Stocking Advice For 4 Foot (140l)

[ronanphilip]

have slightly changed stocking list for our 4 foot. just wondering if its over/under stocked or if there is any non compatibal fish.

its 4 foot 140l with Eheim 2213 external filter


4 Cockatoo Dwarf Cichlid (1 male 3 female)
2 Blue Ram (1 male 1 female)
1 Siamease Algae Eater
2 Bristlenose Plec (1 male 1 female)
6 Bronze cory
6 Peppered Cory
14 Neon Tetra
2 Pearl Gouramami (2 female)

 

[-SPB-]

Not sure about all those cichlids being together but someone else may be able to give you advice on that. But i wouldn't go for the siamese agae eater, aka chinese algae eater. They can be monsters once they grow up. They are alright when they are small but once they get to a certian size they develop a need for protien, they can do this by attaching themselves to the sides of fish and sucking the slime coat from them, not good!!!

 

[rocknurworld2006]

as previously said algae eater isnt a good thing to have.
stocking seems a bit overstocked possibly?
cichlids should be fine as long as not bothering any other fish watch out for any breeding behaviour though.

 

[ronanphilip]

thanks for the replies folks

But i wouldn't go for the siamese agae eater, aka chinese algae eater. They can be monsters once they grow up. They are alright when they are small but once they get to a certian size they develop a need for protien, they can do this by attaching themselves to the sides of fish and sucking the slime coat from them, not good!!!

siamease algae eater and chinease algae eater are two diffrerent fish. the chinease algae eater is known to get aggressive when older. this articale outlines the differences between some algae eating cyprinids.

stocking seems a bit overstocked possibly?

any one else think its over stocked? i can esaialy knock some fish off the list.



all other opinions welcome as want to get it right before i fully stock it.

thanks again

 

[rocknurworld2006]

i apologise about algae eater i got confused from what someone else wrote your SIAMESE algae etaer is fine i thought you were meaning Chinese lol!

 

[ronanphilip]

i apologise about algae eater i got confused from what someone else wrote your SIAMESE algae etaer is fine i thought you were meaning Chinese lol!

no worries

still not got any more replies on if its overstocked or not. what you think i should take off the list?

 

[Ace Of Spades]

It dosent sound overstocked to me, maybe a few less tetras, I dno. But as long as you kept up on the matinence ect and the fish have enough swimming room and seem happy then It should be fine IMO...





Any Pics, sounds like a cool set up

 

[ronanphilip]

thanks

Any Pics, sounds like a cool set up

heres a few but there not very good. i know ill need some more hideing spots/caves.

 

[jakeroberts]

thats quite a nice looking aquarium and i think your stocking is fine as long as you keep up on the maintence

 

[Larissa]

I think if you did change anything about your stocklist it might be limiting your cories to one group instead of two. At the moment you have a lot of fish that occupy the bottom of the water colunm ie. rams and apistos. The rams will probably set up territory on one side of the tank and the apistos on the other leaving your cories any space left in between. If the cichlids bread, the cories might be subject to a little agression - but this will be less so if there is more spare room around the bottom. So, you could increase the size of one of your corry groups to 8 and maybe get another pearl gourami to occupy the upper levels of the tank.

Edit: You might want to get some sort of cave (tericotta pot or coconut cave etc.) for each of your apistos and create a little community of them on one side of the tank - grouped together but with ample space between them. They are cave spawners and will probably be less agressive if they have somewhere to retreat to.

 

[ronanphilip]

thanks folks

Edit: You might want to get some sort of cave (tericotta pot or coconut cave etc.) for each of your apistos and create a little community of them on one side of the tank - grouped together but with ample space between them. They are cave spawners and will probably be less agressive if they have somewhere to retreat to.

good advice Larissa, thanks. was going to add some caves but didnt know i should create a community of apistos on one side and the rams would take up the other.
had a look at the coconut caves, think the 1/2 shaped ones might be best, there are two sizes of them Here . do you think i would need medium or large?

think if you did change anything about your stocklist it might be limiting your cories to one group instead of two. At the moment you have a lot of fish that occupy the bottom of the water colunm ie. rams and apistos. The rams will probably set up territory on one side of the tank and the apistos on the other leaving your cories any space left in between. If the cichlids bread, the cories might be subject to a little agression - but this will be less so if there is more spare room around the bottom. So, you could increase the size of one of your corry groups to 8 and maybe get another pearl gourami to occupy the upper levels of the tank.

i know what you mean here and thought it might be a little crowded on the bottom. thing is we had 2 peppered and 2 bronze in a 70L and the plan was to put 6 of each in the new tank and use the 70 for 6 panda corys. if we dont put boath groups in new tank it means no pandas. if its best we could to it. would the difference between 8 and 12 corys make much of a difference do you think.

cheeers
ronan

 

[Larissa]

Maybe only have 4 or 5 of each type of corie in the 4 footer if you really want the pandas. But, like you say, I don't know how much of a different 2 - 4 fish will make. You can try having the two groups of 6, and if there seems to be tension between them and the cichlids, have a back-up plan. Yeah, I like the 1/2 coconut caves too. I think either size would work out fine - I'm leaning towards the larger one just because it might be easier to get into (I'm trying to think like an apisto here lol!).
-Larissa

 

[Davo86]

IMO that stocking looks great, one thing i would personally change would be to have 1 less apisto and 1 more pearls so you have a trio of each but apart from that i don't see it as really overstocked and provided water changes remain regular you shouldn't have too many problems.

 

[ronanphilip]

thanks folks


think ill give it a try and as you say have a back up plan if it dont workout.
are coconut caves ready to put in when you get them are should they be soaked or anything first?

1 less apisto and 1 more pearls so you have a trio of each

thought i read somewhere that it should be a 1 to 3 male to female ratio for Cockatoo Dwarf Cichlid, not sure?

 

[Larissa]

I think you could probably just lightly scrub and soak the coconuts overnight just to make sure there's no dust or other nasties that might leach into your tank - they shouldn't really be an issue though. About the cockatoos, the recommended minimum is 2 females per male but I think 3 is probably even better since you have room for them. Plus they will be more interesing to watch in a larger group - either way works though.