Stocking List

[leeroy]

Right so i have a 180ltr tank - 48G and have a little list below of the fish that me and my GF like but what about compatability and numbers?? i've done some research on each fish but its a little hard to get an idea of numbers to keep together...

The tank will have been through a fishless cycle, will have several/plenty of plants and hides and the pH at the moment seems to be around 7.4/7.6

Angel fish
Bolivian rams
German blue rams
Kribensis
Dwarf gouramis
Cardinal tetra
Panda cory’s
Sultan pleco
Zebra pleco
Aquatic frogs
Male betta

Any advice will be great as this is not a firm like but a wish list and any other suggestions will be concidered!!

thanks

Leeroy

 

[waterdrop]

Well I'm not very good with stocking lists but I'll make a few (probably fairly obvious) comments since noone else has yet. Angels I usually think of getting in pairs (don't know what the cichlid experts really think about this but it always seemed to work ok for me) and the minimum tank height is usually recommended to be 17 or 18". Dwarf gouramis are usually introduced as 1 male and 2 females (or a multiple of that.) Both angels and dwarf g.s can be introduced after a good fishless cycle.

By contrast, cardinal tetras and Panda corys, are more likely to survive if you allow the tank to age 4 to 6 months after the fishless cycle before introducing them. Both will benefit from being introduced in a minumum 6 shoal, although one would usually push the cardinal number higher and the Pandas might be ok with less. Both Panda corys and German Blue Rams I believe need very high quality and steady water conditions, so plan on not missing significant weekly water changes.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Curiosity101]

Agreed with the above and will also add:

Kribensis, if you get a pair that decide to breed, will wreak havoc and pretty much try to kill most other fish in the tank. As such I would only ever get one in a community set-up. Or better yet leave them out.

Zebra pleco - Overpriced in my opinion. Don't get me wrong, they are gorgeous little things but there are plenty of other great looking plecos for more around the £10-£20 mark.

Aquatic frogs...only ones suitable are ADF's (African Dwarf Frog), and these will be eaten by bascially anything that can fit them in their mouths. Gouramis and Angels being the main suspects in your list. Plus they'd be generally terrified out of their little froggy minds with that many fish.

Bettas - Generally not suitable in community set-ups. Not only do they often attack other brightly coloured/long finned fish eg. Guppies. But many fish like to nip their long fins. Tetras, and angels would be the main ones on your list to do this. They are also labyrinth fish like the gouramis and this tends to lead to territory issues between gouramis and bettas. I would definitely leave it out of your possible stocking options.

 

[loachman]

I'd agree. Probably best to leave out the betta and kribs.

Frogs can be tough in a tank with a large number of fish. They tend to not be agile enough to compete with fish for food.

 

[leeroy]

thanks for the replies very helpfull...

right taking into consideration your comments maybe this list - i'll probably look to get all fish young so the can hopefully grow in perfect harmony together

4 Angle fish
3 Dwark gouramis
4 Bolivian rams (or do these also have to be a 1 male to 2 female ratio)
6 cory's
10 cardinal tetra
Sultan pleco
Butterfly pleco or zebra pleco (i know zebra is expensive but probably worth it )
and then some shrimp and snails..... although i do still like the idea of trying some aquatic frogs prob in a group of 4

 

[Curiosity101]

That would be overstocked in my opinion.

Maybe something more like:
2 Angels - Just feels like if you got a breeding pair then the other two might get bullied quite badly so I would opt for 2.
3 Dwarf Gouramis (I've only ever had problems with dwarves, they've either been aggressive and/or very prone to disease so would go for honeys in future if I ever did. But it's personal preference and depends soley on the actual specimens)
2 Bolivians - I'd buy a few 4/5 and allow a pair to form, then return the unwanted fish. Of course you need to check your lfs would be fine with this. But it does insure you have a pair. I think you could probably get away with two properly formed pairs in that tank. So 4 Bolivians would be fine so long as they were both paired. Anymore than 2 males would result in havoc.
6 Corys - I would up this to 8
10 Cardinals - Sounds good to me
Then I would get either Sultan Pleco or Butterfly or Zebra
And would get another shoal of 6-10 of something else, perhaps something like a bleeding heart tetra.

But with the above list you would have room to manoeuvre and would be able to add a few snails and shrimp with no water issues.

I would still say a big NO to ADFs. But it is your decision ofc.

 

[leeroy]

thanks buddy.... thats been a great help.... think that will virtually be my list now..

with the butterfly and zebra plec's these remain relatively small for plec's i think they say up to 5 1/2" so could i get away with 2 or 3 rather that 1 large growing plec like the sultan???

 

[Curiosity101]

Depends what filtration you have on the tank.

If you keep corys at 6 and up the filtration to something rated for a larger tank (I have an eheim II 2026 on my 125l)

Then I'd say yes to 2 Zebras or 1 Butterfly or 1 Sultan

Put it this way, once everyone in the tank is fully grown, it's easier to add fish than remove them.

 

[leeroy]

currently i have the standard juwel setup whilst doing my fishless cycle but i've been on the look out for a larger external filter set up.

I did have a chat with my lfs when i got my tank and they said that, for instance, if i had a common plec that was getting to large they would exchange it for another smaller example. i know it benefits them but i guess having that exchange facility maybe handy. i would like to think that they would offer something similar for getting some bolivian rams to pair up.

 

[Curiosity101]

I don't know if you mean you were actually debating getting a common and then swapping it back as it grew...
But if you did, then don't. The only time I would EVER suggest swapping fish is with fish that are problematic if you end up with an all male or all female grouping.

If you were just referring to the rams, then check with them beforehand, but it'll be really useful if they can do that for you. I'm having some big trouble trying to find a female, short of paying £8+ for postage to get a breeding female sent to me from a fish shop down south.

 

[leeroy]

I don't know if you mean you were actually debating getting a common and then swapping it back as it grew...
But if you did, then don't. The only time I would EVER suggest swapping fish is with fish that are problematic if you end up with an all male or all female grouping.

If you were just referring to the rams, then check with them beforehand, but it'll be really useful if they can do that for you. I'm having some big trouble trying to find a female, short of paying £8+ for postage to get a breeding female sent to me from a fish shop down south.

I think the lfs was just trying to highlight that they try to be helpful and help people out if required. as said this could be a good way of getting a couple of pairs of bolivian rams if so.

 

[Curiosity101]

Yep, I understand. Though I don't know how helpful they are being selling a fish to someone knowing it'll outgrow their tank and then selling it to them again. Or well 'swapping' it for a smaller one. Seems a bit irresponsible to me on the lfs's part.
But it is really useful that they have the open exchange / open return policy.

 

[meguro]

Grow out tank?

 

[leeroy]

Yep, I understand. Though I don't know how helpful they are being selling a fish to someone knowing it'll outgrow their tank and then selling it to them again. Or well 'swapping' it for a smaller one. Seems a bit irresponsible to me on the lfs's part.
But it is really useful that they have the open exchange / open return policy.

i know what ya mean but i guess at the end of the day they are in business and wouldn't outright refuse to sell some1 a fish they specifically wanted. again i think he was just trying to say they try as best to help out. anyway i think i'll pop in over the weekend and see about getting the rams

 

[Curiosity101]

I've seen plenty of fish shops run by hobbyists refuse to sell people fish...or rather said 'I'm not selling you this, but how about this instead'. And then if the person was adamant they wanted the unsuitable fish then refused to serve them. This gets them a good reputation, and once you've got a good reputation word of mouth spreads and I think generally leads to a more successful business.

What is you eventual stocking plan then at the mo?