Stocking ..... I Know Im Sory.......

[newtotropical]

Hi all,
Im about to collect a 126ltr cycled tank. I have the following that i will be keeping & upping quantities. I would like to add a pair of show piece fish. Any ideas please?

1 x Tiger Barb
2 x Green Tiger Barb
2 x Red Playts
1 x Hillstream Loach
3 x Cory Julii
6 x Assorted Danios

Any ideas welcome!!

 

[arabballin]

I am not the most experienced fish keeper but ill give this a crack, so if any of you pros wanna critique my suggestions by all means please do.
your set up sounds similar to mine.
i have
6 tiger barbs
3 cory
2 molly
2 oto


my suggestion would be up the number of tiger barbs to 3 and the number of green barbs to 3. That way(since they all shoal together) you have a nice shoal of six which not only makes them look better but also brings down there agression. I am also looking for some center piece fish and the suggestion i have gotten that i think im going to go with is some German Blue Ram Cichlids. They are beautiful fish but require very clean water with a high ph from what i understand. So if your tank is over filtered like mine do some research on those. You might also look at some Gouramis from the Trichogaster trichopterus line. These worked well with my tiger barbs before i decided to get rid of them ( i just wanted something different) and they are fun fish. You will however need to have a 2 female 1 male ratio. Good luck and i hope my suggestions were helpful.

 

[newtotropical]

Very helpful thanks! I like both Rams & Couramis but thought i might have problems due to the Brabs? I will have a 150ltr rated external filter i i am over filtered slightly. Anybody else any thoughts on the above?

Thanks

 

[newtotropical]

 

[newtotropical]

A bit disappointed by the response. I try to help where i can, would be nice to get the same

 

[Miss Wiggle]

need to up the cories to 6, same for the barbs.

do you know what gender the platys are, as you may possibly need more to get the correct m/f ratio.

tbh after that i don't think there's room for much more in the tank, i would leave it at that

 

[newtotropical]

I have one of each!!

 

[Miss Wiggle]

you need another girl then, it should be 2f/1m

 

[newtotropical]

zipade do du.............................

 

[fishwatcher]

Well, I'll give this a shot. I agree that maybe you should add 1 more fm platy. Then I'd add just 2 more regular tiger barbs. That'd bring your group to 5. I know most say that cories should be in groups of 5, but I've found them to be very happy in groups of 3-4 as well. It's best to see how they're acting now. If they are out all the time then they obviously feel good, but if they are hiding quite a bit then I'd add 1-2 more of the same kind. It's amazing what a difference it can make.
It would help to know what kind of danios you have, as they vary in adult sizes. They could put you over the top as far as stocking goes.
Blue rams are great fish, but they will get stressed if the tank is too crowded. I have soft, slightly acidic water and they love it, so as long as they're acclimatized properly they'll do fine. Clean water and ample room are the keys to keeping these fish happy and healthy.
Hope this is of help to you.

 

[newtotropical]

Hi fishwatcher, thanks for that very helpful. I have three corys at the mo as i lost one but they seem happy spend all the time swimming around the tank looking for food.

I do like the idea of Blue Rams .......... How are they at their best? 1M 2F ?

Many thanks

Simon

 

[jarcher1390]

if that were my tank i would get more than 6 of the tiger barbs (people seem to think 6 is a magic number for a shoal i say ten is minium for a shoal). i would just get more of the same fish then that would just look reali nice. i think some gouramis would go very nicly as some show fish if that what ur after

 

[~T~]

I will add that the hillstream loach is a bad idea as they are actually coldwater fish and do not do well in tropical communities.

 

[fishwatcher]

A gourami would certainly be an option... there are some beautiful ones out there! As for blue rams, do 1m, 1f. Otherwise, once they pair up the third one will be stressed out more than likely to the point of death.

 

[newtotropical]

Thanks Chaps, Was mis sold the loach although he does appear to be happy. Forgot to say my Danios are:

2 Zebra
2 Golden
2 Pearl
Would a Gourami be ok with Tiger Barbs? Im a bit concerned about this choice.

Thanks again