Stocking Ideas For My 200 Litre Tank

[TomHornsey]

I am completely new to tropical fish keeping and i need some help with stocking idea's. Its a 200 litre planted tank, 100cm long by 40cm deep and 50cm high. I have currently started a cycle with 6 Leopard Danios and 6 Black Widow Tetras and all seems fine to date. I am looking for ideas on how to stock the rest of the tank to ensure the tank has enough going on in all areas?
 
I would quite like to add 4 angels if this is possible and also an L number pleco such as a Tiger Pleco or a Leopard Frog Pleco.

Any advice or opinions would be great.

Thanks in advance,
Tom 

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[Ninjouzata]

I wouldn't add anything yet as you already have too many fish in an uncycled tank. I'd return the ones you have ASAP and do a fish-less cycle following THIS.
You'll need a liquid test kit (you need one regardless of if you're doing fish-in or fishless and they're good to have around even if your tank is cycled) and some ammonia.
 
I -think- you could do one or two angelfish, when it's cycled. If you keep the black widows though they are know to be nippy so may want to keep an eye out for that.
Leopard danios are more temperate fish so are not suited to the warmer temps angelfish need.
 
Deeper bodied fish would be good with the angelfish. So perhaps diamond tetras. Sterbai corydoras would be lovely on the bottom.
 
You could do a tiger pleco, be sure to have some driftwood though. HERE is more info on them. The leopard frog plec would also work I think, HERE is more info on that one. They both look gorgeous.
 

to TFF btw!

 

[TomHornsey]

I decided to do a fish-in cycle on the recommendation from the owner of a local fish store and I have a liquid test kit.
 
Thank you for your points on the aquarium temps and the leopard danios. Currently the tank is planted and has two pieces of savanna wood and a piece of lava rock so should be suitable for the tiger pleco.
 
When the tank is cycled what fish could be added to the below list. I am not sure on how to determine the amount of fish you can have in a tank as the rough rule of 1cm adult fish size to 1 litre rule appears to be exceeded on a number of other posts on the forum. I want to ensure I have fish in all areas of the tank.
 
6 leopard danios (possibly change due to temp issue with angels)
6 Black widow tetras
2 Angelfish
1 tiger pleco
 
Thanks,
Tom

 

[Ch4rlie]

I'd also advise doing a Fishless cycle rather than a Fish In Cycle, a lot of store owners recommended fish in cycle almost just purely because they want to sell more fish and products to you.
 
Fish in Cycles is much harder on the fish, do be aware that ammonia, nitrite are particularly toxic to fish. Therefore doing a fish in cycle exposes these fish to these toxic elements for prolonged periods and at sometimes very high levels. What happens is, the organs on these fish will get damaged irreparably and shortens their lives, drastically in some cases. Also if you do not keep up lots of water changes everyday, its usually fatal for the fish.
 
Fishless cycle, any mistakes made or having high levels of ammonia at 3ppm or very high levels of nitrite, will not harm any fish, simply due to the fact these is no fish in the tank.
The big advantages of fishless cycle is not having to do water changes very often, and also can get a cycled tank much quicker, generally 6 to 8 weeks if everything goes according to plan. Then you can fully stock your tank quickly once successfully cycled your tank.
 
Fish in cycle takes MONTHS to complete and LOTS of water changes.
 
Absolutely no reason not to do fishless cycling, ammonia easily obtainable, water test kits just as easy to get and following this guide http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/421488-cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first/ and asking on this forum, we'll help you along the way if you get confused or if don't understand any parts at all, we're here to help.

 

[yinyangpete]

I decided to do a fish-in cycle on the recommendation from the owner of a local fish store and I have a liquid test kit.

Hi. As you've decided to do a fish-in cycle, you may find the following thread helpful. (Not instead of, but in addition to, the links in the other replies.)
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/175355-arrrggghhhh-whats-cycling-new-tank-and-ive-already-got-fish/
 
You may have done a lot of research already, but if not, I'd recommend reading as much as you can about the nitrogen cycle, cycling an aquarium, and how ammonia, nitrites and nitrAtes impact your fish. Anything you learn now will not only be immediately usable, but will serve you well throughout your years in the hobby.
 
People cycled their tanks with fish for many decades before the fishless cycle became the hobby standard. And, no doubt, there are still people who choose to cycle with fish in the tank. That said, fishless cycling is now the standard for good reason.
 
Bottom line, there are lots of people here who want both you and your fish to be successful. Whatever you do, don't get permanently discouraged. There is lots to learn, but it's an incredibly rewarding hobby! And, by all means, keep asking questions.

 At this very moment though, my mind is more on the fish already in the tank.
 

 

[jimboshrimp]

hi I did the fish in cycle ( due to lfs recommending it)  with danios and golden barbs, I had a horrendous time and did many many water changes but unfortunately the cycle ( ammonia nitrite )got the better of them and they perished
I am now 6 months down the line and have 5 beautiful neon tetras   and 5 cherry barbs which I only added a few days ago after advice on here that all should be safe now as my ammonia is 0 nitrite 0 nitrate 5 ph 6.7 and I bought them from a local store which has been established about 30 years and he had the barbs 3 weeks in a tank which had no diseased fish no sickly looking fish etc and they are doing really well swimming all over eating fine and getting along really well with my little neons but I don't want to add any more as they are so well and don't want to overstock my 64L tank . I also have 3 live plants gravel substrate and a couple of ornaments for hiding etc
Please listen to the advice given on here they are wonderful helpful people and if I had found this site before starting my fish in cycle I would definitely have done fishless .
Good luck
Angie

 

[TrickySpot]

I wouldn't feel discouraged because you already have fish....I've cycled well over 1000L of tank, always with fish and only had 2 fatalities in my first 180L because I was stupid. I always have Seachem's Prime on hand in case of emergencies and have a hose with a fitting onto my kitchen tap for filling easily for water changes. I personally don't mind the daily water changes, I use the same hose connected to the outlet of the canister filter to water my pot plants....the bacteria in the soil can use the ammonia and nitrites, so its a win win! My cycling fish are always zebra danios and mollies/platys.....my fatalities where bala sharks, but they are very sensitive to ammonia and I was naive and listened to the LFS, some will always try to sell you fish, even if your tank contains pure bleach.....
 
Also, check the maximum temp your fish 'like' to live in, they can tolerate slightly higher than that for roughly 3 months according to the internet, and set your tank as warm as possible as this speeds up the bacteria growth in your filter/substrate. Obviously be sensible, if in doubt just run it at the hotter end of what is recommended for your fish. And also switch off your filters if filling with a hose, you don't want the chlorine/chloramine being pulled through your filters until you've added your treatment. I usually wait 30 min after adding Prime (which dechlorinates as well) before restarting filters.
 
Good luck!