Tropical Fish Forum » Tropical Fish Keeping Help and Advice » General Fishkeeping advice » 400+l Stocking Plan B

400+l Stocking Plan B

« previous next »
Pages: [1]   Go Down

Author Topic: 400+l Stocking Plan B  (Read 8259 times) 12 replies

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline MarquisMirage

  • Super Subscriber!
  • Rocking Fishy Member
    • *
  • Posts: 321
  • Likes: 17
  • aka Mark
400+l Stocking Plan B
« on: November 16, 2016, 09:07:51 PM »
  • Likes On This Users Post 0
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
Logged

Offline fcmf

  • Global Moderator Subscriber
  • Superstar Think Fishy Member
    • *
  • Posts: 3853
  • Likes: 281
  • [PicCredit: @NiloSinnatamby]
Re: 400+l Stocking Plan A
« Reply #1 on: November 16, 2016, 09:47:16 PM »
  • Likes On This Users Post 0
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.


Logged

Offline ColinB

  • Superstar Think Fishy Member
    • *
  • Posts: 1787
  • Likes: 52
Re: 400+l Stocking Plan A
« Reply #2 on: November 17, 2016, 07:58:24 AM »
  • Likes On This Users Post 0
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. :-\
Logged
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

  • Super Subscriber!
  • Rocking Fishy Member
    • *
  • Posts: 321
  • Likes: 17
  • aka Mark
Re: 400+l Stocking Plan A
« Reply #3 on: November 17, 2016, 09:20:06 AM »
  • Likes On This Users Post 0
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.



Logged

Offline Matt

  • @scapeeasy on Instagram
  • Global Moderator
  • Superstar Think Fishy Member
    • *
  • Posts: 2786
  • Likes: 307
Re: 400+l Stocking Plan A
« Reply #4 on: November 18, 2016, 06:39:16 AM »
  • Likes On This Users Post 0
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.
Logged

Offline Richard W

  • Superstar Think Fishy Member
    • *
  • Posts: 867
  • Likes: 34
Re: 400+l Stocking Plan A
« Reply #5 on: November 18, 2016, 07:46:37 AM »
  • Likes On This Users Post 0
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.
Logged

Offline MarquisMirage

  • Super Subscriber!
  • Rocking Fishy Member
    • *
  • Posts: 321
  • Likes: 17
  • aka Mark
Re: 400+l Stocking Plan A
« Reply #6 on: November 19, 2016, 06:53:37 PM »
  • Likes On This Users Post 0
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. 
Logged

Offline MarquisMirage

  • Super Subscriber!
  • Rocking Fishy Member
    • *
  • Posts: 321
  • Likes: 17
  • aka Mark
Re: 400+l Stocking Plan B
« Reply #7 on: November 20, 2016, 12:39:13 PM »
  • Likes On This Users Post 0
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?
Logged

Offline Sue

  • Global Moderator Subscriber
  • Superstar Think Fishy Member
    • *
  • Posts: 9886
  • Likes: 406
Re: 400+l Stocking Plan B
« Reply #8 on: November 20, 2016, 02:08:55 PM »
  • Likes On This Users Post 0
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.
Logged

Offline Richard W

  • Superstar Think Fishy Member
    • *
  • Posts: 867
  • Likes: 34
Re: 400+l Stocking Plan B
« Reply #9 on: November 21, 2016, 07:41:35 AM »
  • Likes On This Users Post 0
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.
Logged

Offline MarquisMirage

  • Super Subscriber!
  • Rocking Fishy Member
    • *
  • Posts: 321
  • Likes: 17
  • aka Mark
Re: 400+l Stocking Plan B
« Reply #10 on: November 23, 2016, 09:33:05 PM »
  • Likes On This Users Post 0
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. :)
Logged

Offline fcmf

  • Global Moderator Subscriber
  • Superstar Think Fishy Member
    • *
  • Posts: 3853
  • Likes: 281
  • [PicCredit: @NiloSinnatamby]
Re: 400+l Stocking Plan B
« Reply #11 on: November 23, 2016, 09:54:16 PM »
  • Likes On This Users Post 0
Excellent. :cheers:

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

Offline Littlefish

  • Global Moderator Subscriber
  • Superstar Think Fishy Member
    • *
  • Posts: 4076
  • Likes: 330
  • aka Donna
Re: 400+l Stocking Plan B
« Reply #12 on: November 23, 2016, 10:05:56 PM »
  • Likes On This Users Post 0
Very exciting.  ;D

Best of luck with getting the fish settled and please post lots of pictures.
Logged
Pages: [1]   Go Up
« previous next »
Tags:
Tropical Fish Forum » Tropical Fish Keeping Help and Advice » General Fishkeeping advice » 400+l Stocking Plan B
 


Assess Tankmates In The Tropical Fish Community Creator


Topics that relate to "400+l Stocking Plan B"

  Subject - Started by Replies Last post
4 Replies
9306 Views 		Last post January 17, 2014, 06:45:59 PM
by Sue
6 Replies
6792 Views 		Last post March 12, 2014, 08:04:46 AM
by ColinB
6 Replies
7797 Views 		Last post April 17, 2014, 12:28:08 PM
by ColinB
6 Replies
8226 Views 		Last post June 01, 2014, 03:24:51 AM
by Andrea
2 Replies
6821 Views 		Last post August 06, 2014, 07:36:13 AM
by Richard W
8 Replies
11186 Views 		Last post February 07, 2020, 07:41:55 PM
by Sue
7 Replies
202106 Views 		Last post August 04, 2024, 03:55:34 PM
by Sue

Sitemap 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 
Tropical Fish Keeping Help and Advice
Tropical Fish Keeping Help and Advice
Tropical Fish Keeping Product Reviews
Tropical Fish Market Place
Tropical Fish Keeping Community
Think Fish © 2004-2022 | Tropical Fish Forum - Everything you need for your Tropical Fish hobby
Legal | Contact Follow Think Fish on: