Stocking A New Tank?

[MisssMarie]

I'm also going to have to disagree with getting 2 gouramis. It takes a stroke of luck to get two to get along, regardless of gender. I have never been able to keep a gourami with another gourami, ever, without a lot of fighting leading to death or at least separation, they're almost as bad as bettas, and worse than any cichlids I've ever kept. There are cases of gouramis getting along in tanks, but it takes a lot of careful aquascaping and a good ratio of males and females.

Stick with one, you won't regret it.

With your tank, I'd try for this

1 dwarf gourami, or honey gourami, those ones are less aggressive
~8-10 green neons, think would do
6 otos

Keep in mind otos and neons are somewhat fragile, and you'll need your tank to be well established before adding them.

Gouramis are also prone to territorial aggression, and you'll have to add it last.

So this means a good fishless cycle is in order.

You can read about those in the beginners resource section

Alternatively, try for different fish

1 gourami
6-8 harlequin rasboras
6-8 corydoras

I think this would work too

But if you take this route, sand substrate is your friend, not gravel. You can get any old play sand from a hardware store, give it a good long rinse, wait till the water runs clear when you run your hand through the sand, and your bottom feeders will thank you

So, with the oto, should I use sand or gravel?? So, here's my current stocking plan, tell me what you think:
-1 dwarf neon gourami
- 6 oto
- 5 neon green tetra
- 3 ghost shrimp

Is there anything else I can add to the tank??

Edit:
This is a possible stocking i found that i like, what are the negative things with this setup??
-1 dwarf neon gourami
-6 oto
-3 ghost shrimp
-5 neon green tetra
-2 endler
-5 nana rasbora
-5 zebra danio

aq advisor says this places my stocking level at: 89% so how does this plan sound to everyone??

No to zebra danios. They should be kept in 4 feet tanks, they're very extreme swimmers, it's not good to keep them in smaller tanks.

Otherwise, don't see why not. But like I said before, one large school of fish looks much better than a bunch of smaller ones. I find a bunch of small schools of fish in a small tank to look rather busy and unsettling.

How about I do 6 neon tetra, 5 endlers, and 6 rasbora?? Does that sound good then?

 

[KittyKat]

Not really. 6 is the *absolute minimum* for schooling fish, they would benefit from being kept in a group of 10-15 per species. I really strongly recommend that you have only schooling species.

Keep in mind that neons benefit from soft water, while endlers must have hard water. Neons would also benefit from some bogwood in the tank.

A *nice* stocking for a 24*12*12 inch tank with slightly hard water would be something along the lines of…
* 1m 1f of *peaceful* gouramis
* 6 Otos
* 15 microrasboras of one species

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Alternatively, try for different fish

1 gourami
6-8 harlequin rasboras
6-8 corydoras

I think this would work too

But if you take this route, sand substrate is your friend, not gravel. You can get any old play sand from a hardware store, give it a good long rinse, wait till the water runs clear when you run your hand through the sand, and your bottom feeders will thank you

This is half my stocking list!

If you go this route, you are not going to be disappointed. They all get along great. (I will mention that my experience matches onidrase's statement regarding the gouramis. Just be prepared to choose which one to keep and which one to take back if they don't get along, also try to have a plan of action for it as well. I find that a gallon zip top bag works well. Fill it up 1/3 to 1/2 of the way with water, then net out the gourami and fill the bag with air and take it quickly back to the LFS. If you have Prime or Stress Coat put a drop in to detoxify the ammonia produced by the fish.)

 

[KittyKat]

1 gourami
6-8 harlequin rasboras
6-8 corydoras

I think this would work too

I recommend against harlequin ransboras. When I observed them in as identical environments as it is realistically possible to get in a 2 ft tank and a 3 ft tank over half a year, where all the fish came from the same tank at the LFS, the harlequins in the 3ft tank were healthier and larger than those in a 2 ft tank. The ones in the 3 ft tank also spawned on a regular basis, while the ones in the 2 ft tank still have not spawned, even though it has now been over two years since the fish were bought.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I suppose microrasboras would be a good substitute... Maybe Trigonostigma hengeli or T. espei - these stay a little smaller than the heteromorpha.

 

[MisssMarie]

Not really. 6 is the *absolute minimum* for schooling fish, they would benefit from being kept in a group of 10-15 per species. I really strongly recommend that you have only schooling species.

Keep in mind that neons benefit from soft water, while endlers must have hard water. Neons would also benefit from some bogwood in the tank.

A *nice* stocking for a 24*12*12 inch tank with slightly hard water would be something along the lines of…
* 1m 1f of *peaceful* gouramis
* 6 Otos
* 15 microrasboras of one species

How about 8 neon tetra and 8 rasbora??

Alternatively, try for different fish

1 gourami
6-8 harlequin rasboras
6-8 corydoras

I think this would work too

But if you take this route, sand substrate is your friend, not gravel. You can get any old play sand from a hardware store, give it a good long rinse, wait till the water runs clear when you run your hand through the sand, and your bottom feeders will thank you

This is half my stocking list!

If you go this route, you are not going to be disappointed. They all get along great. (I will mention that my experience matches onidrase's statement regarding the gouramis. Just be prepared to choose which one to keep and which one to take back if they don't get along, also try to have a plan of action for it as well. I find that a gallon zip top bag works well. Fill it up 1/3 to 1/2 of the way with water, then net out the gourami and fill the bag with air and take it quickly back to the LFS. If you have Prime or Stress Coat put a drop in to detoxify the ammonia produced by the fish.)

