Stocking Ideas

The Discus option was the one that didn't make sense to me.

Option 1 I think was they get on but depends on water parameters etc which make sense. Interesting about the gouramis, might find a home in Tank 1 for a couple.

Option 2 I can live without.

Option 5 is possible.

Option 4 I am learning more about cichlids. Have seen a lovely tank with Mbuna cichlids in, 20 in a 240 litre tank which I really like the look of. Possibly an option but doing a little bit more research.

I think I have sorted tank 1, 125 litres 80cm.

6 Cherry Barb
1 Dwarf Gourami
12 Harlequin Rasboras
10 Neon Tetras

Tank showing 75% capacity.

I did see something about that, will give the article a read.

A very interesting read @fcmf . Thanks. Seems it is extra important to check health of fish before purchase. Will have a think and keep honey gouramis in my thoughts as well.

15 angelfish sounds like a lot in a 200litre to me. I would be tempted to stick to less than 8 though will admit I’ve nothing currently to back this gut feeling up. Worth looking for specific angel fish stocking advice and space requirements per fish.

15 angelfish sounds like a lot in a 200litre to me. I would be tempted to stick to less than 8 though will admit I’ve nothing currently to back this gut feeling up. Worth looking for specific angel fish stocking advice and space requirements per fish.

Thanks @Matt I will do. Just used the community creator and that is what it told me for 75% capacity. But will definitely look into more

Tank 1 - needs more than 4 cories. They need at least 6 with more being better.

For tank 2 I would swap the Cherry Barbs for a species more similar in size to the other two. A Barb tank is a very active tank, and Cherries prefer a quiet peaceful tank. The others might be a little too active and ‘in their face’. Cherries prefer a quiet life, mulling around in and near the plant cover, while the others are more open water species.

You could buy one (female) livebearer, and the tank would soon become fully stocked.
All domestic mollies can hybridise with guppies...

Generally, SFF are not community fish and hence why they're recommended to be kept on their own (if male) or in a sorority (if female). Sometimes, a SFF may be ok in a tank with community fish - not ones that tend to nip fins, though - but it's a chance you'd be taking and down to the nature of the individual fish, so you'd need to have a back-up plan by way of being prepared to have a tank for him on his own if he doesn't get on with his tankmates or becomes intolerant of them over time. The other issue to bear in mind, though, is that SFF are generally soft water fish (range 1-15 dH), while mollies/platies are hard water fish (range 15-30 mollies, 10-30 platies) - if both were kept together, it's likely one or the other is not going to thrive and reach its life expectancy (esp as best to keep them close to middle of range).

Bear in mind that sources like Seriously Fish and INJAF and their recommendations (such as minimum tank size, suitable tankmates, etc) are 'bona fide', whereas there's a whole spectrum of very good and very poor advice from elsewhere (including LFSs and especially FB), dependent on who comments on a particular day, and some fishkeepers may take risks but not necessarily have fish that thrive. The key is to think through the logic or otherwise of any advice and also interpret it in the context of the 'bona fide' sources. Hope that's helpful. 

@Hampalong This is where my confusion with the internet confuses the hell out of me. Seriously Fish say 120cm, 255 litre tank as a minimum however Practical Fishkeeping magazine say 125 litre tank. Most of the forums and facebook pages I have visited (most Discus owners) seem to say 200 litres is fine. So I am now totally and utterly confused and frustrated.

Just imagine a 20cm diameter fish in 125 litres... no way is that a suitable home for an animal, would be like confining someone to one small room for the whole of their life.

Edit: sorry if that sounds a bit preachy it was intended to be a helpful similie but reading back I’m not sure it comes across as such!!

Not preachy (well not much )

.

I have read a lot on fish forums, a couple dedicated to keeping Discus, with some extremely experienced members, so I understand where you are coming from regarding differing opinions on an acceptable sized tank. I won't delve into that discussion however as the subject is a bit prickly.

I will say, it's one heck of a commitment to take Discus on though. I mean all fish are a commitment, but these guys are extremely demanding. I also feel the obsession by many Discus owners is to high volume feed them, and then of course the multiple water changes all in the quest to get the biggest, most vibrant fish. I don't know how healthy this actually is for them. I would definitely do a lot of reading about them if I was considering keeping them.

If nothing else it would be fascinating to look into further (just in general) 

Well more research has yielded more information. Two water changes a week is the norm, to keep water quality up. As for numbers 4-6 adults seems to be talked about a lot for my tank size. But will keep looking.

As for cichlid research, Dwarf Mbuna has been suggested to me, upto 20 for my 200 litre tank but need to look more into them. Most shops have them up as Malawi cichlids so not sure if they mean dwarf cichlids or not. But further research first.