Understocked

[Waterloo Kid]

I'm looking to increase the stocking level of my tank as I am having trouble getting my plants to grow. I continuously have nitate levels of 5ppm and below. I wnat something with character but it has to be able to live with live plants and small tetras. The biggest fish in the tank at the moment are four Keyholes at about 3.5 inches each. I'm looking for something that will grow up to 6-7 inches max and is compatible with my fish I have already.

Come on people, get your thinking caps on and fire off soem suggestions. I'm after two or three fish rather than a new shoal.

WK

 

[wer34]

get a red tailed shark, but only get 1 as they are agressive towards their own species, they grow to about 6 inches adn r very nice looking fish.

Nick

 

[TorPeteO]

If you're not looking for a lot more fish, why not just get more of what you've already got? Try and look for another 3 otos, or some more black neons. I think that would be pretty slick.

 

[MXPX4318]

or why not a school of cories? I love cories they're so energetic and fun to watch.

 

[Waterloo Kid]

Thanks for the suggestions paople. As I said I'm really after a few of something rather than more small fish. One thing I didn't mention is that I'd rather keep barbs and the sort out. I don't really like that sort of fish.
Cories are one of the fish I'd thought of. I'd need a load of them to make any difference to the nitrate readings in my tank. Maybe a group of 10! Can they deal with 5-7mm gravel?
Another thought I had was getting 4 small discus. That would give the tank a really nice focal point. My water is perfect for them. Or even a group of angel fish. Look nice in the vallis. My lfs has a number of medium wild long nose angels (dumerelli). Would any of my current crop of fish be in danger of becoming sushi?

WK

Edit:
Ignore Discus suggestion. Just thought it through properly. I'd need to raise the temp and the black neons are probably too active for Discus anyway.
Still, angels might be OK.

 

[x Fish x]

Pygmy cories! You must get Pygmy cories! They are the cutest little buggers ever, and since they are smaller than most cories you can get a lot more than if you were to get- say- Peppered or Albino cories. At least two Pygmies to a Peppered.

 

[sylvia]

Any tetras you have that are uder 1.5" and neon-shaped are likely candidates for a sushi snack... at least for adult angels. If you get young angels, there is less risk involved.

Have you considered gouramies? Moonlights grow to about 6", swim in the same sort of area as angels but are, IMO, much more interesting fish and won't munch on your tetras.

What about a small-ish plec? Golden nugget, bristlenose, bulldog, some kind of smaller peckoltia or panaque...

 

[modernhamlet]

I'll second the gourami suggestion. Pearls are amazing fish and look great in a planted tank.

If your keyholes aren't unusually aggressive and the tank footprint is pretty big, you might try a pair of rams.

An SAE might be a welcome addition as well. They're great community fish that move like a helicopter and eat many types of algae.

Hope that helps...

 

[Waterloo Kid]

I was going to put a couple of medium sized plecs in the tank to sort out my algae but as I seem to have that under control I gave up on the idea. Thanks for reminding me about the plecs! I was going to get three L128.
Pearl gouramis are indead very pretty fish. I happened to be admiring one in the lfs this weekend. I don't really want asian fish in the tank (OK ignore the rainbows, they were there before I decided this and they have bred since too ).
I am warming to the idea of a few small angels. I'm looking at about 2.5" height or so. They should not pose a threat to any of my fish. If they start playing up then I can always take them back to the shop. Are there any othe medium sized cichlids that I could choose from. I saw a few Cich. Nicaraguense that I think are fabulous but they're a bit large for my tank as it is. Maybe if I redo the tank some day!

WK

 

[sylvia]

Medium-sized? Well maybe not exactly medium-sized but what about bolivian rams or some kind of dwarf cichlid? There are so many to choose from and so much color and variation.

 

[jflowers]

Is it a typo in your sig where it says 1 zebra danio? If its not, you need another 5+ before getting anything else. [EDIT: a couple more dwarf rainbows would be good too]

Jon

 

[Waterloo Kid]

No it's not a typo. It's a remaining fish from a shoal that got broken down by a bacterial infection. I expected to loose him too but he hung on and is now ahn honorary member of the black neon shoal.
There are actually 8 rainbows, they bred and I have 4 juveniles in there now too. Must update the sig! In fact I'm going to do it now!

Bolivians, Hmmmm. Don't they prefer sandy substrate to sift through? I'll think about that. Thanks!

WK

 

[Fishy411]

well i have cories and a red tailed shark and the red tailed shark is absolutely amazing. Why not get both. I hyave 2 schools of 4 cories and 1 rts. It is awesome how the cories stay in their group. I recommend pygmy's. Mine are so personable and will eat pellets out of my hand.

My highest recommendation goes to .... the pictus catfish. Mine was always so spastic and active until i had to give it away. Im getting 3 more though and i am EXCITED!

 

[Crookster]

Why not give Discus a try, it'll mean really frequent water changes but they fit your description. They'll get to around 6-8 inches and are very peacfull cichlids.

Beatiful fish too!

 

[Waterloo Kid]

I would love some discus but I'd have to raise the water temp as it's at 25 C right now. My other fish and the plants probably wouldn't like that too much. Also, the black neons are really active and so would bother the discus I expect. Discus really do fit the bill but their needs are too specific for what is just a community setup. As far as water changes go, I'm sure they'd be fine with my current regime. My water quality always turns up fine. As I stated in my first post one of the reasons I want more fish is to actually INCREASE the nitrate levels in the tank slightly.

WK