200 litre/55 Gallon stocking….

[Oli]

So I’ve been back and forth for months in my head about how to stock this 200 litre tank and am no closer then when I started. It is sat in the room gathering dust…

I know what I would like but am struggling to make it work or if it’s even possible. I would essentially like some big 5-7” fish that would really stand out, as well as a couple of large schools. It must also be a planted tank. A discus tank with cardinal tetras would be absolutely perfect, but I’m not confident enough to keep them and don’t have time to keep up with the strict maintenance.

I had settled on 4/5 Electric Blue Acaras but a few things have put me off. Will they pair off and get aggressive, will they tear up my plants, will they eat smaller fish.

I then looked at Pearl Gouramis. I was thinking I could get maybe 4/5 of them (am I right I’m thinking they could all be male and it wouldn’t matter due to tank size?) This fish would allow me to have a large school of cardinal tetras and wouldn’t dig up my plants. The only thing is, they don’t quite do it for me as a big, stand out centre piece fish, would I also be able to add a singular 6+” centre piece? For example, 4/5 Pearl gouramis, 15-20 Cardinals and then a big stand out fish?

I’ve been going nuts about this for months but really want to get it perfect before I think about adding any fish, any help would be really appreciated!

 

[Colin_T]

What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?

What is the GH (general hardness), KH (carbonate hardness) and pH of your water supply?
This information can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).

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What about rainbowfish?
Obviously it depends on the tank size and water chemistry but some grow to 4-5 inches and can reach 2 inches in body height. They live in groups, don't eat plants unless they are hungry, and come in a range of colours. See following link for all the different rainbowfish from Australia and New Guinea.

Melanotaeniidae and Pseudomugilidae

A website dedicated to Rainbowfishes of Australia and New Guinea

rainbowfish.angfaqld.org.au

Maybe angelfish and some black or red phantom tetras, diamond tetras and rosy tetras.

 

[Oli]

All I have to hand right now is the dimensions, 101X41X56 (cm) and the PH and hardness are on the soft/low side.

Personally I would prefer the gouramis to the rainbow fish as they are similar in size, I was more after a really big centre piece fish if one existed?

 

[Colin_T]

I was more after a really big centre piece fish if one existed?

snakeskin or kissing gourami

 

[Oli]

Would this work…?

-3/4 Pearl Gouramis
-3/4 Rainbow Fish
-Pair of Angels
-School of Cherry Barbs

 

[Oli]

Or if I were to drop the Angels and just go with Cardinal tetras, Rainbow fish & Pearl Gouramis, what would the appropriate number of each to stock? Could I do 5/6 of the gouramis and rainbows?

 

[itiwhetu]

Just back yourself, do the Discus Cardinal Tetra thing. That is a fantastic combination, and they are hardier than you may think.

 

[Colin_T]

Most rainbowfish do best in water with a GH between 150 and 300ppm.
Gouramis come from water with a GH below 150ppm.

Rainbows need to be kept in groups of at least 6 and preferably 10 or more.

The bigger rainbowfish and angelfish don't mix. The rainbows are just too active and angels come from softer water than most of the big rainbows.

Big rainbows might eat cherry barbs, cardinal tetras and other small narrow fish.

 

[OliveFish05]

I had settled on 4/5 Electric Blue Acaras but a few things have put me off. Will they pair off and get aggressive, will they tear up my plants, will they eat smaller fish.

I had a single male EBA with about 18 bloodfin tetras and a planted tank. Never touched the plants, but ate about a dozen tetras!

 

[Oli]

The only thing putting me off discuss is the temperature. I currently don’t need a heater, as my tanks sit happily at 24°C in my apartment. Would it be considerably more expensive keeping a heater at such high temperatures of 30°C than say a 25/26 degree tank?

 

[Colin_T]

Heating the water to 30C will add to your power bill. However, you can reduce the cost by insulating the base, back and sides of the tank with 1 to 2 inch thick polystyrene foam sheets.

Have 6mm thick coverglass on the tank to stop heat going up and out of the tank, and to reduce evaporation and stop fish jumping out.

Have the tank on 27-28C and if the discus get sick, you can raise it to 30C to make them feel better. If you have the tank on 30C and they get sick, you will struggle to raise it higher.