Stocking New Tank (Advice)

[Sharknado99]

Hi all
 
I am getting a 180L Juwel  tank soon. At the moment I have a 90L.
 
The fish that are definitely moving over to the new tank are
- 1 angelfish
- 1 red tail shark
- 2 platys
 
My question is...can  I have more fish, considering that the angel and red tail need a lot of space.
Also the new tank is wide rather than tall. 
 
If i can have more fish, can anyone suggest any colourful ones.
PS: I don't like those bottom algae eaters (plecos i think) and I dont like clown loaches.
 
I'm also going to be having some plants and snails.
 
Thanks
 

 

[attibones]

Well the shark is going to need a larger tank than that. I can't remember if they are solitary or not but I believe they prefer groups.

If you can rehome the shark which is a fairly aggressive creature, you could a school of tetras or rasboras. Stay away from most barbs, though, as they can get fairly nippy. The cherry barb would be a nice addition as they are less boisterous than their cousins given they have a large school.

Threadfin rainbowfish may be a lovely species for your middle layer, but I'm not positive how angels get on with these beauties. You'd have to be sure any tank mates are not fin-nippers as the long fins are prime targets.

If you don't like plecos or loaches, try corydoras. They work well with angelfish and there are plenty of species to choose from. Or you could have a school of otocinclus or a Bolivian ram or two. Shrimp and snails always make excellent additions to the bottom layer for the typical community.

 

[KirkyArcher]

Red tailed black sharks need to be either in very large groups or preferably just a single fish as they on average can grow to about 6" in length and I believe they'd be absolutely fine in you 180 litre, you need to also avoid similar shaped fish. Cardinals and Neons (most tetra) will get along nicely with your current listed stock as would harlequins and cherry barb, you can safely break the gallons per inch rule (especially with smaller species full grown fish) but it just means you have to be on top of your water stats do more maintenance. Clown loaches would be a poor choice anyway as they can grow to about 14" in length a fact that most LFS fail to pass on. Cory can either be quite shy or loads of fun and very active depending on species rather than group numbers of which 5-6 would be an absolute minimum, salt and pepper cory I've found are quite active and entertaining but cory do prefer finer gravel or sand for substrate.

 

[Sharknado99]

Thank you.  I only have red tail shark. Hes my favourite so if it means not having any other fish apart from the ones I have in the 180L, then I'll quite happily do that.
But if I could get more, I'll definitely keep the cherry barbs and bigger tetras a try. I heard angelfish can eat the neon tetras so I won't get those.

 

[KirkyArcher]

Only the smaller or younger tetra or any fish that are Angel fish mouthed size will be in anyway under threat from being eaten, neons can be bought larger from LFS but usually at a premium.

 

[noobgamers]

Hi all
 
I am getting a 180L Juwel  tank soon. At the moment I have a 90L.
 
The fish that are definitely moving over to the new tank are
- 1 angelfish
- 1 red tail shark
- 2 platys
 
My question is...can  I have more fish, considering that the angel and red tail need a lot of space.
Also the new tank is wide rather than tall. 
 
If i can have more fish, can anyone suggest any colourful ones.
PS: I don't like those bottom algae eaters (plecos i think) and I dont like clown loaches.
 
I'm also going to be having some plants and snails.
 
Thanks
 

yes you can have bottom feeders and a shoal of some sort not neons or cardinals that will only work for a while every story ive heard it works for a while but one morining no tetra and a fat angel
disc shaped tetra will be best as they will be less prone to become angel food 
for bottom feeders you could have any cories or yoyo loaches khulis dwarf chain zebra basically anything thats under 12cm

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

A Rio180 is not going to solve the housing issues for life for your bigger fish, they will need another upgrade...
 
The tank is 101cm long, which is not long enough for RTBS that reach ~15cm Sl (so excluding their tail fin, just body), 120cm long is a minimum for life.
The tank is 50cm high, but you cannot fill it to 50cm, you can only fill it to ~45cm at best. You probably have sand or gravel, reducing the actual depth of water further. Angelfish need >45cm of actual water depth to prevent stunting.
 
In the Juwel range, you should be looking at a Rio300 for these fish for their long term needs.
 
However, it is worth noting that Angelfish and RTBS have different tank setup needs. Like many shark-minnows, RTBS love a strong current setup (which is partly why they do so well when housed with Clown Loaches in a longer tank). Angelfish are not fans of strong current.

 

[Sharknado99]

OK so if I had just the red tail shark and platys in this 180L tank. How many platies can i have? I absolutely adore them and i think I want to have about 5-6. Is that too many? (all male. I'm not interested in breeding)
There are mollies that look gorgeous as well. So altogether, how many livebearers of that size do you think i could have in the 180L?

 

[Sharknado99]

Sorry to bring up this old topic again. But i'm still not sure how many I can get.
If i have the following, will it be overstocked?
 
3 platies
3 mollies
1 red tail
1 bristlenose
2 honey gouramis
1 angel (to be rehomed or moved into a bigger tank soon)

 

[the_lock_man]

The major issue with RTBS is that as they mature, they become very territorial, and very aggressively so. I would expect it to start picking on the Bristlenose eventually. Depending upon the individual shark, the gourami may be targetted too.
 
Mollies may be robust enough to withstand the shark, as may the platies.
 
I appreciate that you want to prioritise the shark, in which case, I would recommend semi-aggressive cyprinid species, such as tiger barbs, black skirt tetra, colombian tetra, rather than honey gourami and the livebearers.

 

[KirkyArcher]

funny  the only fish in my tank that the RTBS give chase is the tiger barb, but must hasten chase rather than attack and not for prolonged periods of time! Different fish of the same species like us humans have individual personalities and behaviour patterns!

 

[Sharknado99]

Hi guys
 
THanks for that. My main concern at the moment is overcrowding but thanks for the suggestions. I do love the shark so I'd really like to keep him and work around him.
I have a neighbour who has two rams and two honey gouramis and i really like them too so I was thinking of them as an option.
Currently the angel is in there with the shark, the bristlenose, and 3 platies which i had in my initial tank.
They actually all seem to get along really well. I watch them often and the platies are inquisitive and playful while the shark disappears into his hideyhole as soon as he sees me. (The angel disappears too.)
After awhile the shark comes out and just goes about his daily business sniffing everything in the tank without disturbing anyone.
The angel is really scared and does not disturb anyone either but he is still quite young.
 
I was hoping to get 3 mollies and 2 honey gouramis to add to the community but I am really worried about overstocking.
I really have no idea how many i can add into a 180L tank. esp since i know the shark is going to get quite large.
But apart from the angel, it does look quite empty at the moment since the platies are small and the shark and bristlenose are always hiding lol

 

[the_lock_man]

funny

 the only fish in my tank that the RTBS give chase is the tiger barb, but must hasten chase rather than attack and not for prolonged periods of time! Different fish of the same species like us humans have individual personalities and behaviour patterns!

 
Indeed, that is certainly true. As it goes, I have never kept either species, but know people who have.
 
 

They actually all seem to get along really well.

 
That's the thing, though, the the aggression and territorialness (if that's a real word) only start to show as the fish gets older.