14 Gallon tank stocking idea

[Fish4dawin]

Well I was looking at a discus or an African cichlid tank, I currently am doing water changes atleast twice a week so maintenance would not be an issue. I have soft water and this usually comes out about 5, so I believe this would probably be more suited for Discus.

Another factor, I was planning on keeping this in an outside garden room, this is insulated and has a heater so heating is not a problem (Would also have a tank heater as I believe they need about 28c) My only concern is the room has no windows so I hope it wouldn't get too hot out there in the summer, that being said I cant imagine it would get much above 28c, and I believe I could drop a bag of ice/ put a fan in there in the day to keep it cool if it ever gets to extremes.

Any suggestions are more than welcome though as the decision is giving me a bit of a headache at the moment.

Any suggestions for the warmth concern or fish stock?

If it's for warmth concern I would keep the window open for an hour or 2 and then shut it so that the tank can warm up. As you said, a fan is a good idea but not ice. Ice could plummet the temperature down too much so a fan is most likely a better option.

If you are to go with discus I would suggest getting 4-5 of them and monitor them for a while. They are a bit susceptible to disease sadly, so an angelfish community tank could be another option.

 

[Anonyfish]

Any suggestions for the warmth concern or fish stock?

If it's for warmth concern I would keep the window open for an hour or 2 and then shut it so that the tank can warm up. As you said, a fan is a good idea but not ice. Ice could plummet the temperature down too much so a fan is most likely a better option.

If you are to go with discus I would suggest getting 4-5 of them and monitor them for a while. They are a bit susceptible to disease sadly, so an angelfish community tank could be another option.

For fish stocking sorry, although noted Re. the bag of ice, I will definitely avoid doing this. I can leave a door open with blinds down to let fresh air in and keep sun off and a fan. Living in England, I cant imagine it would get too hot in there to manage.

Actually Angelfish was a thought that entered my mind late last night. I have read that they are susceptible to disease, and with them being more expensive I'm not sure I would have the budget for them anyway.

Are Angelfish relatively hardy? I have 2x German Blue Ram that I put in a tank that had only just cycled (Bad advice from fish store) however I have managed to keep these alive and well for 2 months, and they have even had a couple of goes at breeding (Unsuccessfully)

I probably prefer the Angelfish myself personally, Discuss were just in my head as my partner really likes them.

 

[Fish4dawin]

For fish stocking sorry, although noted Re. the bag of ice, I will definitely avoid doing this. I can leave a door open with blinds down to let fresh air in and keep sun off and a fan. Living in England, I cant imagine it would get too hot in there to manage.

Actually Angelfish was a thought that entered my mind late last night. I have read that they are susceptible to disease, and with them being more expensive I'm not sure I would have the budget for them anyway.

Are Angelfish relatively hardy? I have 2x German Blue Ram that I put in a tank that had only just cycled (Bad advice from fish store) however I have managed to keep these alive and well for 2 months, and they have even had a couple of goes at breeding (Unsuccessfully)

I probably prefer the Angelfish myself personally, Discuss were just in my head as my partner really likes them.

Rams and angels are good tank mates as the rams won't come up to the angels' level. I would suggest just 1 angel but if you want to go with 5-6 you should be ok. Reason I'm saying to go for 1 is that if one pair of angels out of the 6 that are in there spawn, the pair will actively kill the other angels to protect their fry. Also don't remove the fry from the tank, the parents will raise them, so move the parents over if they have spawned once, move them to another tank so they can spawn successfully. Feed the fry newly hatched brineshrimp.

As for other fish I wouldn't go far from a shoal of 15 or so rummynoses and some corydoras or dwarf chain loaches for the bottom.

Will this tank be a planted one?

 

[Anonyfish]

Rams and angels are good tank mates as the rams won't come up to the angels' level. I would suggest just 1 angel but if you want to go with 5-6 you should be ok. Reason I'm saying to go for 1 is that if one pair of angels out of the 6 that are in there spawn, the pair will actively kill the other angels to protect their fry. Also don't remove the fry from the tank, the parents will raise them, so move the parents over if they have spawned once, move them to another tank so they can spawn successfully. Feed the fry newly hatched brineshrimp.

As for other fish I wouldn't go far from a shoal of 15 or so rummynoses and some corydoras or dwarf chain loaches for the bottom.

Will this tank be a planted one?

I did like the idea of a few angelfish, however I do want to avoid aggression as you say. Would it work if I had male angelfish only? Or would this be too difficult to determine?

I like the idea of moving the Ram to a bigger tank aswell and I will do as you have said if they do manage to hatch the eggs without eating them.

I assume it would be best to add the smaller fish to the tank first, and the angelfish last to avoid aggression?

Yes the tank would be planted and I would put some driftwood in aswell.

 

[Fish4dawin]

I did like the idea of a few angelfish, however I do want to avoid aggression as you say. Would it work if I had male angelfish only? Or would this be too difficult to determine?

I like the idea of moving the Ram to a bigger tank aswell and I will do as you have said if they do manage to hatch the eggs without eating them.

I assume it would be best to add the smaller fish to the tank first, and the angelfish last to avoid aggression?

Yes the tank would be planted and I would put some driftwood in aswell.

Males will want to have as much territory as possible and the dominant male will bully the smaller ones to death sadly.

So as much as the idea of a pair of breeding angels would be tempting, 1 in my opinion would be the ideal number. However if you want to risk it and try to get a breeding pair, go for it, I'm not forcing you I'm just suggesting ideas. All I want to say is that the angels can get quite big and can terrorise smaller fish to the point of death.

