Tropical Fish Forum
Tropical Fish Keeping Help and Advice => General Fishkeeping advice => Topic started by: Aquaaggie on February 07, 2020, 10:24:56 PM
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New to the group. And excited for some feedback.
Upgrading my 20g to a 60g. New set up is pictured. Have an Anubias nana with >20 leaves I’ll be splitting up to add plants. Also gonna make an order with aquarium co-op for some more plants to fill in some more. Definitely not heavily planted but maybe moderate? Have an aquasky 2.0 for lighting. Marineland penguin 350 beefed up with extra filtering pads. Looking for feedback and comments in general and on my stocking list. Major problems or subs? Overstocked?
pH 7.8, gH 9, 79.5 F
1x koi angel
2x Bolivian rams (would really like GBR but never have been very fortunate with them)
2x apisto cocatuoides
10x neon tetras
5x silver hatchets
1x gourami (pearl, honey, or dwarf?)
6x sterbai Cory
Loach school? Khuli or other
1x bristlenose
Also would snails and or shrimp be safe here?
Thanks and gig’em!
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Welcome! :wave:
I presume you're based in the USA, as you're referring to Aquarium Co-op and gallons? :) Great tank!
It's late here now in the UK but hopefully you'll get some responses from us over the weekend.
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Right you are. In Texas but heard great things about the site. Fingers crossed people see the post when they wake up in the morning
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Hi there @Aquaaggie and welcome to the forum. :wave:
We do have a few people on the forum from outside the UK, and I think it's great for us to have the opportunity to speak to people from different locations.
Your tank looks great, thanks for posting the picture. Are you enjoying setting up a larger tank? The larger size can give more choice in the sorts of fish you can have, which I enjoy. My tanks have got larger & larger over the past few years. ;D
I'm not experienced with all the fish you have on the list. I do have hatchets, black neon tetras, corys and a bristlenose in one tank and they are doing well together. I'm going to have to read up on the other fish before I can offer any opinion, but there are others on the forum who will be able to help you from experience.
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I'll make a couple of comments on your fish list, if I may.
Gouramis and angelfish shouldn't be kept together; they are similar size and shape, occupy the same area of the tank and are both territorial.
In 60 gallons, pearl gouramis would work well, honeys might look a bit tiny in that sized tank, and dwarf gouramis still have disease issues.
A group of pearl gouramis (1 male, 3 or 4 females) would look better than an angelfish in my opinion, but them I'm biased as I've just got some pearls ;D
I know it is a big tank with a big footprint, but I would chose one dwarf cichlid. With cockatoo cichlids you would have the option for 1 male and 3 or 4 females.
Loaches other than kuhlis should not be kept in the same tank as cories; it's frequently a bad outcome for the cories. But kuhli loaches would work
Snails would be fine. In the US you have more choice than we in the UK do as you can have apple (mystery) snails as well as nerites, ramshorns etc. Shrimps could be hit or miss. I've got cherry shrimps in my tank but some fish will eat them. if you like shrimps, get a few and see if they thrive.
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Could consider the larger amano shrimp. Less likely to be eaten by fish due to size.
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Hi there @Aquaaggie and welcome to the forum. :wave:
We do have a few people on the forum from outside the UK, and I think it's great for us to have the opportunity to speak to people from different locations.
Your tank looks great, thanks for posting the picture. Are you enjoying setting up a larger tank? The larger size can give more choice in the sorts of fish you can have, which I enjoy. My tanks have got larger & larger over the past few years. ;D
I'm not experienced with all the fish you have on the list. I do have hatchets, black neon tetras, corys and a bristlenose in one tank and they are doing well together. I'm going to have to read up on the other fish before I can offer any opinion, but there are others on the forum who will be able to help you from experience.
Thank you Littlefish. I’ve had the 20g for 7 years and hated all the times I had to tell myself “I can’t get that particular fish or more fish because the tank is too small. With this list I’m hoping to get full, active peaceful tank with fish I’ve always wanted. Would love to know if you find any info. I’ve tried pretty hard to research everyone. I get lots of differing opinions about angelfish and neon comparability and wide variety of opinions about Gouramis. It’s really hard to figure out what will work when there are so many different opinions. Fish are living creatures and I guess sometimes things work and sometimes they don’t.
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I'll make a couple of comments on your fish list, if I may.
Gouramis and angelfish shouldn't be kept together; they are similar size and shape, occupy the same area of the tank and are both territorial.
In 60 gallons, pearl gouramis would work well, honeys might look a bit tiny in that sized tank, and dwarf gouramis still have disease issues.
A group of pearl gouramis (1 male, 3 or 4 females) would look better than an angelfish in my opinion, but them I'm biased as I've just got some pearls ;D
I know it is a big tank with a big footprint, but I would chose one dwarf cichlid. With cockatoo cichlids you would have the option for 1 male and 3 or 4 females.
Loaches other than kuhlis should not be kept in the same tank as cories; it's frequently a bad outcome for the cories. But kuhli loaches would work
Snails would be fine. In the US you have more choice than we in the UK do as you can have apple (mystery) snails as well as nerites, ramshorns etc. Shrimps could be hit or miss. I've got cherry shrimps in my tank but some fish will eat them. if you like shrimps, get a few and see if they thrive.
Thanks so much Sue. The angel will win out over the gourami for me as it is one of the big reasons for the bigger tank. You are the first to bring up concerns about two pairs of dwarf cichlids in the same tank. I’m hoping with all the plants I plan on adding it will help, but certainly don’t want fighting.
I’m curious what you might suggest to replace the Gouramis with in the list? Thanks for addressing so many things it’s greatly appreciated.
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Thank you Littlefish. I’ve had the 20g for 7 years and hated all the times I had to tell myself “I can’t get that particular fish or more fish because the tank is too small. With this list I’m hoping to get full, active peaceful tank with fish I’ve always wanted. Would love to know if you find any info. I’ve tried pretty hard to research everyone. I get lots of differing opinions about angelfish and neon comparability and wide variety of opinions about Gouramis. It’s really hard to figure out what will work when there are so many different opinions. Fish are living creatures and I guess sometimes things work and sometimes they don’t.
Ah, I know what you mean about stopping yourself from getting fish because of the tank size. I took a slightly different approach, and ended up getting more tanks almost every time I saw a fish I liked. It all got a bit carried away, and I ended up with a lot of tanks. ;D
You will find a lot of different information, opinions, and experience available. There isn't one definitive answer. Knowledge, research, and technology have all moved one over the years, although there are still people successfully keeping fish with much older equipment and practices. There will always be people who have kept "unsuitable and incompatible" fish together without incident. There will be people who research suitable tank mates and still have problems because each fish is individual and you can't guarantee a fish is going to act as expected. It is hard to figure out what will work, and sometimes you have to go with what most people say, or go with the information from a trusted source, and/or have a back up plan (spare tank, or something) for if the fish don't get on.
It's not always easy, but it is always interesting. :)
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Think your middle paragraph sums up fishkeeping perfectly, @Littlefish - really well explained. :cheers: