Stocking For 200 Litre

Sanctuary80808 · Jul 17, 2011

I am almost finished cycling my 200 litre Aqua One Evo 100 (200 litres) and i was hoping someone could check to see if my stocking list was allright.
My Plan is to have:
- 10 Neon Tetra
- 10 Harlequin Rasbora
- 6 Congo Tetra
- 2 Bolivian Rams
- 4 Otos
- and possibly 1 small angelfish if i can fit him in (if i add him when he is young he should hopefully not devour the tetra

)

Please let me know what you think and if i need to make any changes etc.
Thanks!

Wills · Jul 17, 2011

Sounds great! But not sure if that adding the Angel young would work as most people find that they will eat Neons when they get to full size....

I think you still have some room in there for a few more - maybe some bottom dwellers like Cories or some small Loaches? A trio of Hoplos or a group of Portholes are nice

I have 4 Porthole Catfish and they are a little shy atm but starting to come out more and more

Wills

Sanctuary80808 · Jul 17, 2011

Wills said:
Sounds great! But not sure if that adding the Angel young would work as most people find that they will eat Neons when they get to full size....

I think you still have some room in there for a few more - maybe some bottom dwellers like Cories or some small Loaches? A trio of Hoplos or a group of Portholes are nice I have 4 Porthole Catfish and they are a little shy atm but starting to come out more and more

Wills

I thought the angel would probably try a neon snack when it got bit enough. Oh well

i would have liked to get some panda cories but i have eco complete as a subsrate and i heard that it can damage the cories barbles. Did you know if that is true?
Thanks

blesser13 · Jul 17, 2011

I wouldn't add the angel, even young, once the angel reach the breeding age he will try to eat your neons, don't take any chance

dtaylor21184 · Jul 17, 2011

I was gonna get neons but changed my mind to cardinal glad I did I love them just an idea.

Corys are a must have they are gorgeous.

What about a Pakistani loach or a bristlenose pleco?

Wills · Jul 17, 2011

I have to admit I am not familiar with that substrate however if its like a gravely type substrate its not best but if its a sandy substrate it should be fine? Sand is best in tanks IMO as no fish need gravel specifically where as there are quite a few species of fish that need sand.

Just as a few more options for the tank, maybe something like orange thick lipped gourami could be a nice center piece or Pearl Gourami are good in this size tank a trio of them would be great!

And for some catfish - some semi non bottom dwelling catfish - Deuabi Catfish - they do great in groups and kind of hover around rather than rest on the bottom. Whiptail Catfish are great I have 4 or various species and there are some stunning species around

Wills

Sanctuary80808 · Jul 17, 2011

Wills said:
I have to admit I am not familiar with that substrate however if its like a gravely type substrate its not best but if its a sandy substrate it should be fine? Sand is best in tanks IMO as no fish need gravel specifically where as there are quite a few species of fish that need sand.

Just as a few more options for the tank, maybe something like orange thick lipped gourami could be a nice center piece or Pearl Gourami are good in this size tank a trio of them would be great!

And for some catfish - some semi non bottom dwelling catfish - Deuabi Catfish - they do great in groups and kind of hover around rather than rest on the bottom. Whiptail Catfish are great I have 4 or various species and there are some stunning species around

Wills

Eco complete is sorta like a gravel, i only have it in my tank because it helps all my plants to grow

Would a gourami be ok with the rams? Dtaylor do you find your cardinals hard to keep as i have heard that they are harded to keep than neons. Thanks!!

dtaylor21184 · Jul 17, 2011

No so far they seem fine I also have glowlight tetras the biggest difference between these two is the cardinals like to stay together where as the glowlights are more independant of each other. The cardinals seem quiet and not in your face but aren't shy either and there colours are gorgeous especially against a dark background

Wills · Jul 17, 2011

The Goruami should be okay with the Rams as they take up 2 different areas of the tank, Gourami stay up top and Rams stay down low.

Not sure on the Eco Complete maybe wait for someone else to answer that RE cories etc.

If you have a choice between Cardinals and Neons I would go for Cards, Neons are quite a weak fish now because of the way they are bred - but that said some Cardinals are a bit iffy at times because the shop does not QT them after import properly. So it kind of depends on the quality of the shop you are getting them from.

Wills

fluttermoth · Jul 17, 2011

Eco complete is too rough for cories IMO. I'd go for more otos; they do better the larger the group (as do most things!).

I'd agree that cardinals are hardier than the neons these days; but if you like the blue of the neon rather than the red, you could have my fav, the 'green' or false neon Paracheirodon simulans; gorgeous fish, smaller than the cardinals (so would definitely be a no-no with angels) and hardier than neons.

Re the angel; don't get one if your tank is less than 18" tall; they can get very tall indeed; at least a foot from top of the dorsal fin to the bottom of the ventral.