Checking Stock..............

[zoeb2912]

Neon Tetra 10
Guppy (Male) 8
Fiveband Barb 6
Honey Gourami 3
Ram blue 2 electric blue 2
Kuhli Loach 6
Borelli's Dwarf Cichlid 4
Bristlenose Plec 1
Panda Cory 6
Pearl Gourami 2

hi a friend of mine has asked me to check if these fish are ok? her tank is fishless cycled.

she wants a peaceful community tank. 190L. temp 25. internal filter 1200lph. sand substrate. live plants.

Thanks

 

[fluttermoth]

Do you know the dimensions of the tank? And the hardness of her local water?

There's a lot of bottom dwellers in that list, and they might end up competing for territories; especially that amount of dwarf cichlids. She'd be better off sticking to one of the two cichlid species; the Borelli's would be better than the rams, as the rams need a much higher temperature than most fish, and are not an easy fish to keep.

She may also have issues with two gourami species, but gouramis aren't my 'thing', so you'd need another opinion on that.

 

[zoeb2912]

Do you know the dimensions of the tank? And the hardness of her local water?

There's a lot of bottom dwellers in that list, and they might end up competing for territories; especially that amount of dwarf cichlids. She'd be better off sticking to one of the two cichlid species; the Borelli's would be better than the rams, as the rams need a much higher temperature than most fish, and are not an easy fish to keep.

She may also have issues with two gourami species, but gouramis aren't my 'thing', so you'd need another opinion on that.

i dont know the dimensions but its long rather then tall, maybe just over 3ft/3.5ft?!

i know shes got her heart set on the rams, so is there another dwarf cichlid rather then the borellis, that maybe covers middle/top of the tank? or maybe add extra caves?

thanks

 

[KittyKat]

We really need the exact dimensions to give accurate advice, but assuming the tank is a 3 ft and she has soft to neutral water, then…

Guppy (Male) 8

For me, this would be an absolute no because they are hard water fish and do not do that well in softer water in the long term. Also, guppy tales in front of cichlids is like red flags in front of bulls: generally a bad idea.

Neon Tetra 10
Fiveband Barb 6
Honey Gourami 3
Ram blue 2 electric blue 2
Kuhli Loach 6
Borelli's Dwarf Cichlid 4
Bristlenose Plec 1
Panda Cory 6

A really odd mix, it would be better if she went for fewer species. Also, this is too much stock for a 3 ft tank, if I am honest, as a 190 litre 3 ft tank does not *really* allow for much more stock than a 100 litre 3 ft tank purely because of the length. 3 pairs of dwarf cichlids are unlikely to get along in a tank that size as most dwarf cichlids have quite large territories. For example, when allowed to pick their own territories in a large tank, a pair of my blue rams used to defend a 60*45 cm territory.

On the subject of blue rams, some people say that they must have 27-30 C, I have kept them with success at lower temperatures. Before she even considers rams, she has to make sure her medication cupboard is stocked (which it should be anyway), this should contain one anti-whitespot medication and one anti-microbial (i.e. anti-fungus, anti-bacterlial, etc.).

If we are talking about a soft water tank here, than neons, blue rams and Corys are perfect for it. With soft water, I would stock a 100*40*45 cm tank with the following:
* 15 neon tetra (or any other tetra of one species)
* 1m 1f blue rams (or 1m 1f of any pair dwarf cichlid or 1m 2f of any harem dwarf cichlid)
* 1m 1f Apisto. borellii (check temperature compatibility)
* 10 Cory. panda
* 1 bristlenose pleco (I would actually have 1m 2f Parotocinclus jumbo, aka pitbull plecos, which are smaller)
If it is a tall tank, it might take 1m 2-3f honey gouramis on top of the above stock, but they're not something I'd keep with the above fish.

I recommend that instead of having a pair of each out of two species of SA dwarfs, she considers going for a harem species and having 1m 2f or *maybe* having 2m 2f of one species as it is better for the fish if they have some choice in partners. Of course, if she bought pairs (i.e. couples, not individual fish of opposite sex), then that would work well.

If she has neutral water:
* 10 Puntius pentazona (five banded barbs)
* 10 khuli loaches
* 1 bristlenose pleco (or 1m 2f Parotocinclus jumbo, aka pitbull plecos, which are smaller)
* pair or groups of peaceful mid-water gouramis (these are not common and most do not have common names), such as some of the Betta or Pseudosphromenus species
* 1m 2-4f honey gouramis

Pearl Gourami 2

They grow too large for a 3 ft tank, I would want to see 1m 2f in tanks starting from 4 ft. Also, it really is not a good idea to mix different surface gourami species in one tank.

she wants a peaceful community tank. 190L. temp 25. internal filter 1200lph. sand substrate. live plants.

Sand is a must for some of the fish that she wants, so that's good, and the live plants are great too.