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400+l Stocking Plan B

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Offline MarquisMirage

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400+l Stocking Plan B
« on: November 16, 2016, 09:07:51 PM »
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With a new tank coming up in January I'd like it to be a community tank in more ways than one.  From now to January I'll post ideas I've got for fish, equipment, plants, and hardscape for your input.  Hopefully, with your help. I can avoid most catastrophes. http://forums.thinkfish.co.uk/Smileys/default/smiley.gif

To start with is this stocking plan:
20 x Celestial Pearl Danio (Danio margaritatus)   21-24 C   7-8 pH  2.1cm
12 x Platy (Xiphophorus maculatus) (m/f ratio of 1/3)   20-26 C  7.0-8.5  7cm
20 x Scarlet Badis (Dario Dario)  22-24 C   6.5-8   3cm
10 x Oto (Otocinclus vittatus)   21-28 C   5.5-7.5   4cm
6 x Denisoni Barb (Puntius denisonii)   18-25 C   6.8-7.8  12cm
6 x Sterbai Cory (Corydoras sterbai)   24.4-26.7 C   6.5-7.6   7cm
10 x White Cloud Mountain Minnow (Tanichthys albonubes)   15-22 C   6.0-7.0   3cm
1 x Flash Pleco (Panaque sp.)   24.0-30.0 C   6.5-8.4   13cm

Ideally the tank will be kept at 24 C and 7.5 pH.

This plan is all about shoals.  The really controversial fish here is the Denisoni Barb for which some sites (inc. this one) say no because of size while others (like aqadvisor) say no problem.   I'm not too keen to provide a smorgasbord for a large fish so what do you think?  Is there a large (up to 15cm) fish that can be kept with the smaller fish maybe a mid-size gourami like a pearl?  Opinions please.  The tank is a few months off so don't be afraid of hurting my feelings.  http://forums.thinkfish.co.uk/Smileys/default/grin.gif
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Offline fcmf

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Re: 400+l Stocking Plan A
« Reply #1 on: November 16, 2016, 09:47:16 PM »
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Great to see that you're taking into account temp ranges, PH suitability, size, etc. Another aspect to bear in mind, and probably more important than PH, is how hard your water is - your water company website should be able to tell you the exact measurement and unit of measurement (in degrees Clark/French/German). You could then cross-check your proposed fish against Seriously Fish profiles which are similar to Thinkfish's Fish Profiles but give a more precise range of hardness, and convert the unit of measurement accordingly to see if they're appropriate. Having said that, there was a discussion in a recent thread in the past few days about this very issue.

Also great to see that you're taking into account and thinking about adequate sized shoals.

My immediate concern about the Denison's barb (which I think are beautiful) is that, because of their size, they may end up making a meal out of the smaller-sized fish. Others may be able to comment more on this, however, and perhaps suggest an alternative. Would cherry barbs be to your interest at all? Pencilfish are vaguely similar-looking to Denison's barb (especially the beautiful coral red pencilfish) but smaller, so perhaps another alternative.


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Offline ColinB

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Re: 400+l Stocking Plan A
« Reply #2 on: November 17, 2016, 07:58:24 AM »
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I like the planning.

My only initial point would be the Platies. They make rabbits look like amateurs when it comes to breeding and you'll either be knee deep in platy fry... or you'll be providing lots of snacks for the other inhabitants. :-\
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A Selection of Fish in my Fish Community Creator Tanks
Panda Cory (7) - Honey Gourami (3) - Ember Tetra (9) - Lemon Tetra (4) - Cherry Barb (1) - Otocinclus (2) -
Note: The user may not necessarily own these fish, these are tanks that they may be building or researching for stocking purposes

Offline MarquisMirage

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Re: 400+l Stocking Plan A
« Reply #3 on: November 17, 2016, 09:20:06 AM »
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I checked my water hardness again, fcmf.  I remembered it as being 10 dH German but it's actually 8 dH so I'm glad you suggested it.  The red coral pencilfish is a lovely looking fish but needs really soft water.  Cherry barbs are nice but too small to fill a denisoni sized hole.

The water hardness means that platies, ColinB, are off the menu too as they need harder water than that.  All other fish in my op are within range.  I wanted a fish with solid looking colours in that slot.

Good advice so far but lost both of the shoals with larger sized fish that aren't bottom dwellers.  I accept a denisoni sized fish may be out of the question.  What fish around 6-10 cm can we replace them with?  I'll trawl seriously fish later on today.



