Which Fish?

WoodyAqua · Nov 17, 2008

Hi my current setup is a 60litre tank with live plants and the following fish:

1x female Opaline gourami
2x female Kribensis
3x Serpea Tetras
5x male Guppys
1x Upside down Catfish
1x Khuli loach
2x Shrimps

I am upgrading to a fluval vicenza 180litre tank, once the tank is cycled i will add these fish what additions would you recommend, if any? and do you see any problems with my current setup/fish choice?? I am quite new to fish keeping but my tank/fish seem happy and healthy.

Comments appreciated

Davo86 · Nov 17, 2008

Hi,
firstly i would add another 3 Serpae Tetras (or remove the 3 you have atm) adult Serpaes can be very fin nippy and with guppys and opaline gouramis you may end up with a lot of ripped fins at some point in the future.

Also keep an eye on the 2 female kribs, do any show signs of maturity yet? i.e. deep purple stomachs, mature females don't usually tolerate each other at all,

With regards to additions, what is your preference, i.e. number of shoals, individual or pairs of species, livebearers etc etc.

atm I would maybe look to add something like cories for the bottom, a shoal of hatchetfish for the top and say two angels as a centrepiece

WoodyAqua · Nov 17, 2008

Davo86 said:
Hi,
firstly i would add another 3 Serpae Tetras (or remove the 3 you have atm) adult Serpaes can be very fin nippy and with guppys and opaline gouramis you may end up with a lot of ripped fins at some point in the future.

Also keep an eye on the 2 female kribs, do any show signs of maturity yet? i.e. deep purple stomachs, mature females don't usually tolerate each other at all,

With regards to additions, what is your preference, i.e. number of shoals, individual or pairs of species, livebearers etc etc.

atm I would maybe look to add something like cories for the bottom, a shoal of hatchetfish for the top and say two angels as a centrepiece

The tetras seem fine at the moment not nipping at all, u say this may happen in adulthood, they are about an inch long at moment including tail, would these b adults?

So much for LFS advice i was goin to get a male and female krib but asked the guy if 2 females woulf be ok as i prefered the colours..! One Has pinky purple belly the other very slightly pink.. Would u recommend taking one back and swapping it for a male?

In regards to additions definately a shoal or 2, i enjoy the colourful fish such as the cribs.

Thanks

Davo86 · Nov 17, 2008

It is quite suprising that the serpaes haven't nipped anything already and that the kribs are living together peacefully? you must have a well structured setup where lines of sight are very much broken up? or maybe your fish are just very well behaved?

if it is colourful shoals you like then I'd say Rainbows are likely to be your best option; Boesmani, Lake Kutubu or Red iranian Rainbows are commonly found and are definitely not short of colour.

WoodyAqua · Nov 17, 2008

Davo86 said:
It is quite suprising that the serpaes haven't nipped anything already and that the kribs are living together peacefully? you must have a well structured setup where lines of sight are very much broken up? or maybe your fish are just very well behaved?

if it is colourful shoals you like then I'd say Rainbows are likely to be your best option; Boesmani, Lake Kutubu or Red iranian Rainbows are commonly found and are definitely not short of colour.

My guppys pretty much stay at the top of the tank and the serpeas flitter round mid low level so dont really go near each other as for the gourami think they would be brave to have a go as she is 3times there size and is a bit of a bully herself sometimes chasing my kribs around which is quite frustrating hopefully the bigger tank will solve this?

The kribs have only been in the tank 2days so maybe behavour will change.

How many rainbows would you suggest for a shoal?

Piltdownpaul · Nov 17, 2008

I had 6 serpae tetras and they slaughtered each other and my guppies and even took on my cories. And i had a heavily planted tank,they have a reputation,be prepared to move them if they do cause havoc.

tenohfive · Nov 17, 2008

Quick tip (as I've no experience with kribs or serpae's) - don't believe what your LFS tell you. There are exceptions but alot of people are given bad advice by LFS employee's, so its much better to do your own research - by posting on here and reading up on a fish - before you buy. You'll save yourself a lot of heartache in the long run that way.

Good luck with your stocking list.

Davo86 · Nov 17, 2008

WoodyAqua said:
The kribs have only been in the tank 2days so maybe behavour will change.

How many rainbows would you suggest for a shoal?

Ah, once the kribs settle in then you may see a different side to them.
I would get about 4-6 Rainbows,

WoodyAqua · Nov 17, 2008

Thanx guys im gonna take back 1 of the female kribs and replace with a male just in case, any advice on stopping my gourami from chasing the kribs?

Davo86 · Nov 17, 2008

WoodyAqua said:
Thanx guys im gonna take back 1 of the female kribs and replace with a male just in case, any advice on stopping my gourami from chasing the kribs?

At this moment in time the opaline Gourami is clearly the dominant fish in the tank and sees the kribs as intruders into its tank,
If you give the kribs a week to settle in, you won't need to do anything IMO, either the gourami will accept them or more likely the Kribs will suddenly stop fleeing and turn and show the gourami whos boss and they will become the dominant species in the tank.

I know my kribs certainly wouldn't let a pesky gourami chase them around.

AdAndrews · Nov 17, 2008

woweee cod5 is out 2day cool guys!

Honeythorn · Nov 17, 2008

Argh, I ended up with a couple of female Kribs ( I thought I had a M&F ...WRONG!!! ) They HATED eachother within about 4 months! In the end I had to give one to my brother as she was so stressed fom being picked on that she turned completely grey and hid in a corner all day!.

Males are easy to spot ( as I have since learned ) by their much longer and pointier dorsal fin.