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Stocking Advice

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Offline Andrea

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Stocking advice
« on: May 28, 2014, 12:23:38 AM »
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Hi Everyone :)
So I'm not totally new to fish keeping, but I thought that seeing as I'm asking for advice on stocking new tanks I'd post in here. For the last couple of years I've kept a beautiful community tank with pearl gouramis, rams, cories, otos and harlequin rasboras. I'm set to move overseas next week so sadly I've had to give my tank to a friend. I will just be renting the place I'm moving to, so don't want a huge tank that will then be a pain to move when I buy a place. I have a couple of tank ideas in mind and was hoping that somebody would be able to tell me if they will work or not.
Firstly, I was thinking of getting a 30ish gallon tank where I would keep some male guppies (have always loved them), otos and some cories. I know guppies like quite hard water but I was told by the fish shop that the cories and otos would be fine with this? If this set up would work, how many guppies could I get? I won't be getting any females because I really don't want babies.
Secondly, I thought I would get a 50ish gallon tank and have a couple of different species of barb, a rainbow shark and maybe a bristlenose pleco or two. I've never kept any of these fish, but have always really liked barbs and heard the shark could go with them. Any advice for this set up would be greatly appreciated :)
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Offline ColinB

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Re: Stocking advice
« Reply #1 on: May 28, 2014, 08:07:45 AM »
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Hello, and welcome to the forum, Andrea.

For your second choice of tank, I think that looks really good - with one exception. The barbs and shark would want a good flow in the tank, so an oversized external filter with the flow in at one side and the out at the other would be good. Seriously Fish has a good profile on the Rainbow Shark here.

However; it does say: Other bottom-dwelling fishes including cichlids and most catfish are best avoided as they may too be picked on. For the upper levels choose robust, active, schooling cyprinids. Ideally the Epalzeorhynchos should be the final addition to the tank in order to avoid it claiming ownership of the entire space..... so a Shark plus a Pleco are probably to be avoided.

The temperature would need to be watched - a lot of the barbs that like flowing water also like the temperature to be on the cooler side. I was planning on a similar tank, but with just barbs and perhaps some Danios or White Cloud Mountain Minnows as they too appreciate a tank with water flow. I would then keep this as a temperate tank and let it follow room temp, with perhaps a heater in there set to 18ºC just over winter.

Hope this helps a bit.
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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 Andrea

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Re: Stocking advice
« Reply #2 on: May 28, 2014, 11:01:55 PM »
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Thank you so much for your advice :)
Cool, I'll avoid the pleco which is fine because I'm planning to have one when I finally get my huge community aquarium anyway :) Are there any species of barb that would be particularly good in this set up or any that I should absolutely avoid? I particularly like tiger barbs, denison barbs and golden barbs but don't know very much about any of them at this stage.
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Offline ColinB

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Re: Stocking advice
« Reply #3 on: May 29, 2014, 08:11:18 AM »
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I'd avoid Denison barbs - they're very active and perhaps too big for your tank. Also, they need cool (15-20ºC), well oxygenated and fast flowing water while the Shark needs 23ºC minimum.

Are you sure you really want a Rainbow Shark? Here's a few comments:

Compatibility: Do not keep with members of its own kind or any other kind of 'shark' unless there is plenty of space for both fish to establish territory and so they aren't in constant sight of each other. This fish can also be somewhat aggressive to other fish, especially other fish that live in the bottom strata. May also nip fins, but doesn't make it a habit like a tiger barb.
Decoration: This fish loves caves. Provide at least 2 caves, each on opposite sides of the tank. They will sleep in their cave. A cave of wood or rocks will make the fish feel secure. If shelter is not provided they'll take to any tight fitting secure place, including behind the heater, so provide a few caves to make them happy. Planted tanks also make this fish feel more secure, so a few plants are a plus ***CAUTION: will eat some plants, hungry or not*** Make sure the plants have relatively thick leaves, anubias or Java fern works well. The more secure the fish feels, the less aggression its likely to show. Badman's Tropical Fish

The Rainbow Shark is a freshwater cyprinid that comes from Thailand and may not be a good choice for a community tank. The Rainbow Shark likes to stake out their own territory in the tank. This territory can be in the form of small caves, rocks and even plants. They will become aggressive with smaller fish that invade this territory. Only keep one Rainbow Shark in your tank because they will not tolerate another Rainbow or Red Tail Sharks in the same tank. They may exist together for awhile, but one will end up chasing the other relentlessly until the other succumbs....... You will need a good tight fitting hood with no escape points because the Rainbow Shark has been known to jump out of the tank.......This fish can become aggressive with other, smaller fish in your tank that invade its territory.......Because of their temperament it is a good idea to house them with similar sized fish. Fishlore

The trouble with mixing barbs in with the Shark is that most barbs like to nose around at the bottom of the tank looking for food... and this is Shark territory!!
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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 Andrea

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Re: Stocking advice
« Reply #4 on: May 30, 2014, 12:27:18 AM »
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I would love a shark because I want a bit of a challenge and I've always liked them but couldn't keep one in my community tank for obvious reasons. I'm happy to keep just one though, and to provide lots of plants and caves for it if that's what it requires. Do you think they can't work with barbs though? I kind of figured that barbs would make good tank mates because they can take care of themselves. If you think that they have a chance of being picked on or hurt though, I'll have another think about it.
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Offline ColinB

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Re: Stocking advice
« Reply #5 on: May 30, 2014, 07:55:43 AM »
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From the little I've read about sharks then each one has it's own 'personality'. You may get a more laid back one or you may get a complet 'terror-of-the-tank' one. The more space you give it, the more caves and broken lines of sight you hardscape into the tank then the better it will be. I would think it would be best to put larger, faster and top of the tank fish in with it.

SeriouslyFish says: Some individuals are more belligerent than others....... Other bottom-dwelling fishes including cichlids and most catfish are best avoided as they may too be picked on. For the upper levels choose robust, active, schooling cyprinids. Ideally the Epalzeorhynchos should be the final addition to the tank in order to avoid it claiming ownership of the entire space.

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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 Andrea

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Re: Stocking advice
« Reply #6 on: June 01, 2014, 03:24:51 AM »
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Okay, cool :) do you have any suggestions for fish that will stay near the top of the tank and not be bothered by the shark? I do really like barbs so i guess my other option would be to forgo the shark? I don't want to risk putting incompatible fish together.
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