Community Ideas...

[J_S]

Hey guys, I want to get back into the fish keeping hobby after two years away from it, I have a tank which measures:
L- 60cm
D-40cm
H-50cm
It was a second hand tank so I wasn’t told the volume but I put the measurements into multiple tank volume calculators which all said 120 litre’s (I’m not sure if that’s accurate though).

I would run a 1000 l/h canister filter on it.

I won’t be setting the tank up for a while yet because I would like to have time to properly research the fish.

I would like some help to create a good tropical community tank with a ‘centrepiece’ fish, some shoaling fish and some bottom feeders and possibly a clean up crew.

The water in my area is soft.

thanks in advance

 

[CassCats]

120 liters = approx 30 US gallons

Gives you a little bit of leeway for a variety.

Can't go wrong with corydoras!!

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Hi, JS. Good on you for taking your time and doing your research! NC's right. There are so may possibilities for a 120l it's hard to know where to start.

For a centerpiece: A lot of websites say to keep angelfish in a 120l, but having done so I don't necessarily advise it. Mine were very healthy, but as they grew up they got aggressive with each other, and ultimately I could only keep one. He had a good life (and continues to, as far as I know) but I really think angelfish are naturally schooling fish except when they're breeding. You just can't keep a group of them in this small of a tank.

A pair of dwarf gouramis would be strikingly beautiful and appropriately sized for the tank. There are some other smallish gourami species that I haven't kept, but they might be worth investigating. I've never kept apistos or rams, but I did some research on them for a 30 gallon South America tank, and I think they'd be worth looking into, as well. Same goes for some of the less bellicose betta species. A trio of pearl gouramis (1 male and 2 females) could be good too, but no more than three or they'll be over-crowded.

As for schoolers, the sky's the limit. There are a hundred tetras, rasboras, danios, and even some of the smaller barbs that could be perfectly happy in a soft-water tank this size. Just make sure you do your research and make sure your schoolers are compatible with your other fish, and make sure you get enough of them that they'll be happy. Most schoolers seem to do best in groups of at least six to ten. More is always better, as long as you have adequate room. A few favorites of mine are neon tetras (a classic that I've never outgrown), black neons, zebra danios, and harlequin rasboras. If you want something different, pentazona barbs are smallish, beautiful and peaceful.

For bottom feeders, cories (I really like pandas), dwarf chain loaches, kuhli loaches, stone catfish, and amano shrimp are a few of my favorites. Again, there are many, many others.

Once you've chosen some fish you like and that are suitable for a 120l with soft water, check out aqadvisor.com to try out combinations. Some people on this forum don't like it, with some good reasons. Among other things, it tends to be really conservative when it comes to stocking levels. But it's a good place to start.

 

[ClownLurch]

Two replies and no ones asked for water hardness numbers yet! What’s going on? Standards are slipping around here.
seriouslyfish.com is the most respected guide to fish needs on the internet at the moment. I’d use that first n foremost in research if I was you.

 

[CassCats]

Two replies and no ones asked for water hardness numbers yet! What’s going on? Standards are slipping around here.
seriouslyfish.com is the most respected guide to fish needs on the internet at the moment. I’d use that first n foremost in research if I was you.

They were ahead of us and stated their water was soft.

They know us too well!

 

[ClownLurch]

They were ahead of us and stated their water was soft.

They know us too well!

Soft could mean in anything in the U.K. We need numbers! I wouldn’t want to be in our shoes/slippers when @essjay wakes up and we’ve not at least asked!
Please @J_S could you please please for our sakes if not for your future fishes take a look on your water providers website for the water hardness figures for your postcode?

 

[CassCats]

Soft could mean in anything in the U.K. We need numbers! I wouldn’t want to be in our shoes/slippers when @essjay wakes up and we’ve not at least asked!

 

[J_S]

Two replies and no ones asked for water hardness numbers yet! What’s going on? Standards are slipping around here.
seriouslyfish.com is the most respected guide to fish needs on the internet at the moment. I’d use that first n foremost in research if I was you.

Sorry, the water hardness is 22.5ppm

 

[Essjay]

That's very soft rather than soft

For members who don't use metric, the tanks is 24 inches long x 15.5 inches deep x 20 inches tall, and 32 gallons - and is a good example of why I usually say that tanks in the UK do not have standard shapes.

This is a narrow, tall tank so a lot of fish suitable for the volume won't be suitable for this particular tank with it's short swimming length. You need to look at fish that don't race around the tank as they need more swimming room, so this excludes fish such as zebra danios.


I suggest taking a trip round your local fish shops to see what they stock that catches your eye. You can buy fish on-line but the postage often costs more than the fish. Make a note of the fish you like and look them up on https://www.seriouslyfish.com/knowledge-base/ Look in the profiles for tank size and water requirements. Then post a list on here of fish that you like and are suitable for the tank/water. Between all the members we have a vast amount of experience and we'll be able to help you draw up a sensible stocking plan.

 

[J_S]

Hi, JS. Good on you for taking your time and doing your research! NC's right. There are so may possibilities for a 120l it's hard to know where to start.

