Toss Ideas Around For A New 125G Community!

[Brahmza]

Hey everyone. I'm starting a new community and am looking for advice on further stocking. It's a 125G tank, PH at 7.4. Here's what I've already decided on - -

2 Super Red Severums (My centerpiece most likely)
5 Turquoise Rainbows
5 Lake Tebera Rainbows
10 Denisons Barbs
10 Syndontis Petricola

Not sure how full my tank is going to be with this stocking list, but I was thinking maybe adding a PN pleco, possibly cutting back the petricolas and getting a small shoal of clown loaches, maybe adding a pair of bolivian rams, or a school of tiger barbs, I'm really not too sure. Help me connect the dots!

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Tank dimensions?
 
Your Denisons Barbs do not suit that stocking at all, they are not mainstream tropical fish, keeping them permanently at ~24C will knock chunks off their lifespan (doing very well to live 5 years instead of 8). These fish typically need a heaterless tank, that is 15-20C for a good proportion of the year, only reaching upto ~24C for a brief "summer season."

 

[Brahmza]

Tank dimensions are 72"x24"x18".

I've done a bit of research on the fish I've chosen above, and my water will be kept at 22C. Is that really a deal-breaker on the fish?
 
Edit: I was also playing with the idea of a clown loach shoal. Would that be possible? (Instead of the petricolas)

 

[haleem8777]

i would up the numbers of the rainbow to about 6 possibly 8. i think the synodontis would be better than the clown loach as the clown loach get really big.

 

[Brahmza]

Yeah, I wasn't sure if the tanks footprint would be large enough for a full shoal of clowns. Petricolas would be the safest choice I suppose. As for the rainbows...who wouldn't want a few more?

And if the Denisons won't work, what is another sort of 'schooling' fish that could take it's place in the tank?

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Clown Loaches would need 25C as an absolute minimum, a group of 10+ (to form a complex hierarchy) would love the space your tank offers.
 
While 22C is better than 25C, it will still have the barbs metabolic rate at a heightened level, which will affect their lifespan to some extent. In a tank stocking like you already have, Giant Danios for example would be a far better choice over Denisons.
 
Conversely, 22C is little low for any fish from Lake Tanganyika, including Synodontis petricola (and more likely to be S. lucipinnis, but true S. petricola do appear in the trade from time to time).
 
Something else to think about here are the conditions these fish come from...
Clown Loaches enjoy a good strong current (10-20x real turnover), wild specimens coming from quite soft water
Denisons Barbs love a strong current too, but they need cooler conditions, which in turn raises oxygen levels
Lake Katubu/Terbera Rainbowfish need hard water, coming from lakes with very little water movement, needing big 50% or more weekely water changes to stay healthy
Severums are a softer water species, found in the calmer parts of rivers
Synodontis petricola come from very hard water, in a lake with very little flow

 

[Brahmza]

Alright, so the clowns WOULD work in my tank? I've heard great things about them, but have never been able to experience them for myself hah. I'm already invested in the Sevs, and am more concerned with building a tank around them in the end. I plan on having more filtration than required, and at least one powerhead to have a decent water flow.
I have also heard of people keeping a single Blue Jack Dempsey in with Severums, which would be awesome, but I'm skeptical because the regular Jack Dempsey is notorious for its aggression.
Are there other species of rainbows that come from softer water, and might be able to handle a moderate current?

By the way, thanks for all the info. It's hard to just read articles and bios.