Stocking Suggestions For My Future Tank

[NeonSagaris]

Hi there everyone.
 
This is a thread where I want to just discuss possible stocking ideas for my future tank that I'll be getting in a few months after I move (which is still a bit up in the air as to when that is) with anyone who wants to help out.
 
I'm still knocking back and forth between a 125 litre and 155 litre tank at the moment. I am mainly interested in smaller schooling fish and such like. Examples of some fish that I've been thinking of are Neon Green Rasbora, Harlequin Rasbora, Cardinal Tetras, Norman's Lampeye Killifish, Green Tiger Barbs and quite a few others with possible tank mates for the school fish such as Sparkling Gouramis etc. My aim is basically to know what I'd like by the time I get my tank, and I know that it's a while yet, but it's nice to have an idea of what I might end up getting.
 
Just casual discussion on what fish are or are not compatible and what appeals most really. Thanks for stopping by!

 

[Zante]

Sure you can't push it to 200?
 
On a more serious note, it would be useful to know what you have on tap, before we make any suggestions.

 

[NeonSagaris]

Water-wise, I live in an area that has hard water, though when we make the move, we hope to have a water softer installed for a tap or two.
 
And I could go to 200, but I don't particularly want to go too large.

 

[Zante]

Hmm... I don't really trust water softeners, unless I know what they do to the water.
If it's RO, then fine, but otherwise often they are ion exchange resins and that is not very good for fish.
 
Hard water, though, leaves you with a lot of choice.
If it was my tank I'd consider two options:
 
1 - A colony of Tanganyika shelldwellers. They are very entertaining fish to watch and you could pair them up with a small colony of Julidochromis. They would inhabit two different environments and ignore each other: the julies in their rockery and the shelldwellers in the sandy plain.
 
2 - A colony of desert gobies (Chlamydogobius eremius) and a shoal of Axelrodi Rainbow (Melanotaenia herbertaxelrodi) to recreate an australian environment. Desert gobies are particularly interesting: easy to breed and tough little fish. They will be happy from under 10 degrees celsius up to 40 and will thrive in water from moderately hard to twice the salinity of the sea.
 
If you think you will install an RO system let us know and more suggestions can come through.

 

[NeonSagaris]

Ah, I see. A bit of a shame. And I have no idea what we may or may not install.
 
So no possibility for Rasboras or Tetras if the RO isn't go? They are the fish that particularly interest me. I've seen many healthy tanks in my area with many great schooling fish; is this not really possible then?

 

[NeonSagaris]

Personally, I really would like to stock a tank with a large number of schooling, one-species fish such as tetras or rasboras with a few cories alongside. These schooling fish have always been my favourite to own. I used to have fish like that in an old tank from years ago when I lived in an area with soft water and I loved it! I just really hope that there are fish like this that can be happy in harder water.
 
Edit: I have read that some tetras/rasboras can be fine in hard water if introduced gradually however.

 Also, I did an online area pH level search, and it will be around 280(ish) mg/l CACO3, but I can't say what that is in pH unfortunately haha.

 

[Byron]

CACO3 at 280 ppm (which = mg/l) is roughly 15 dGH.  This is fairly hard water.
 
The GH (general hardness, which is what the above is), KH (carbonate hardness or Alkalinity) and pH are interconnected.  So with a high GH (and I would assume a high KH), the pH is likely going to be high.  The KH acts as a buffer to prevent the pH from fluctuating, which is why it is impossible to lower a high pH without first reducing the GH and KH.
 
With that as background, you should stay with fish that prefer harder water.  The GH is the more significant here for fish.  Hard water fish have evolved to function best in such water, as they use the minerals.  Soft water fish on the other hand have evolved to function best (their physiology) in water with next to no minerals.  While some species can manage in harder water while some others cannot, the degree of adaptability is limited, and dependent upon the species.  
 
