While Waiting For The Cycle....

[muzzy]

Hi All

I thought i would take the time to look in to what fish i could get. Not as easy as i was hoping though.

Right.... I know looks aren't everything but these are the fish i like the look of

Fancy Guppy's, Neon Tetra's, Swordtails, Zebra Danios, Tiger Barbs and Siamese Fighting Fish.

The tank i worked out to be about 33 UK Gallons and 39 US Gallons so if i worked this out right i can have no more than about 16 fish this may vary slightly (please correct me if you think this is way off). I also worked this out by UK and not US Gallons just in case.

If i was to have the fighter would it be wise to add Tiger barbs knowing that they fin nip? Ive read that if they are in groups of about 6 they are less likely to nip or substituting them for Pentazona barbs might be an idea.

This one will be down to personal preference but what do people recommend Guppy's, Neon's or Danios? I cant really decide....

Now i bet you thinking what about the plecs!! don't worry i didn't forget them. I was thinking of getting 2 but not sure if that's to many for the tank. Either that or if its possible maybe 1 plec and some ghost shrimp? I presume the one inch per gallon rule would apply to them as well?

Last one..... does anyone know if there would be any reason not to put say Danios and Neons or Neons and Guppy's together? I was thinking of mixing them together.

Any help would be appreciated and again sorry for asking, i know you all probably get this a lot.

Muzzy

 

[nukeonekitty]

I would go with cardinal tetras considering they are a little more hardy compared to neons. As for plecos you could get a bn pleco because they stay small (about 4 inches). Tiger barbs really don't stop fin nipping until you get upwards of 10 IMHO. I don't see any problems with mixing those fish though, they are all friendly, small community fish.

 

[stang1]

If you get a Siamese fighter you are best keeping him in a small tank by himself. He wouldn't mix well with the guppies, he'd be likely to attack them as they are similar looking and he'd see them as a threat. Also, there's a good chance that the neons, barbs and danios would nip at him and damage his fins.
I agree with nukeonekitty on the Bristlenose Plecs, they don't get really big so you could probably get away with two.
As for guppies and neons, I'm not sure if you would have the same problem with fin nipping so you might be best with neons and danios.

 

[leecara]

I was also looking for a small plec, what is a bn pleco, sounds ideal and small.

 

[muzzy]

Thanks for the reply's guys!!

So..... If i go for the figher its best not to have guppy's and tiger barbs. I would like to have the figher in a community of fish are there any fish like the tetra's that wont be likely to nip? Failing that i may need to re-think about the figher....

About the bn pleco is it better to have 2 or is it ok for there to be only one?

Thanks again Muzzy

 

[Miss Wiggle]

it's really best to keep the fighter in a small tank alone, they're not really community fish. sometimes mixing them can work but more often than not it doesn't

you should work out your stocking as 1" of fish per us gallon.

so if your tank's 29g then you can have 29" of fish (worekd out on full adult size) there's a number of excpetions and other factors to consider but as a general guideline it works pretty well.

tiger barbs can be really vicious buggers, they work better with larger equally agressive fish ratehr than small community fish, something colourful like the fancy guppies is very likely to get nipped at and bullied.

guppies are very weak from years of inbreeding to get the fancy colours and tails.... if you get them then be very careful about where you buy your stock from and don't add them until the tanks at least 3/4 months old. also make sure you either get all males or at least 2 females to every male.

neons also weak for the same reasons as guppies so as above, cardinal tetra's look almost identical and are much harider so look into those instead make sure you get a group of at least 5.

swordtails you need all males/females or at least 2 females to every male.

danio's are a great fish to put in when your tank's new, they're really hardy, make sure you get a group of 5+

in generally most species of tetra's, danio's, rasbora's, guppies etc will live quite happily together. in your size tank i would be looking to stock something like

bristlenose plec - 4"
6 small cories like pandas - 6"
6 danio's - 6"
6 tetra's.... i'd go for something a little different like rummy noses - 6"
2 golden rams - 4"

that's just a little understocked and a nice level of fish, you've got activity in every level of the tank and different sizes of fish

 

