Stocking For 6Ft Tank

[marcandnic]

Hi all,

I'm due to be getting a 6ft tank this weekend,

I am struggling on thinking of some ideal stocking as I have my fish plus fish from the current owner.

So I will have my hands tied a bit with the following:

1 angel fish
3 silver dollars (I want to increase this up to 6 eventually)
8 black skirt tetra
4 rummy nose tetra (I will want to increase this to 8 minimum if I keep them.
4 Cory catfish (will increase to 10)
1 Pleco approx 10 inches at a guess

I want something interesting. I am also aware that the top level is bare.

Please help me as I can't think of anything. If I could have my way I would have a big oscar but my little girl isn't a fan.

 

[Jazziecatz]

WTF is the gallon size and dimensions 6ft tells us nothing.  And that would be overstocking it.

 

[Maehlice]

I recommend against Silver Dollars if you think you may ever want to plant the aquarium.  They are quite beautiful and fun to watch (I have 5), but they're waterborne lawnmowers.
 
EDIT:  If the Silver Dollars aren't yours already, consider donating them to a reputable LFS before you get attached.  Otherwise, never mind.  

 

[marcandnic]

850 litre
187 imperial gallons
224 US gallons

I believe. I checked on aw advisor and it didn't say it was anywhere near over stocked.

I would love to plant a tank but I've never had much luck with plants and the light unit coming with the tank is only a subdued lighting not suitable for plants.

 

[MojoDex]

what the heck is the gallon size and dimensions 6ft tells us nothing.  And that would be overstocking it.

How can you possibly say that? You say we have no information then claim it's overstocked.
 

 

850 litre
187 imperial gallons
224 US gallons

I believe. I checked on aw advisor and it didn't say it was anywhere near over stocked.

I would love to plant a tank but I've never had much luck with plants and the light unit coming with the tank is only a subdued lighting not suitable for plants.

 

It would be nice to get some dimensions still, However that said. If you want plants lose the silver dollars, The rummy nose may nip the angel fish so I'd suggest choosing between them. If you went with the rummy nose I'd be looking at very large shoal in that tank or you will just not see them, say 40-50 ish. I'm unsure how many angel fish you could have if you went with them, but it is certainly more than one! Hopefully someone who knows angels will pop in and help you with that.
 
Again I'd go with more cories as your tank is clearly big enough to handle a very good shoal.
 
As for the top, some hatchet fish or golden panchax would look nice, depending on what you decide elsewhere.
 
What filtration are you running?

 

[Jazziecatz]

OMG sorry I thought it was much smaller than it is.  No that would not be overstocking it listen to MojoDex he seems to know more about this stuff then me.

 

[marcandnic]

Hi,
 
The dimensions I believe are:
 
6ft length
2.5ft depth
2ft height
 
Please do comment more, it is giving me food for thought.
 
Regarding the Angel fish - I will only be keeping the one. It was mine (I've had him for about 3 years) and the person I bought him off I think hadhim for 2/3 years himself. At that time the Angel had a mate but unfortunately died before i bought him.
 
I tried to introduce another Angel fish but he attacked her (I think it was a female) and killed her in one night.

 

[Zante]

In a tank that size I'd up the corys to 18, the rummynoses to 20 and the black skirts to 15.
You won't believe the difference that larger numbers make!
 
As for the fin nipping, I have rummys with discus and they are just fine.
 
You seem to be keen on the silver dollars, but if the tank was mine I'd rehome them.
 
For the top of the tank you could consider 15 hatchetfish, but only if you have a lid, they are notorious carpet surfers.
 
If you want more cichlids you could consider bolivian rams. I'd go for a group of 8.

 

[rolo0151]

I've got 15 rummynose tetra in my 55 gallon. Cracking fish & they would look amazing your tank with a bigger shoal.
I'm envious of your 6 footer! Would love one myself.
If I were you I'd be looking at a large shoal (as mojodex has already said) of 50 rummynose tetra
I love cories but I couldn't live without loaches in my tank. Would clowns be ok in a tank this size? I'm sure one of our learned forum members could advise on this. I've got 6 zebra loach in mine, great fish & the more the merrier always is best.

 

[Zante]

That would be a good size tank for six or seven clown loaches, but they'd leave not much room for other fish.

 

[petfishbreeder]

For the top of your tank a shoal of congo tetras are a wonderful sight, alternatively there are lots of varieties of Australian rainbows available now which would make a really nice setup. I'm not a fan of silver dollars personally and since I like to have well planted tanks I avoid them.
 
I'm a long-time breeder of angelfish and would be looking at keeping a shoal of angels in this tank with cory's for the bottom.
 
Your options are endless (albeit restricted by what you've already got or are getting). If you can offload some of what you've got you could consider a biotope from one geographical area. That way you could opt for biogwood rather than plants and create a tank around that.
 
Good luck with it.

 

[rolo0151]

That would be a good size tank for six or seven clown loaches, but they'd leave not much room for other fish.

I'd have to accommodate them if it was my tank. Beautiful fish

 

[marcandnic]

If you can offload some of what you've got you could consider a biotope from one geographical area. That way you could opt for biogwood rather than plants and create a tank around that.
 
Good luck with it.

I've got a few big chunks of bog wood and given that the lighting is currently insufficient the bog wood focus would be ideal. They are stumps not roots/branches though.

 

[MojoDex]

Just go for a walk through your local woods, or head the local water(lake, river, pond estuary) and start pulling out branches. You will be amazed what you can find for free! I have 3-4 good size bits in my back garden that i've plucked from various places. They would cost a small fortune in shops.

 

[Jazziecatz]

Just go for a walk through your local woods, or head the local water(lake, river, pond estuary) and start pulling out branches. You will be amazed what you can find for free! I have 3-4 good size bits in my back garden that i've plucked from various places. They would cost a small fortune in shops.

Isnt that a little bacterious and gross for the tank?