than i thought i could have!

I'll talk to her about the live plants.

She seems to like the idea of the livebearers(probably will be a mixture of guppies and mollies?), tetras and the 2 Bolivian Rams. Would these all be happy together?

x

 

[Crossfire]

Live plants would be the best thing to do. Provide oxygen, cover, and security for fish. There are many low light plants that could grow in your tank (especially in the gravel part) Like anubias, crypts, java fern, and most mosses. Tiger lotus, too.

When your tank is fully cycled, this is the stocking I suggest. You don't have to follow it, but it's just a general idea.

4x Liverbearer Males (guppies or platies, up to you)
6x Livebearer Females (same species as male)
12x Cardinal Tetras
or
12x Zebra/Leoperd Danios
or
12x X-ray Tetras
or
12x Espeis Rasboras
Maybe (if you want)
1-2x Bristlenose Catfish (need driftwood, though)
A good centerpiece fish could be
A pair of Bolivian Rams (male/female)
or
1x Badis

Or if you're looking for bottom feeders, bronze cories could go.

So look at this list and tell me what fish you like or some others that aren't on the list and we'll see what we can do

Woah, that seems like alot more than i thought i could have!

I'll talk to her about the live plants.

She seems to like the idea of the livebearers(probably will be a mixture of guppies and mollies?), tetras and the 2 Bolivian Rams. Would these all be happy together?

x

Yes, but I recommend getting platies instead of mollies, they are smaller and mollies are actually more brackish than freshwater. And it would less of a hassle if you stayed with only one livebearer. One male needs two females to avoid aggression and stress, and if you have two species, you'd need even more of them. But it's up to you. And personally I like platies better because the females have just as much color as the males, whereas female guppies are faded and transparent.

So I recommend:

12x Cardinal or the X-Ray Tetras, its up to you
2x Bolivian Rams (male/female)
3x Livebearer Males (guppies or platies, if you get both, you will need 3 male guppies and 3 male platies)
6x Livebearer Females (same as above)

And it's always good to have a good algae eater in an aquarium. Since you have rams, shrimp are out because they will eat them. A school of oto catfish or any plecs you like in this list is good for your tank. I recommend the Bristlenose Plec, I love the albinos.

Good luck!

 

[Weew]

Okay, so, so far we have 6tetras and 4 male guppies. We were advised that this would be best to start. All is going well and we have had a lovely peaceful tank.

Now we are thinking of adding;

2 Bolivian rams. (male/female)
4 more tetras to make it up to 10.
1 male betta.
And some female guppies. (how many would you recommend?)

Would the tank be overstocked by then? Could we have an angelfish?

x

 

[Murrayjane]

I would be wary of mixing rams in a community tank. When your rams get territorial (which they certainly will) they will go after your peaceful fish. A betta is something that you could try to add, but this really limits your options with what you can mix it with. I tried to put a betta in a community tank, but all the fish wanted to destroy it.

In a 120 liter, I would advise either keeping a pair of rams alone or maybe with a few killi fish as they are top swimmers. Killi fish also grow to a pretty decent length and have great color.

Another option instead of rams that you and your mum might like are gouramis (dwarf gouramis would be better).

They have personalities along with beautiful coloration. Just be sure to only get 1 or 2.

The Dwarf Gourami would do well in a tank that size and if it has been provided with enough plants/decor it will thrive and lack aggression.

 

[Crossfire]

Okay, so, so far we have 6tetras and 4 male guppies. We were advised that this would be best to start. All is going well and we have had a lovely peaceful tank.

Now we are thinking of adding;

2 Bolivian rams. (male/female)
4 more tetras to make it up to 10.
1 male betta.
And some female guppies. (how many would you recommend?)

Would the tank be overstocked by then? Could we have an angelfish?

x

By "tetra", what species do you mean?
A betta would rip your poor guppies to shreds, and killifish are aggressive too.
10 tetras would be great
A male/female pair of bolivian rams would be lovely, just be sure to give them a clay flowerpot or coconut cave to party in
And its preferred 2 females to every male for guppies, so 8 or 7 females would be great
Sadly, Angelfish wouldn't work in this setup. They need tall tanks, and I'm afraid they'd eat the guppies
The tank is fully on its way to being full, so the only thing I recommend that could fit is a bristlenose pleco for algae control, and then you're pretty much full
We need pics!

