What Next?

[ddgbumblebee]

Hi everyone,
I currently have a 350L planted tank that has been running excellently for the past 6 weeks. I was wondering what I would be able to stock next or whether my tank has reached its maximum capacity. First of all though, I had better let you all know what is already in there!;
- 27 Neon Tetras
- 10 Head & Tail Light Tetras
- 10 Black Phantom Tetras
- 3 Albino Corydoras Catfish
- 3 Bristlenose Plecostomus
- 2 Chinese Suckermouth (not sure of proper name)
There is also a random Khuli Loach that somehow made its way into my tank. I am personally leaning towards the Amazon species list with the tetras, corydoras and plecos (excluding the chinese suckermouths) and want to expand my tank in this area. I perform a 30% water change once a month and have never had any problems in doing so. Continuing with this routine, how many more fish can I stock and what species do you all recommend?

 

[Wills]

Hi sounds like a really nice tank Is it the corner one I used to have one of them a while ago nice tank but hard to clean at the back, I nearly fell in once

Stocking sounds nice and those big schools are great A bit of a warning on the chinese suckermouths, as they get towards adulthood they get really nasty and could pose a threat to your plecs inparticular so possibly consider rehoming them? Also the khulli loach if you dont want to keep a few more of them maybe rehome the lone one as well, though I can imagine the nightmare of trying to catch it in the 350 lol.

As for additions, how about a group of cories like the panda cories or something? Maybe like 12 panda cories and then 3 of their larger relatives the hoplo catfish for a bit of variance, these would do well in that tank as they wont eat your tetras but do get to a decent size and look pretty cool.

I would also consider some of the dwarf cichlids, though its a big tank most cichlids would pose a threat to your neons even angelfish will eat neons but some of the dwarfs are really nice fish. You could do a really nice group of Apistogramma Panduro - with 1 male and 4 or 5 females. The males are electric blue with a red tail and the females are bright yellow with black markings like a panda. Really stunning fish, the group will mainly stick around the bottom and the male gets to about 3 inches.

You could also consider a group of spotted headstanders for mid water great fish again gets a bit more size on them than the tetras.

I think at the moment your monthly water changes will be working well for the tank but as you increase your stock you need to increase the water changes as well. Ideally when at the higher end of the tanks stocking capacity you should be looking at about 30% per week. For big tanks this is a pain I know but there are a few easy methods you can use especially when you use pond pumps to get the water back into your tank rather than pouring it in. I swapped to this method last week and it was soooo easy well worth the money for the pump which was about £10

Wills

 

[ddgbumblebee]

Hi,
Firstly thanks for the quick reply and excellent recommendations. No, my tank isn't a corner one, however, that would have been a great fall you nearly experienced!
With the chinese suckermouths I've already noticed some aggression coming from my larger one towards the other smaller one. I think I might re-home them depending on how things go.........as for the Khuli loach though, I will try to catch it but I don't really think I'll succeed.
Funny you mention more Corydoras and Dwarf Cichlids because that was just exactly qhat I had in mind! What I like the idea of is adding another 7 Albino Corys and then adding 10 Panda Corys, would my stocking levels still be ok though? Hoplo Catfish are definately in; I have always wondered whether they were a peaceful species or not because I had seen them kept with in many different tanks and also had many mixed opinions. 3 of those will look great, especially because of their larger size.
As for the Apistogramma Panduro they sounhd amazing, however, I can't purchase them because my retailer doesn't sell them. What tey do have though is Apistogramma Trifasciata, would 1 male and 5 females of this species still suit my tank well?
Lastly, it definately makes a lot of sense to me to increase my water changes as I increase my stocking levels, the funny thing is that I don't actually mind performing water changes in fact sometimes I desperately want to do them. This is probably very weird I just enjoy it for some odd reason.
Thanks again for your support and great ideas!
D

 

[Wills]

Hi no probs

Is it the rena 350 you have? If the signs are starting with the suckers now I would just rehome now as they are a night mare.

Because of the small fish you have so far and the way that this tank is going to grow your going to easily be able to exceed the rule of inch per gallon very easily.

Hoplos are non predatory just highly defensive and active There are a lot of species in there so have a browse around the planetcatfish section on them and see which is your favorite My favorite is the flag tail catfish, my lfs has some in at the moment and I would have them if the rams they share a tank with didnt have white spot

The Trifastica would work well in the same way as would any of the apisto species, dont worry if the lfs does not have them in they might be able to order them in for you? A lot of the other dwarf cichlid species would work as well like cupid cichlids which get a little larger and do better in a group and if they were the focal species so to speak a big group of them around 7-9 would be amazing! Other species you could look at are things like Laetacara Dorsiger, Laetacara Curviceps, Laetacara sp. Buckelkopf, Nannacara Anomala, Keyhole cichlids and Bolivian Rams.

Wills

 

[ddgbumblebee]

Hi again,
I am going to rehome them shortly if anything gets any more out of hand. Overall though, I'm going to add 3 Hoplo Catfish, 7 Albino Corydoras, 10 Panda Corydoras and then around 9 or 10 Apistrogramma Trifasciata. I was also considering having a school of hatchetfish for the surface of my tank, perhaps a group of 6 Marbled Hatchetfish would be alright? All over would my tank be able to cope with this bio-load?
Thanks again in advance

 

[Carlovel1]

You should definately rehome the Chinese Algae Eater straight away, they are true monsters when older.
Marbled Hatchets are nicer in smaller tanks, in a 350 they may be too small, maybe Thoracocharax Sucuris/ Giant Hatchetfish would be better.I wouldnt add more than 10 fish in one go, you could buy the first 10 fish in one week , then the other 10 the next next week.

 

[ddgbumblebee]

I was just wondering from you how a fish can be too small for a tank? Just wondering if you could explain that concept to me. Thanks also for the advice with the adding, that's exactly what I'm going to be doing and yes I'm also going to rehome the chinese suckers right away.
Thanks again