Stocking Suggestions For 200L Tank

[damanax]

Firstly, Merry Christmas everyone 

 
I ended up getting a 200l/53g fish tank for Christmas and I need ideas for stocking. This is the largest tank I've ever owned so I'm very excited 

 
It is in a fairly noisy part of the house (the dining room).I've already got some neon tetras and glowlight tetras in my other tanks and I'd prefer not to have another tank with them. It is hard to get a hold of most cichlids where I live. I would like to have a school of corys, maybe peppered.
 
Between cycling the tank and my holiday, it won't be stocked for a few more months but I would like to have some idea of what I'd like.
 
Thanks for the help 

 

[Ninjouzata]

Merry Christmas!
Grats on your present
 
Do you like/want big fish or little fish? Any specific colors? Theme you have in mind for the tank? Is your water hard or soft, what is your pH?

 

[damanax]

Thankyou 

 
I prefer smaller fish though I would like a larger one as a centrepiece fish. No specific themes in mind, I'm still debating on whether to do another planted tank or just go with wood and rock. We have hard water but I'm not sure of the exact pH (those kits are strangely hard to find here).
 
Also, I need suggestions for filters suitable for something this size.

 

[508]

Hi there,
 
Since you don't want tetras there's quite a lot you could add, here are some to think about
 

• Denisons Barbs (peaceful community fish, should be kept in a group of 3 at the least)
• Tiger Barbs (I don't know much about these, it seems they're generally peaceful but are aggressive when spawning)
• Boesemani Rainbowfish (My personal favourite, they're shoaling community fish and should be kept in a minimum of 5. You could also look into Dwarf Neons which are a smaller alternative)
• Corydoras Catfish (Great bottom dwellers, my favourite are the Sterbai Cory's. They should be kept in a group of at least 5 or 6, sand is preferred although gravel is fine so long as it's smooth)
• Angelfish (Great centerpiece fish, they do very well on their own)

 

[cambojnr]

How about a big group of say 35 cardinals, 20 bronze corys and would not know of a centre piece fish as could never decide on one for my tank. Once I get my 120l set up again in Australia I will be having 30 cardinals 10 bronze corys, and possibly an algae eater of the bristle nose kind, i just prefer you bog standard type fish, our maybe just a huge group of 50 cardinals as imagine that would be more impressive as have an urge to just have a huge group of one fish.

 

[Seal36]

I think kribensis or some apistogramma would look good as a centre piece fish. I have both and I must say I prefer the kribensis but that personal choice really. Also if you did not want a cichlid you could have some honey or dwarf gouramis or something like that from Tom

 

[damanax]

Not too much of a fan of angels. I'll look into the tiger barbs as the LFS always has plenty of them. I would love to have a group of corys on the bottom, love those little guys.
 
I really like kribensis and apistogrammas but I've never seen any at the LFS. The only cichlids I've seen are oscars and parrots and I'm not really interested in either. I have had drawf gourami previously but didn't really like them. Honeys are gorgeous though 

 
I would like to see about getting Runnynose Tetra but I've heard that they're pretty sensitive.
 
My mother has said that she does not want me putting any kind of guppy, goldfish, platy or swordtail in this tank. She really doesn't like them 

 

[damanax]

Alrighty, I've spent the last few hours looking into tiger barbs though I am a little confused. Are green and albino barbs the same as the normal ones?  Can they be in a mixed school? I can't find the info anywhere.
 
Also, are some kind of cory suitable tank mates for tiger barbs? I really want a school of the little guys 

My boyfriend is interested in getting a redtailed shark, do tiger barbs and a redtailed shark work?

 

[Ninjouzata]

I've heard mixed things on mixing the different colored barbs. They're the same just, well, different color XD
But have heard of mixing them and it working fine, and have heard of mixing them and one group color attacking the other.
 
Believe I've heard of mixing tiger barbs & redtailed shark, and would think it'd work as they're both tough fish. Actually plan on doing that for a future tank..I really love the green barbs

 

[damanax]

Yeah I get what you mean. Some sites say they can be mixed and others a dead set against it. The barbs at the LFS are all housed in the same tank but, while I love the greens, there's never enough of them to get a decent school. Being able to have a mix of greens and normals would be awesome.
 
My boyfriend will be glad to hear it, he always gravitates towards the shark tanks whenever we're down there haha.
 
If I go with only Tiger Barbs, how many could I have? If I went with the shark and barbs, how many barbs could I get? I'm terrible at figuring out appropriate stocking numbers 

 

[Blondielovesfish]

Congrats on getting the tank!!!
 
If you like the tiger barbs, then you could do a semi-aggressive tank. The shark and barbs would work well!
 
You could have 17 tiger barbs (mix of regular, green and albino) and the shark.
 
IMO I think the mix of colours would work, just be prepared to remove them should anything go wrong.

 

[damanax]

Thankyou 

 
17 would make an awesome school. Ah this will be cool.
 
If I didn't get the shark would I be able to get 1-2 more? Also, if I did get the shark, does the order I add them to the tank matter? I don't have a lot of experience with semi-aggressive fish.

 

[Blondielovesfish]

Not sure, I haven't kept them either.
 
Yeah, if you were to have a species only tiger barb tank, you could have about 2 more, as long as you're good on tank maintenance. Do keep your eye out though, as with a species only they are more likely to breed, so your school might gradually increase

 

[damanax]

I don't know anyone who as kept them haha. It'll be interesting. 
 
Yeah tank maintenance isn't an issue. I usually go for an overkill filter as well as very frequent water changes. This will be a hard decision haha 

 

[Blondielovesfish]

I'd imagine adding the shark last would probably be the best option. 
Also, it would probably be best to not buy all the barbs at once, instead buy say 6 at a time until you get to 17. If you do do this, make sure to get a variation of colours, otherwise the first variation of colours added might be bullys to the other colours, if that makes sense? LOL