As a simple example, the Pristella Tetra will do fine in moderately hard water, or just as fine in very soft water; this is because this species has naturally evolved in differing environments (when it comes to water parameters) in its rather large distribution range in South America.  This does not mean that any individual fish can go from one extreme to the other without trouble, but it does mean that with acclimation the fish can manage in softer or harder water.  By contrast, a fish such as the False or Green Neon which is confined to very soft acidic water cannot be acclimated to hard water without internal issues; this fish is only found in blackwater environments, and when placed in harder water it slowly develops calcium blockages in the kidneys and dies much sooner than its normal lifespan.  There is usually no outward sign of this, the fish seems "fine" until it dies, but dissection will disclose the cause.  One study with cardinal tetra showed that the lifespan was related to the level of GH, the higher the GH the shorter the lifespan.
 
On the water softener, Zante was correct.  Many of these, if they use salts, can actually be as bad for soft water fish than the higher GH.  The sodium salts they use is another problem for soft water fish, but I won't go into that here.  The only safe way to soften hard water, and simultaneously lower the pH, is by dilution with "pure" water such as RO (reverse osmosis), distilled, or rainwater (if this is otherwise safe).  This is fairly easy to do initially, but obviously water changes need similar water and that is where this method begins to bog down.  However, many aquarists do install a RO unit and it works fine.  It does however waste a lot of water in the process.
 
As I mentioned above, there are species of shoaling fish that will be better than some others, though looking into hard water species is probably going to be less trouble long-term.  Livebearers are such fish, though not to everyone's liking; most Central American fish similarly.  Many of the rainbowfish do well in harder water, though again you need to look at individual species and possibly reduce the GH a tad.  Rift lake cidhlids are right at home in hard water.
 
Byron.

 

[Zante]

The Axelrodi rainbows I suggested are shoaling fish, but i imagine you won't get much shoaling in that size tank.
 
Neolamprologus brichardi would probably be a good choice then. From lake Tanganyika they love hard water, actually you might have to add some minerals. They are very socal and interesting to observe. I'm not sure I'd keep them with shelldwellers though, in a tank that size: they breed easily and can get aggressive, but if you're able to keep the numbers down they should be fine together.
 
... or you could go fo a species tank for them.

 

[Far_King]

Tiger Barbs will do well in a ph of anything from soft to hard.  A nice shoal of Tigers would look beautiful and is something I've long considered but have not had the tank suitable to do so with the fish I already keep.
 
http/www.seriouslyfish.com/species/puntigrus-tetrazona/

 

[NeonSagaris]

Thank you everyone for the great and insightful suggestions, I really appreciate the help and advice.
 
I think the best bet is to go for a Reverse Osmosis system then as it seems like the simplest and most recommended option. So is there a particular RO that I should go for? What's best? Is it something that is installed into the tap for example? And I live in the UK if that makes any difference. As you can tell, I don't know much about them. I'm glad that using this system will allow me to have tetras/rasboras etc and have them live happily. I was getting very worried there for a moment!

 
And yeah, Green Tigers do interest me. They may be adaptable, but from what I've heard here, I think they would still be happiest in an environment with softer water.

 

[Zante]

Yes, even if fish may be adaptable, I always prefer to give them the conditions they'd encounter in nature.
 
Where in the UK? If you're close I can help you in person, and maybe even give you a few cuttings of plants.

 

[NeonSagaris]

I'll be moving to Hampshire from Surrey, but hopefully I should be fine for all that. Thanks for the offer though
 
I think I'd also put quite a bit of bogwood in there to also help bring down and stabilise pH. The little things that help. 

 

[Byron]

The fish in your initial post will not all co-habitate, purely from a behavioural point.  So if you for instance decided on a group of Tiger Barbs (green or regular, or albino...they are the same species) you would have to watch what if anything went with them.  Tank size would determine this, plus the nature of the other intended species.  In other words, this is not a good community fish.
 
Byron.

 

[Zante]

Agreed. If you decide to go for tiger barbs (beautiful fish) I'd go for a species tank.

 

[NeonSagaris]

Yeah, the initial list is just some fish that I'm currently interested in so they're not all meant for coexistence necessarily. Though I did read recently that green barbs are non-aggressive and are good for communities; is this wrong? I know regular tiger barbs are more aggressive, I just assumed from that that the greens are more tame. But I am thinking that I would quite like a one species tank - the idea of a big school of fish really appeals to me. Though I am thinking that I would like some cory species too, panda or pygmy perhaps, and maybe some otos.