Stocking - Rams, Tetras, Kuhlis

[PDSimon]

Hello

I am nearing the end of my fishless cycle. The tank is a fluval roma 125 (80cm*35*~38)which is actually more 100L than 125L (~30 gallons)

The filter is the stock filter - fluval U3, which capacity is up to 40G I think. The tank will have several plants and bogwood.

I intend on stocking it with:

- 3 bolivian rams (2 females 1 male)
- a shoal of tetra (rummy nose or cardinal)
- 8 kuhli loaches
- amano and blue pearl shrimp

notes/questions:

- Is this overstocked?
- Rummynose are to sensitive to add to the tank straight away, would cardinals be better or does it stand the same - should I wait, will the rams be shy without dither fish?
- I wanted the more kuhli loaches because quite a few members said they're much more lively with the higher number and they interest me

Any thoughts, opinions and/or help? Think there could be some better fish to add/replace?

Any help is much appreciated as I am a noobie, thanks

 

[Always Learning]

That wouldn't be overstocked in my opinion, far from it. Depends on how many tetra you get, but I'd personally be looking at around 15 Cardinals in there, or maybe 2 groups of 10 Cardinals and Rummies. I'm not sure if Rummies are a bit fragile like neons, though if your stats and tank are spot on, I wouldn't worry too much. You'll be giving them a better home than at the LFS anyways..

The Khulis are more active with a larger group, as they're very shy generally, but even with 8, it still might take them a while to be confident enough to explore and they're more active at night. The Rams might be shy without dithers, but it all depends on their personality. Some are, some aren't.. I'd add them all at the same time anyway if you've done a fishless cycle.

 

[meguro]

lose one of the female rams. both tetra species are equally as sensitive.

 

[PDSimon]

That wouldn't be overstocked in my opinion, far from it. Depends on how many tetra you get, but I'd personally be looking at around 15 Cardinals in there, or maybe 2 groups of 10 Cardinals and Rummies. I'm not sure if Rummies are a bit fragile like neons, though if your stats and tank are spot on, I wouldn't worry too much. You'll be giving them a better home than at the LFS anyways..

The Khulis are more active with a larger group, as they're very shy generally, but even with 8, it still might take them a while to be confident enough to explore and they're more active at night. The Rams might be shy without dithers, but it all depends on their personality. Some are, some aren't.. I'd add them all at the same time anyway if you've done a fishless cycle.

Ah, it was just that aqadvisor said for 3 rams, 8 tetras and 8 loaches:

Warning: You should add more aquarium filtration capacity.

Your aquarium filtration capacity for above selected species is 91%.Help on Filtration capacity
Recommended water change schedule: 28% per week.
Your aquarium stocking level is 82%


Two groups would be nice, I was thinking about that too You think it would be fine to add them all in one go then?

cheers

lose one of the female rams. both tetra species are equally as sensitive.

Thanks

 

[Always Learning]

The U3 would do it, but I'd be looking at upgrading that anyway. Either the next step up internal, or go for an external if you can. It'll help in every sense, aswell as your plants.

If you've fishless cycled, the idea is that you can add all your stock in one go

 

[PDSimon]

I'd probably get an external in time... It's just a bit expensive at the mo.

I wanted to stock most of it in one go, and leave a little room.

I'd have thought 20 tetra would be too much though!

 

[PDSimon]

Any one got any opinions? I saw one thread and everyone was like nooo don't get rummy nose tetra and this thread seems perfectly happy with it

 

[stang1]

Rummy Nose Tetra can be quite sensitive and seem to fare better in a more mature tank. Cardinal Tetras aren't much different, although a little hardier than Neon Tetras.
Glowlight Tetras are a pretty little fish and are a great starter fish for a newly cycled tank. I'd be more inclined to add something like these for a first fish, let them settle in for a week or two before adding your next choice of fish. I'm not a great advocate for adding fish all in one go as the filter needs to catch up with the extra waste being produced. Water quality can fluctuate in the first couple of months or so and some fish are more sensitive to this than others. That is why certain fish prefer a more mature tank as it becomes more stable in time.

 

[PDSimon]

Rummy Nose Tetra can be quite sensitive and seem to fare better in a more mature tank. Cardinal Tetras aren't much different, although a little hardier than Neon Tetras.
Glowlight Tetras are a pretty little fish and are a great starter fish for a newly cycled tank. I'd be more inclined to add something like these for a first fish, let them settle in for a week or two before adding your next choice of fish. I'm not a great advocate for adding fish all in one go as the filter needs to catch up with the extra waste being produced. Water quality can fluctuate in the first couple of months or so and some fish are more sensitive to this than others. That is why certain fish prefer a more mature tank as it becomes more stable in time.

Thanks

The filter will definately cycle ammonia and nitrites as you're populating the filter with an excess of bacteria so that when you do at the fish, it reduces the chance of any mini cycle, atleast thats the theory.

 

[stang1]

Unfortunately, theory isn't always right
I've come across too many people that have fully stocked the tank after a cycle, just to have nitrite/ammonia spikes and the loss of fish. Although filters will take out nitrite and ammonia, they still need time to mature.
One of the joys of slow stocking is enjoying adding new fish and appreciating them before your next batch go in.
I could be wrong about slow stocking but it's always the route I follow when setting up new tanks.

 

[PDSimon]

Unfortunately, theory isn't always right
I've come across too many people that have fully stocked the tank after a cycle, just to have nitrite/ammonia spikes and the loss of fish. Although filters will take out nitrite and ammonia, they still need time to mature.
One of the joys of slow stocking is enjoying adding new fish and appreciating them before your next batch go in.
I could be wrong about slow stocking but it's always the route I follow when setting up new tanks.

I don't want to stock it completely anyway to leave some space in like you say

Thanks for the input

 

[stang1]

No problem

 

[arobinson1984]

How about hengels rasboras? They are a nice hardy fish, perfect for a newly cycled tank and when kept in a nice group they add brilliant flashes of orange to the tank unlike the usual harlequins


Andy

 

[PDSimon]

Pretty little fish, will look into them, thanks

 

[PDSimon]

Has anyone got any opinions stocking wise?

If I had 2 shoals of 10 tetra, aswell as the rams and loaches wouldn't that be way overstocked? it would mean I have ~54 inches of fish in a 30gallon tank