For tankmates rummynose tetras could work but they get to 4cm so there could be a chance of some being eaten. You could try emperor tetras, lemon tetras etc.

Here's a link of 15 tankmates that can work with angels https://www.buildyouraquarium.com/angelfish-tank-mates/

You'll be pleased to know khuli loaches are on that list and rams.

That would be a cool scape. Do you know what plants you are going to have? I'd go with Amazon swords, crypts
and anubis.

 

[Anonyfish]

Males will want to have as much territory as possible and the dominant male will bully the smaller ones to death sadly.

So as much as the idea of a pair of breeding angels would be tempting, 1 in my opinion would be the ideal number. However if you want to risk it and try to get a breeding pair, go for it, I'm not forcing you I'm just suggesting ideas. All I want to say is that the angels can get quite big and can terrorise smaller fish to the point of death.

For tankmates rummynose tetras could work but they get to 4cm so there could be a chance of some being eaten. You could try emperor tetras, lemon tetras etc.

Here's a link of 15 tankmates that can work with angels https://www.buildyouraquarium.com/angelfish-tank-mates/

You'll be pleased to know khuli loaches are on that list and rams.

That would be a cool scape. Do you know what plants you are going to have? I'd go with Amazon swords, crypts
and anubis.

I will listen to what you say because I don't want to take the risk, I like the idea of a sole Angelfish owning the tank essentially, and my LFS had some really nice ones so I will stick to 1.

I will then definitely add some Cory as I just want them in every tank I own. I really like the Emperor tetras so I'm glad you mentioned these. I think this along with my Blue Ram and the Angelfish will be a good well stocked tank. I would love some Kribensis and I noticed they are on the list, however, I assume the Angelfish, Blue Rams and Krib would likely cause some issues?

Funnily enough, they are the exact plants and I have in my tanks at the moment, along with some Java Fern so I would likely use the same. When I scaped my last tank, I didn't think too much about the layout of the tank and have had to make a lot of changes with the water in which is obviously more difficult. I am looking forward to having a fresh start and using influence from what I have seen on here and on youtube.

 

[Fish4dawin]

I will listen to what you say because I don't want to take the risk, I like the idea of a sole Angelfish owning the tank essentially, and my LFS had some really nice ones so I will stick to 1.

I will then definitely add some Cory as I just want them in every tank I own. I really like the Emperor tetras so I'm glad you mentioned these. I think this along with my Blue Ram and the Angelfish will be a good well stocked tank. I would love some Kribensis and I noticed they are on the list, however, I assume the Angelfish, Blue Rams and Krib would likely cause some issues?

Funnily enough, they are the exact plants and I have in my tanks at the moment, along with some Java Fern so I would likely use the same. When I scaped my last tank, I didn't think too much about the layout of the tank and have had to make a lot of changes with the water in which is obviously more difficult. I am looking forward to having a fresh start and using influence from what I have seen on here and on youtube.

With the kribs and rams you'd have to choose one or the other as there will most likely be territorial disputes between the two species even though they are peaceful. The rams and angels probably wont cause any issues. What algae eaters will you add?

 

[Anonyfish]

I thought that may be the case, thanks for clearing that up.

I was thinking I probably would go for a couple of Bristlenose Plecos or some otocinclus, although I'm not sure how they'd deal with the slightly higher temperature that the Angelfish and Blue Ram require.

 

[Fish4dawin]

I thought that may be the case, thanks for clearing that up.

I was thinking I probably would go for a couple of Bristlenose Plecos or some otocinclus, although I'm not sure how they'd deal with the slightly higher temperature that the Angelfish and Blue Ram require.

Just do 1 BN pleco as they create a lot of waste. You could try otos but be careful when the angels get big as they might eat them. Although if you add 6-8 of them before the angel they should be fine. Personally, I'd go with otos.

 

[Anonyfish]

Just do 1 BN pleco as they create a lot of waste. You could try otos but be careful when the angels get big as they might eat them. Although if you add 6-8 of them before the angel they should be fine. Personally, I'd go with otos.

I was leaning towards Oto’s as I bought some for my 30 gallon yesterday and I really like them.

in all order to avoid any aggression or angelfish mistaken new fish for food, I will add the angelfish.

Thanks you for all your suggestions, the tank is going to include most of them when I manage to get one in.

 

[Fish4dawin]

I was leaning towards Oto’s as I bought some for my 30 gallon yesterday and I really like them.

in all order to avoid any aggression or angelfish mistaken new fish for food, I will add the angelfish.

Thanks you for all your suggestions, the tank is going to include most of them when I manage to get one in.

What angel variety do you like?

Also have you decided on all of your tankmates?

 

[Anonyfish]

What angel variety do you like?

Also have you decided on all of your tankmates?

I was going to have a look at ta few videos this evening, however in my LFS they had what I believe was black Veil Angelfish and these were really nice.

So at the moment the stocking would look like;
1x Angelfish
2x German Blue Ram
10-15x A larger Tetra such as Congo etc.
6-8x Corydora (Not sure what type yet, i currently have false Julii so maybe something a bit different like Bronze)
6x Oto's.

I will have a look at the range fo Tetra and Cory's that are compatible before making a decision.

 

[Fish4dawin]

Cory choices could be Julli, Panda, Emerald, Bronze, Albino Bronze and Pepper Corys.

For tetras, I don't think emperors are a good idea as they are active and this can stress slower moving fish such as angles. Rummynose or Head and Tail lights would probably be better.