I'll just stick to one then

1 gourami
6-8 harlequin rasboras
6-8 corydoras

I think this would work too

I recommend against harlequin ransboras. When I observed them in as identical environments as it is realistically possible to get in a 2 ft tank and a 3 ft tank over half a year, where all the fish came from the same tank at the LFS, the harlequins in the 3ft tank were healthier and larger than those in a 2 ft tank. The ones in the 3 ft tank also spawned on a regular basis, while the ones in the 2 ft tank still have not spawned, even though it has now been over two years since the fish were bought.

How about nana rasboras??

I suppose microrasboras would be a good substitute... Maybe Trigonostigma hengeli or T. espei - these stay a little smaller than the heteromorpha.

I've never seen those, what do they look like??

 

[KittyKat]

How about 8 neon tetra and 8 rasbora??

In my experience, the fish will not be as happy as they would be if there were 15 or 16 of one species, so I cannot recommend this.

I recommend against harlequin ransboras. When I observed them in as identical environments as it is realistically possible to get in a 2 ft tank and a 3 ft tank over half a year, where all the fish came from the same tank at the LFS, the harlequins in the 3ft tank were healthier and larger than those in a 2 ft tank. The ones in the 3 ft tank also spawned on a regular basis, while the ones in the 2 ft tank still have not spawned, even though it has now been over two years since the fish were bought.

How about nana rasboras??

You mean microrasboras? Any of those species will work well, because most do not get over 2-3 cm and are not active.

I suppose microrasboras would be a good substitute... Maybe Trigonostigma hengeli or T. espei - these stay a little smaller than the heteromorpha.

I've never seen those, what do they look like??

T. hengeli and T. espei look almost identical to T. heteramorpha. I think T. espei are a really good alternative for a tank your size because they max out at 3 cm, instead of the 5 cm that harlequins reach.

 

[MisssMarie]

How about 8 neon tetra and 8 rasbora??

In my experience, the fish will not be as happy as they would be if there were 15 or 16 of one species, so I cannot recommend this.

I recommend against harlequin ransboras. When I observed them in as identical environments as it is realistically possible to get in a 2 ft tank and a 3 ft tank over half a year, where all the fish came from the same tank at the LFS, the harlequins in the 3ft tank were healthier and larger than those in a 2 ft tank. The ones in the 3 ft tank also spawned on a regular basis, while the ones in the 2 ft tank still have not spawned, even though it has now been over two years since the fish were bought.

How about nana rasboras??

You mean microrasboras? Any of those species will work well, because most do not get over 2-3 cm and are not active.

I suppose microrasboras would be a good substitute... Maybe Trigonostigma hengeli or T. espei - these stay a little smaller than the heteromorpha.

I've never seen those, what do they look like??

T. hengeli and T. espei look almost identical to T. heteramorpha. I think T. espei are a really good alternative for a tank your size because they max out at 3 cm, instead of the 5 cm that harlequins reach.

I found the nana rasbora on aq advisor. The scientific name it says is: microdecoria nano. Is that a micro rasbora??

I'll check out those fish for sure

 

[Louiseness]

I found the nana rasbora on aq advisor. The scientific name it says is: microdecoria nano. Is that a micro rasbora??

I'll check out those fish for sure

Microdevario nana are have (I think) been reclassified and were originally rasbora but they certainly count as micro! I've never seen them in any LFS I've been to though. I have chilli/mosquito rasbora and they're pretty tiny, great colours and really interesting, and I've seen them in a few LFS near to me.

 

[KittyKat]

Microdevario nana is what I consider a microrasbora, even through it is not a rasbora, but a danio, and would be more than perfect for a tank your size.

I do strongly recommend that you don't use *that* website, I tested it for the sake of testing and it was very poor, especially for your small aquaria. If you like, I have compiled a list of some species which are suitable for a 60*30*30 cm aquarium, you can find it here: aquariumadventure.wordpress.com/species-for-a-60-litre-aquariums/ I recommend that you look at Asian mid-water schooling species for inspiration.

 

[the_lock_man]

I suppose microrasboras would be a good substitute... Maybe Trigonostigma hengeli or T. espei - these stay a little smaller than the heteromorpha.

Or Bororas brigittae - chilli rasboras

 

[MisssMarie]

Okay, so, the current plan is:
- 1 dwarf neon gourami
- 6 oto
- 3 ghost shrimp
- 8 Green neon tetra
- 8 chili rasbora

Any comments or suggestions??

 

[KittyKat]

Comment: that'll be your maximum stock.

Suggestion: the fish really would benefit a lot of you had another 8 chili rasboras instead of 8 green neons.

 

[MisssMarie]

Comment: that'll be your maximum stock.

Suggestion: the fish really would benefit a lot of you had another 8 chili rasboras instead of 8 green neons.

What i'll do is add in the rasboras first, and then if things look nice, i'll add more rasboras rather than neons, i'll just leave it up to how everything looks/works when together

 

[Louiseness]

Comment: that'll be your maximum stock.

Suggestion: the fish really would benefit a lot of you had another 8 chili rasboras instead of 8 green neons.

What i'll do is add in the rasboras first, and then if things look nice, i'll add more rasboras rather than neons, i'll just leave it up to how everything looks/works when together

Bear in mind that chilli rasboras are TINY. I originally added 6 to my 50L and to be honest you wouldn't have even known they were in there half the time! Now I have 10 and their tiny little shoal is so cute and their colours are much better. I'd still add more though ideally. But in the end it's up to you