[muzzy]

it's really best to keep the fighter in a small tank alone, they're not really community fish. sometimes mixing them can work but more often than not it doesn't

you should work out your stocking as 1" of fish per us gallon.

so if your tank's 29g then you can have 29" of fish (worekd out on full adult size) there's a number of excpetions and other factors to consider but as a general guideline it works pretty well.

tiger barbs can be really vicious buggers, they work better with larger equally agressive fish ratehr than small community fish, something colourful like the fancy guppies is very likely to get nipped at and bullied.

guppies are very weak from years of inbreeding to get the fancy colours and tails.... if you get them then be very careful about where you buy your stock from and don't add them until the tanks at least 3/4 months old. also make sure you either get all males or at least 2 females to every male.

neons also weak for the same reasons as guppies so as above, cardinal tetra's look almost identical and are much harider so look into those instead make sure you get a group of at least 5.

swordtails you need all males/females or at least 2 females to every male.

danio's are a great fish to put in when your tank's new, they're really hardy, make sure you get a group of 5+

in generally most species of tetra's, danio's, rasbora's, guppies etc will live quite happily together. in your size tank i would be looking to stock something like

bristlenose plec - 4"
6 small cories like pandas - 6"
6 danio's - 6"
6 tetra's.... i'd go for something a little different like rummy noses - 6"
2 golden rams - 4"

that's just a little understocked and a nice level of fish, you've got activity in every level of the tank and different sizes of fish

WOW Thank you Miss Wiggle!!

Really informative stuff!!

Its now looking like i wont be getting a figher then......

Would there be any problem going for Leopard Cories istead of Panda's?

 

[Miss Wiggle]

i'm not familiar with leopard cories myself, i suggested panda's as they're pygmy cories, there are other small cories though and in a tank your size you should try and get some of the smaller ones.

 

[Squid]

Pentazona barbs are nice peaceful fish, so replacing the tiger barbs with these would be a great idea.... I did the same...

Here they are..

Squid

 

[Underwurlde]

BTW, the Inches per Gallon 'rule' (a general rule) is based on US Gallons. (Good news then).

Another 'rule' out there that I have used is based on actual water surface area (inches squared) / 12 = total mature fish length (in inches).

Andy

(PS, that is from my VERY poor memory).

 

[muzzy]

Ive been looking and the Leopard Cory apparently when fully grown is about 2.5" to 3" so if this is right its could be an idea.

Squid!! how many do you have? and what is their temperment like? They look really nice btw!!

 

[Squid]

Ive been looking and the Leopard Cory apparently when fully grown is about 2.5" to 3" so if this is right its could be an idea.

Squid!! how many do you have? and what is their temperment like? They look really nice btw!!

They can be quite shy, and definately not aggressive in any way shape or form.. They live happily with my panda corys, cardinal tetras, otos and my BN Plec. I have 5 of them, and they definately are a shoaling fish. Every now and then they just shoot off round the tank following each other. These were one of the first fish i put in the tank, and i have had no problems or casualties with them either. Although the LFS said that may be prone to whitespot, I have had no problems with them. Even when i had a couple of newbie issues with a tiny bit of nitrite at the beginning.

Cheers
Squid

 

[Miss Wiggle]

Ive been looking and the Leopard Cory apparently when fully grown is about 2.5" to 3" so if this is right its could be an idea.

Squid!! how many do you have? and what is their temperment like? They look really nice btw!!

that's one of the larger cories then, the panda's stay around 1"

it's fine but just take the size of them into account when you work out your final stocking list

 

[Squid]

Ive been looking and the Leopard Cory apparently when fully grown is about 2.5" to 3" so if this is right its could be an idea.

Squid!! how many do you have? and what is their temperment like? They look really nice btw!!

that's one of the larger cories then, the panda's stay around 1"

it's fine but just take the size of them into account when you work out your final stocking list

and the fact that the pandas prefer a more mature tank.. i learnt that by bitter experience..

Squid

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yeah they do, i thought i'd said that earlier but i hadn't.... i certainly intended to sorry!

can i still use my post new years excuse d'you reckon?