For a centerpiece: A lot of websites say to keep angelfish in a 120l, but having done so I don't necessarily advise it. Mine were very healthy, but as they grew up they got aggressive with each other, and ultimately I could only keep one. He had a good life (and continues to, as far as I know) but I really think angelfish are naturally schooling fish except when they're breeding. You just can't keep a group of them in this small of a tank.

A pair of dwarf gouramis would be strikingly beautiful and appropriately sized for the tank. There are some other smallish gourami species that I haven't kept, but they might be worth investigating. I've never kept apistos or rams, but I did some research on them for a 30 gallon South America tank, and I think they'd be worth looking into, as well. Same goes for some of the less bellicose betta species. A trio of pearl gouramis (1 male and 2 females) could be good too, but no more than three or they'll be over-crowded.

As for schoolers, the sky's the limit. There are a hundred tetras, rasboras, danios, and even some of the smaller barbs that could be perfectly happy in a soft-water tank this size. Just make sure you do your research and make sure your schoolers are compatible with your other fish, and make sure you get enough of them that they'll be happy. Most schoolers seem to do best in groups of at least six to ten. More is always better, as long as you have adequate room. A few favorites of mine are neon tetras (a classic that I've never outgrown), black neons, zebra danios, and harlequin rasboras. If you want something different, pentazona barbs are smallish, beautiful and peaceful.

For bottom feeders, cories (I really like pandas), dwarf chain loaches, kuhli loaches, stone catfish, and amano shrimp are a few of my favorites. Again, there are many, many others.

Once you've chosen some fish you like and that are suitable for a 120l with soft water, check out aqadvisor.com to try out combinations. Some people on this forum don't like it, with some good reasons. Among other things, it tends to be really conservative when it comes to stocking levels. But it's a good place to start.

i’ve kept angels and dwarf gourami’s before but I quite like the idea of the gourami being the centrepiece, I’ve also looked into blue rams which I like the sound of but I’m not sure if they’re aggressive?. I love neon’s but I’ve never kept them strangely, so I’ll
definitely consider them. I like panda corys too, but also the salt and pepper ones and sterba’s - so could I get two of each to make a group of six if mixing is possible ?

 

[J_S]

120 liters = approx 30 US gallons

Gives you a little bit of leeway for a variety.

Can't go wrong with corydoras!!

Definitely would like some cory’s!

 

[Essjay]

Rams (Mikrogeophagus ramirezi) need warmer water than most fish so it is difficult find tank mates. Bolivian rams don't need this warm water but need a bigger footprint than your tank has.
A pair of one of the species of Apistogramma would work in this tank - and your very soft water would be suitable for the less common species (if you can find any).

If you want to mix cory species you need at least 4 of each species. But I would not mix any of the dwarf species with one of the larger species (eg salt & pepper, Corydoras habrosus, with sterbais). I don't know if panda cories in the UK are bred in the same place as those sold in the US but we have a few American members who are having trouble with them dying for no apparent reason.

 

[J_S]

That's very soft rather than soft

For members who don't use metric, the tanks is 24 inches long x 15.5 inches deep x 20 inches tall, and 32 gallons - and is a good example of why I usually say that tanks in the UK do not have standard shapes.

This is a narrow, tall tank so a lot of fish suitable for the volume won't be suitable for this particular tank with it's short swimming length. You need to look at fish that don't race around the tank as they need more swimming room, so this excludes fish such as zebra danios.


I suggest taking a trip round your local fish shops to see what they stock that catches your eye. You can buy fish on-line but the postage often costs more than the fish. Make a note of the fish you like and look them up on https://www.seriouslyfish.com/knowledge-base/ Look in the profiles for tank size and water requirements. Then post a list on here of fish that you like and are suitable for the tank/water. Between all the members we have a vast amount of experience and we'll be able to help you draw up a sensible stocking plan.

it’s softer than I thought it was, I was struggling to find numbers for some reason but I got there in the end! What kind of shoaling fish would you suggest? I’ve heard a few people say rummy’s. The local fish shop is a good call as I’ve looked everywhere online and no company would deliver to me anyway.

 

[J_S]

Rams (Mikrogeophagus ramirezi) need warmer water than most fish so it is difficult find tank mates. Bolivian rams don't need this warm water but need a bigger footprint than your tank has.
A pair of one of the species of Apistogramma would work in this tank - and your very soft water would be suitable for the less common species (if you can find any).

If you want to mix cory species you need at least 4 of each species. But I would not mix any of the dwarf species with one of the larger species (eg salt & pepper, Corydoras habrosus, with sterbais). I don't know if panda cories in the UK are bred in the same place as those sold in the US but we have a few American members who are having trouble with them dying for no apparent reason.

Ok, I think that’s the reason I decided not to get the rams a few years ago but I’m not entirely sure, as for the cory’s I’ll look into the ones I want to keep most.

 

[Essjay]

There are so many south American shoaling fish (tetras, pencilfish, etc) that would love your water, and a lot of shoaling fish from Asia as well. It's impossible to list them all.
With not being able to get fish on-line, I would definitely go and see what your local shops stock. You'll know which fish you can choose from. There will be some that are not suitable just because of the length of the tank but there are so many fish to choose from.