 

[Weew]

Okay, so, so far we have 6tetras and 4 male guppies. We were advised that this would be best to start. All is going well and we have had a lovely peaceful tank.

Now we are thinking of adding;

2 Bolivian rams. (male/female)
4 more tetras to make it up to 10.
1 male betta.
And some female guppies. (how many would you recommend?)

Would the tank be overstocked by then? Could we have an angelfish?

x

By "tetra", what species do you mean?
A betta would rip your poor guppies to shreds, and killifish are aggressive too.
10 tetras would be great
A male/female pair of bolivian rams would be lovely, just be sure to give them a clay flowerpot or coconut cave to party in
And its preferred 2 females to every male for guppies, so 8 or 7 females would be great
Sadly, Angelfish wouldn't work in this setup. They need tall tanks, and I'm afraid they'd eat the guppies
The tank is fully on its way to being full, so the only thing I recommend that could fit is a bristlenose pleco for algae control, and then you're pretty much full
We need pics!

They are glowlight tetras.
Oh. My betta is fine with our guppies in my tank at home. (this tank is actually at my parents house if i didnt mention already. )

Yeah, i will deffo get something for them.

Alright then, ill take a look at whats available.

Ohh. They are so pretty but i guess if we ever get a second tank we can think about angels then.

Thankyou for all the info!

Ill post pics when its all stocked up and ready.

x

 

[Crossfire]

Okay, so, so far we have 6tetras and 4 male guppies. We were advised that this would be best to start. All is going well and we have had a lovely peaceful tank.

Now we are thinking of adding;

2 Bolivian rams. (male/female)
4 more tetras to make it up to 10.
1 male betta.
And some female guppies. (how many would you recommend?)

Would the tank be overstocked by then? Could we have an angelfish?

x

By "tetra", what species do you mean?
A betta would rip your poor guppies to shreds, and killifish are aggressive too.
10 tetras would be great
A male/female pair of bolivian rams would be lovely, just be sure to give them a clay flowerpot or coconut cave to party in
And its preferred 2 females to every male for guppies, so 8 or 7 females would be great
Sadly, Angelfish wouldn't work in this setup. They need tall tanks, and I'm afraid they'd eat the guppies
The tank is fully on its way to being full, so the only thing I recommend that could fit is a bristlenose pleco for algae control, and then you're pretty much full
We need pics!

They are glowlight tetras.
Oh. My betta is fine with our guppies in my tank at home. (this tank is actually at my parents house if i didnt mention already. )

Yeah, i will deffo get something for them.

Alright then, ill take a look at whats available.

Ohh. They are so pretty but i guess if we ever get a second tank we can think about angels then.

Thankyou for all the info!

Ill post pics when its all stocked up and ready.

x

Sometimes it depends on the betta's personality. Some are aggressive and see the guppie's long flowing fins as rivalry and will attack. Others are very mellow and never bother anything. You got lucky, but don't take the chances again or else it may end in carnage.

Angels need tall tanks, rather than long. That's why. So if you ever want angels, a 40 gallon tall or 36 tall would be ideal

Oh, and Glowlight Tetras are perfect.

Good luck!

 

[Dieses Madchen]

I would be wary of mixing rams in a community tank. When your rams get territorial (which they certainly will) they will go after your peaceful fish. A betta is something that you could try to add, but this really limits your options with what you can mix it with. I tried to put a betta in a community tank, but all the fish wanted to destroy it.

In a 120 liter, I would advise either keeping a pair of rams alone or maybe with a few killi fish as they are top swimmers. Killi fish also grow to a pretty decent length and have great color.

Another option instead of rams that you and your mum might like are gouramis (dwarf gouramis would be better).

They have personalities along with beautiful coloration. Just be sure to only get 1 or 2.

The Dwarf Gourami would do well in a tank that size and if it has been provided with enough plants/decor it will thrive and lack aggression.

As someone who owns multiple rams, I would be more wary of a betta or a gourami than I would rams. Rams have proven, by numerous keepers, to be one of the most docile cichlids you can own.

Here is what you could do, if you like the rams.

2 x Bolivian or German Blue Rams
10 x Glowlight Tetras
10 x Neons or Cardinals (or other fish of similar size)
6 x Kuhli Loach or Corydora Species, around the size of Albino Cories
small plec such as clown or candy stripe.