Can I add 5 Panda Garra and a single rainbow shark into my 52 Gallon Planted Community Tank?

[Nameer_K]

Hi, I have a heavily planted 3.4 foot, 52 gallon community tank. I’d like to add: 5 Panda Garra and a single rainbow shark, another single oto plus 2 more cherry barbs. This will be my final stocking for the tank, no more fish. The tank is dense in plants, plus running a fluval 307 canister, and I’m adding 2 large sponge filters.

Stocking as of now is: 1 angelfish, 10 neon Tetra, 4 cherry barbs, 5 albino corydoras, 4 Otocinculus, 1 Siamese algae eater and 3 guppies and 3 mollies.

Water changes are done with one large 50% weekly, and a smaller %30 mid-week. I feed bug bites, Hikari vibes bites and wafers plus frozen foods.

Ph is around 7.2, never any ammonia or nitrite, keep nitrates low with lots of plants and water changes. GH is low at around 40ppm and tank dimensions are 100x40x55cm, temp is around 26.C. No aggression issues in my tank apart from the barbs nipping eachother, hence why I want to add 2 more female barbs.

Any suggestions if this is possible would be good, any more info you need, let me know!

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Panda garra would be fine. A couple more cherries and another otto would be good. Be advised that panda garra are voracious algae eaters, and the ottos might have trouble competing. Make sure they're getting enough to eat.

I would stay away from the rainbow shark. I hear that they aren't as aggressive as red-tail sharks, but close, and I know that a red-tail can terrorize a 55g. You already have a rather heavily stocked, very colorful tank. If it were me, I wouldn't take the chance.

If you are open to it, I would advise rehoming the guppies and mollies, since both species tend to like soft water. Send them somewhere else, and your other fish will have a bit more elbow room.

 

[Colin_T]

WhistlingBadger covered it.

You don't want the rainbow shark in the tank because you have heaps of algae eaters already and the shark will be the biggest and most aggressive.

Unless you have a lot of algae growing on the glass, I wouldn't even add the garra.

 

[Kyle E.]

I may be wrong here, but don't you need more than just 1 angelfish?

 

[Colin_T]

you can keep angelfish on their own or in prs

 

[Fish4dawin]

Molly and guppys like hard water over 250ppm. Also a rainbow shark needs a 4 foot tank preferably a 5-6 foot long tank. If you are to remove the molly and guppys I'd up the Cory count to 8.