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Offline Matt

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Re: 400+l Stocking Plan A
« Reply #4 on: November 18, 2016, 06:39:16 AM »
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Barbs and rainbow fish would be where I'd be looking for something to meet your requirements... Different rainbow fish have quite different hardness requirements FYI.
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Offline Richard W

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Re: 400+l Stocking Plan A
« Reply #5 on: November 18, 2016, 07:46:37 AM »
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I wouldn't put Celestial Pearl danios in a large tank with lots of bigger fish. They would probably be intimidated and might struggle to get their share of food, mine are very shy.  The same would apply to Scarlet Badis, they are very small fish, they don't shoal but are territorial, you would probably find they hide away. Odessa barbs are nice looking fish of a fair size which would make a good shoal. You have no tetras at all on your list, but they are some of the best shoaling fish going, with loads of choices. Also Harlequins are a fish I'd never be without.
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Offline MarquisMirage

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Re: 400+l Stocking Plan A
« Reply #6 on: November 19, 2016, 06:53:37 PM »
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All good advice.  I've found alternatives for the denisoni barb but don't think it will help now.  The aim of Plan A was to get shoaling fish in a range of sizes for contrast.  This, I now think, is not possible with the fish I had in mind.  Learning is part of the hobby so I'll take the new knowledge and come up with a Plan B which I'll post in a couple of days. 
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Offline MarquisMirage

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Re: 400+l Stocking Plan B
« Reply #7 on: November 20, 2016, 12:39:13 PM »
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10 x Oto (Otocinclus vittatus)   21-28 C   5.5-7.5   4cm
6 x Sterbai Cory (Corydoras sterbai)  24.4-26.7 C   6.5-7.6   7cm
1 x Flash Pleco (Panaque sp.)   24.0-30.0 C   6.5-8.4   13cm
14 x Lemon Tetra (Hyphessobrycon pulchripinnis)   20 – 28 °C   5.0 – 7.5  4cm
10 x Neon dwarf rainbowfish (Melanotaenia praecox)   22-28 C   6.0-7.0   8cm
10 x Hikari 'Danio' (Brachydanio sp. 'hikari')  18 – 26 °C   6.5 – 7.5   6.5cm
10 x Dwarf Gourami (Trichogaster lalius)  22 – 27°C  6.0 – 7.5  8.8cm

Taking all the advice from Plan A on board this is Plan B.  Spot any problems with this one?
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Offline Sue

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Re: 400+l Stocking Plan B
« Reply #8 on: November 20, 2016, 02:08:55 PM »
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Just 2 comments  :)

otos - wait till the tank has been running a while and has grown a lot of algae.

dwarf gouramis - these fish are often infected with dwarf gourami disease. And males tend to be very territorial. Your tank is big enough for more than one male but make sure you have plants/decor that reach to the surface to give the males boundary markers, and to break up their line of sight. They are also well known for killing females if the male is 'in the mood' and she isn't. Always have more females than males.
If you don't want to risk dwarf gourami disease, look at thick lipped gouramis, Trichogaster labiosa. Slightly bigger but much less disease prone.
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Offline Richard W

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Re: 400+l Stocking Plan B
« Reply #9 on: November 21, 2016, 07:41:35 AM »
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You could also consider Honey gourami instead of dwarf, there are so many people reporting problems with dwarfs.
Glad to see you want Lemon tetras, they are often overlooked in shops because they just look like boring silver fish, but once they are settled in they show their true colours and are very attractive. They are also very robust and completely trouble free.
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Offline MarquisMirage

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Re: 400+l Stocking Plan B
« Reply #10 on: November 23, 2016, 09:33:05 PM »
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Honey gourami was one of the fish on my shortlist so I'd happily swap with the dwarves.  I think that completes the list.  Thank you all. :)
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Offline fcmf

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Re: 400+l Stocking Plan B
« Reply #11 on: November 23, 2016, 09:54:16 PM »
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Excellent. :cheers:

Looking forward very much to seeing pics once all the fish are purchased and settled in.
:fishy1:
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Offline Littlefish

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Re: 400+l Stocking Plan B
« Reply #12 on: November 23, 2016, 10:05:56 PM »
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Very exciting.  ;D

Best of luck with getting the fish settled and please post lots of pictures.
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