Stocking Level

MuddyWaters · Jun 16, 2026

Hey all- I'd like your opinions on stocking level. I have a 75 gallon with 1 juvenile severum (Heros cf. efasciatus) , 5 juvenile Royal Acara (Aequidens diadema), 11 Denison barbs (Sahyadria denisonii), and 4 silver hatchet fish (Gasteropelecus levis).

I plan to reduce the number of Royal Acara to 2 over time if they start picking at each other or once they get big.

I'm thinking about adding 6 - 10 otocinclus and 6 corydoras of some sort. However, I want to make sure there is plenty of space for the fish as they grow. Normally I heavily stock- I like to have a lot of fish and I don't mind the extra work to maintain water, etc.

But this time I want to keep it at a reasonable level. Do you think I should get the otos & cories or one or the other, or leave it alone?

thanks!

anewbie · Jun 16, 2026

oto and cory are going to be rough with those a. diadema once they become adults. While i'm a big fan of lots of small fishes in large tanks - they just don't mix well with large fishes in a small enclosed area.

You might get away with some of the nicer whiptails like Sturisomatichthys aureus IF you water is very soft - though in truth your 75 is pretty darn small just for 3 nearly 10 inch fishes (2 a. ds and the hero). In truth i would dump those fishes and stick to the smaller stuff but that is just me.
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The 75 might work with a pair of a. diadema and a couple of larger schoolers but even then you are going to push thing. The basic problem is a 75 is just plain small.

MuddyWaters · Jun 17, 2026

Well, I figured that would be the answer. I have been pining for a severum for a long time, so I got one. Same with the Denison barbs. The Royal Acara were a bit of an impulse, but I want to see them breed.

Anyway, I won't buy more, and if it just gets overcrowded I'll sell some at the club

anewbie · Jun 17, 2026

Yea - there are two problems with the fishes first they are more sensitive to water quality (though not the most sensitive) and of course territorial issues when breeding.

Waiting to see how things play out is of course a decent plan just monitor the fishes health and such and of course being in a relatively small aquarium they will tend to not grow as large as they might in a larger home but there are limits here. If yu are lucky the hero will be a female which is a bit smaller.

Likewise for the acara which i have not kept but have kept similar fishes the male may be substantially larger than the female.